Mad Men is possibly my favorite TV show. Umpteen things have been written about it, and they're much better than whatever I can express, but this show makes me feel things that few other forms of art can. I figure that if I'm going to write about something, this show is a good challenge.
I'm going to cover all events in the show, including the Season 6 premiere, so if you're avoiding spoilers, bookmark this entry, catch up, and then read.
Why do I love Mad Men so much? It represents who we are and who we think we are better than anything else I've ever seen. It makes sense; the show is about advertising, selling. I'm fascinated why people want what they want, and what they will do to achieve their desires. Advertising, and particularly the advertising on this show, delves right into that. Sure, the ad campaigns Don Draper and his wonder crew of bearded Orson Welle wannabes could throw me a pitch for nuclear fallout and I'd buy it, but how the characters present themselves to the world is really what drives the show, and what reels me in. The disparity of Draper's story-- from a backwoods bastard to the slickest ad man on Madison Avenue-- reflects the shallow sadness of the American Dream. He bounces from woman to woman, drink to drink, but there's little that's glamorous about it. He doesn't know what he wants, but he wants it right now.
One of the quotes that struck me the most from the series was from Bobbi Barrett, the wife of an obnoxious insult comic-- "I like being bad and then going home and being good." The duality of many of the characters is readily evident. We want it all. We want to be hedonistic and nurturing all in the same commute home. The ideals of the era come in the early seasons from Betty Draper, the pristine housewife. It's all Don could ever want-- a loving wife and kids, a beautiful home, a thriving social life. By the standards of the time, he was living the American dream. But his demons got a hold of him, and it all went to hell. Nostalgia does wonders to erase malaise, and Don, particularly in Season 4, is slayed by vices that some admirers of the show ironically glamorize. I'll get to the potential danger of the show later, but the dichotomy of what America, and its inhabitants, is honest beyond the sex appeal of a full-page ad.
Even with its bleak tone at times, the show is damned funny. Roger Sterling shoots out hysterical one-liners faster than whatever rifle he used in WWII. My particular favorite is after a hotshot ad man loses a foot in a tragic lawnmower accident (this is somehow plausible on the show): "it's such a shame. Right when he got it in the door." The Mrs. Blanketship saga is one of my favorite things the show has ever done. Her death and its aftermath had me laughing harder than most sitcoms (if you haven't figured by now, the humor is rather dark). And then Mad Men went for the heart: Burt Cooper, writing her obituary as a former lover, says "she was born in a barn and died in the 34th floor of a skyscraper. She was an astronaut."
As much as I love the show, it has effects I'd rather ignore. I see internet commenters (that might be my problem there) saying how much they admire Don and want to be like him. In between that and the derogatory terms thrown around about the women of the show, I'm worried. Yes, Don is cool on a superficial level. He knows how to rock a suit. He knows how to order a drink. He knows how to love. But have you observed him for what he is, or for what he tries to be? I agree, men should try to dress well and aim for composure and charm. Don is sympathetic only because we identify with his struggles on some level, thanks to the masterful writing of the Mad Men team. We see ourselves in him, and that's why we wince and curse when he self-implodes. It's also discouraging that a show that spends so much time decrying misogynistic attitudes inspires so much from ignorant men. Yes, the women in Don's world are flawed, but compared to him, they're saints.
Don't even get me started on people hating on Skyler from Breaking Bad. I'll go Gus-with-a-box-cutter on you.
Actually, no. I don't want to go to prison.
Thanks for reading, and if you didn't like this....
"This never happened. It will shock you how much it never happened."
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