CHICAGO, IL (May 22, 2015) — Many Covenanters routinely share links to social media articles and videos with one another that Covenant News Service believes may be of interest to others. Each Friday we post five of them. Following is a sample of those submissions—their inclusion does not represent an endorsement by the Covenant of any views expressed.
The Redemption of Don Draper
From the article: In Sunday’s finale of the critically acclaimed AMC series “Mad Men,” Don Draper calls Peggy Olson collect from a pay phone in California.
“I broke all my vows. I scandalized my child. I took another man’s name and made nothing of it.”
It’s a breathless moment of confession, one that confounds (and concerns) Peggy and leaves the rest of us waiting for some sign of personal redemption, however fleeting or thin. We’ve been waiting for the better part of eight years.
Throughout the run of “Mad Men,” I kept asking myself, “Why am I watching this show?” I couldn’t stand any of the characters, and I didn’t understand a tenth of the artsy stuff that was happening. (Reading about each episode afterward did give me a deeper appreciation for what writer Matthew Weiner was doing.) For a well-written piece on why so many of us kept coming back, read the appropriately titled blog post “Why We Like Mad Men”
When I heard Don Draper make his confession to Peggy, it suddenly dawned on me that these characters might belong in a Flannery O’Connor story if she were writing about New York in the 1960-1970s. Weiner’s characters were similarly grotesque. Some find redemption, others don’t, and for many, it’s hard to tell. Viewers have been debating whether Draper found some sort of redemption and became a changed man or whether he remained the cynical manipulator he always was.
It’s a good question to ask ourselves.
‘A.D. The Bible Continues’: Fiction and Fact
Every biblical epic movie or miniseries has taken liberties with the text upon which they’re based. Imagination also is required to fill in some of the gaps in the scriptural account. There’s nothing wrong with that, at least not in theory. Reviews about the violence and extensive liberties taken with the actual story and historical record in this show make me wonder if churches using the study guide marketed to Christians are glad they did or now wish they hadn’t.
12 Things Your Pastor Wishes You Knew
Blogger Frederick Schmidt has put together a good list that many ministers would probably agree with. If people understood these things, there might be less conflict and ministerial turnover in the church. But of course that’s a two-way street. What are some things people in the pew wish their pastor knew?
Race Activists Try to Exploit Texas Biker Shootout, Fail
Ever since the shootout between biker gangs in Waco, Texas, that left nine dead and led to nearly 200 arrests, commentators have been juxtaposing coverage of that event and that of shootings in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland. The link above and this one that appeared on NPR are samples.
The Cruel and Unusual Execution of Clayton Lockett
An incredibly powerful—and sometimes graphic—story about the botched execution of convicted murderer Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma. Some people might think the killer, who buried his victim alive, got what he deserved as he suffered on the gurney. Even if he did, the way the state carried out the execution was horrific and grotesque.
Categories:
News
We have been binge-watching “Mad Men” because we missed several years and we wanted to have some reference for the final episodes. My wife also worked in offices during those times and loved the costunes and set decor. We thought Don would jump off the cliffs at the end like the art-deco start of each show. To me, it was a classic tragedy of our times. The Coke ad at the end was a cheap shot to tie it all together. I think the most tragic character was Betty. Her reactions to her kids, Don’s “life style, her terminal disease from smoking sort of sum up a lot of what’s wrong with our society today.