Living and laughing with a disability - cerebral palsy; ordinary life, extraordinary circumstances.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

"Mad Men" and disability

Jodie and I started watching the award winning AMC drama "Mad Men".

The current season does not seem as good as last, but we continue to watch to see what happens.

If you are unfamiliar with the show, it is set in a Madison Avenue ad agency in the early 60's. Part of the genius of the show is the extent they go to to show the history and attitudes of the period...the ism's...racism, sexism.

Well, this week they got to disablism.

It was pretty corny how they set this one up. A drunk secretary driving a John Deer tractor through the office. She ran over a guys foot.

At the end of the show, the execs are mulling over the fate of a guy with one foot.
"The man is missing a foot. How's he going to work? He can't walk." And, the kicker, "The doctor said he will never golf again."

It made me laugh to think how crazy it was back then that the thought of disability was worse than death. I think back in the 60's most people felt that way. I think a lot of people still feel that way to some degree.

I tried to find a video clip of the scene, but was not able to. Thank you Media dis&dat for this text version:


Media dis&dat: "Mad Men" gets real with disability: "Joan: I'll bet he felt great when he woke up this morning. But that's life. One minute you're on top of the world and the next some secretary is running over you with a lawnmower.

Don laughs.

The three British executives enter the hospital waiting room.

Saint-John: I'm heart broken.

Don: It's a terrible tragedy.

Harold Ford: One that surely could have been avoided. Mrs. Harris, thank you for your quick thinking.

Lane Pryce: You may have saved his life.

Saint-John: Such as it is. He was a great account man. A prodigy. Could talk a Scotsman out of a penny. Now that's over.

Don: I don't know if that's true.

Harold Ford: The man is missing a foot. How's he going to work? He can't walk.

Saint-John: The doctor said he will never golf again.

Harold Ford: I'm afraid we'll have to reevaluate our entire strategy (referring to the reorganization of Sterling Cooper.)

Saint-John: Lane will remain here permanently."

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