Any of you notice the abundance of red that seems to be floating around lately? Okay, I know, Christmas is coming and over-eager merchants are trying to woo us with their goods. This kind of gets me thinking of the color red. There are so many choices for red- cardinal, cherry, maroon, damask, vermeil (okay, I couldn’t pick vermeil out of a police line-up, but I do like the sound of it.)
When I think of a character that knows her red I think of Joan Holloway, played by Christina Hendricks, of Mad Men. She knows how to make red work for her!
I love Mad Man, and I especially like Joan’s character. As office manager of Sterling & Cooper she is a woman who does not get bossed around by anybody. A realist, Joan Holloway is a working girl on a mission, but still flawed underneath her beauty.
Her boss, Roger calls her “Red” and what’s fascinating to me is the interest people put into her hairstyles. Supposedly, her hair represents her mood and control. Genius, I tell you. Characters should be multi-dimensional. They should surprise.
I think the writer’s of Mad Men should use the following quote about Joan Holloway Harris-
“Out of the ashes I rise with my red hair and eat men like air.” -Sylvia Plath
It’s perfect. My grandfather’s entire family had red hair, but my genes weren’t so lucky. I guess I’ll just have to stick with my mousy brown, but if I could, I’d chose red. Wouldn’t you?
