Matthew Weiner on How “Mad Men” Is Driven by His Resentment of WASP Country Clubs
7th June 2015
Steve Sailer looks back in wonder.
One difference between Weiner and myself is that he’s obsessed with the past, while I’ve always been highly cognizant of which way current trends are likely to take the future.
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A lot of people don’t believe me about how much of what you see on TV today is driven by great-grandpa not getting into Los Angeles Country Club and therefore having to found Hillcrest Country Club, but listen to the creator of Mad Men instead and he’ll say the same thing.
High schools and country clubs — they’re a big part of how people feel about life.
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It finally occurs to me that I’d be more driven and successful if I hadn’t had such a nice time in high school. The greatest motor of ambition in modern America appears to be resentments left over from high school, and I just don’t have enough.
Neither do I. That’s why I’m not Bill Gates rich; it’s my native indolence betraying me.