Every Sunday evening, I grab a snack and settle in bed to watch “Mad Men”- the only show I watch religiously. In last night’s episode, entitled “The Summer Man”, fans of the show saw the beginnings of transformation for Don Draper. Don Draper of womanizing, demanding, heavy-drinking infamy. “The Summer Man” gave us a glimpse into Don’s self-rehabilitation, including swimming and floating as metaphors for change. Although he didn’t abandon any of his abuses cold turkey last night, Don’s triumph was his recognition of a life careening out of control, and making the steps to climb out of it. The whole episode, despite Don’s past faults (sleeping with secretaries, forgetting to visit his children, waking up to strangers), I wanted him to win. At the end of the episode, Don 2.0 starts reaping the benefits of his new self, including a date with his insightful co-worker, and bonding with his children. Last night’s episode ended with Don cuddling his youngest son on his 2nd birthday. After all the self-reflective work throughout the episode, it ended with Don’s winning moment.
How appropriate then that, after “Mad Men”, I flipped to MTV in time to catch Kanye West’s closing performance at the VMAs. Like Don Draper in “The Summer Man”, Kanye was able to acknowledge his own self-destructive behavior, and it catalyzed one of the best VMA performances ever. And although the set and song were great, it was the context that made the performance so spectacular.
I have always been a fan of Kanye’s music, but like many, was so over his ego last year. It seems, with projects like his downloadable Good Friday songs, Kanye has decided to take the reigns of his PR machine and (like Don) do some serious damage control. If his 1,109,622 Twitter fans are any indication, this decision is certainly paying off. His Ustream video last month, Twitter, and the performance at last night’s VMAs all signal Kanye’s genuine desire to have his fans get the ‘real’ him. And unlike other rappers and entertainers who use that as a line to sell a record, I honestly believe it this time. The acknowledgment of personal faults in his performance of “Runaway” can only help show (IMO) the more endearing side of Kanye West “the man”. The performance was visually striking because all of it’s elements contributed to that narrative. I can’t think of another entertainer who could pull off red, blush, white, black, ballerinas and auto-tune so gracefully. Aesthetic without artifice. Congratulations Kanye West for your winning moment.
TASHA SAY YEAH!
