More Sally Draper
By now, my all-time favorite child character on television is Sally on "Mad Men." Sally is an often stubborn elementary school student whose ability to see life's truths is always being underestimated by the adults that surround her. She's been forced to come to grips this season with the divorce of her parents, her mother's remarriage, her father's girlfriend, an introduction to psychotherapy, having at least one younger sibling favored by her mother, the slightly-older boy down the block whose probable fate in 10 years lies with the Symbionese Liberation Army, and of course, "Beatlemania." Whether she is mischievously escaping her suburban purgatory on the subway train or vomiting across the Thanksgiving Day table, I think Sally is really happenin', man-- to borrow a phrase she'll soon recognize.Sally Draper is portrayed in cunning fashion by 10-year-old Kiernan Shipka, who also happens to be my all-time favorite child actress. Shipka made the bold decision this year to have her incarnation of "Sally" abandon the lisp, and I think that was the proper artistic decision. Sally is flowering during season four, eager to take her place in the world. She's dealt courageously with the death of her grandfather, she's eager to cook breakfast for her dad when she stays in the city, and she has boldly chopped off her hair, going against her mother's ardent wishes. She would seem to be light years ahead of where Peggy Olson would have been at her age.
Shipka is in the middle of some heavy publicity for "Mad Men" right now (though she admits that her mom doesn't allow her to actually watch the show). This week, the AP and New York Magazine both have published profiles of the actress, who, as you may guess by the quality of her screen performances, is alarmingly eloquent. My favorite quote: "For me, I prepared really becoming Sally, practically transforming into her, when I get pretty close to the scene. I think that’s how I gear up. I just kind of become her." Brava, Madam Shipka!
posted by CM @ 9:16 PM
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