I’m very late to the game when it comes to Mad Men. The show is now in its third season and I’m only just finishing the first season episodes. For those unfamiliar with the program, it revolves around the lives of New York City advertising execs (known as "mad men" because their agencies were on Madison Ave) and takes place at the start of the 1960′s. The writing is fantastic, showcasing layered characters while maintaining the authenticity of the era. They don’t sugarcoat the past, preferring to display all its flaws upfront (the racism, the ubiquitous smoking). With such a rich atmosphere and solid performances, you can’t help but be pulled into the storylines.
Having the show occur right at the cusp of the 50′s to 60′s transition was a brilliant move. It’s not the regimented existence of the 50′s and not the chaos of the 60′s, but the calm before the storm, when you can smell the rain and feel the change in the air, a moment filled with raw possibility. What is old will be washed away in the torrential rain, leaving a landscape fertile for new growth.
Entrapment to the point of almost oppression, is a theme that runs deep in this show. The 50′s rears its ugly head, shackling people to lives according to society’s expectations of them. One character is trapped by the expectations of his last name, having doors opened for him on its virtue alone yet failing to live up to it in his own ranks. He is constantly emasculated, by his peers who find him soft, by his wife who has him as an accessory in the life she wants to lead and by his managers who resent the nepotism that got him the job. He’s trying to play the role of a man according to the rules of 50′s masculinity, but can’t seem to get it right. He’s not as charming or as good with people as he wants to be, his attempts at assertiveness with his wife are met with dismissive condescension and if he does trip into success, it instantly rushes to his head, exposing how inept he truly is. He yearns to break free and live the life he feels entitled to instead channeling his frustrations with disastrous results.
Then we have the quintessential housewife, chafing at the bonds society has restrained her with. She experienced life with thirst and hunger until she met a good man who married her. At that point, her desires as a human being were erased, replaced with the directive of "mother" and "care giver", exiled to a gilded cage while her husband continues his life. Caring for her children is a labor of love, but it doesn’t feed her mind or passion to make something out of life. She strains to find purpose when it has been stripped from her. Coupled with the inertia of her housewife routine, she still must maintain a flawless existence representing the unattainable perfection that is demanded of her. How anyone survived the crushing emptiness of a life unfulfilled and the pressure of unrealistic expectations is beyond me.
Thankfully the show isn’t one-sided or heavy handed, displaying the flipside to these situations. People, completely content with their roles in life, float alone oblivious to the existential crises their friends are going through. They don’t question the status quo because honestly, they find a freedom in knowing their exact place in society. Strangely, these people remind me of the protagonist from The Story of O, who is utterly happy in her complete lack of freedom. Having no choice allows her to enjoy an existence without fear. I guess knowing exactly why you were put on this earth with no doubt whatsoever is a bliss unto itself.
Even with the blind obedience and unsatisfied lives, this show is far from bleak. The main protagonist epitomizes re-invention, living the very "copy" he sells, a shining example of the successful man, a rising star in his career, admired and desired by many. In many ways he’s ahead of his time, breaking the rules of the older generation in an effort to lead the life he wants, not dictated by name or birthplace or societal role. Granted his balancing act is a tight one, integrating effortlessly in a culture that would shun him if his secret were revealed, yet he succeeds in spite of it. A creature of the future born a decade too early.
These complex themes, nuanced characters and intense internal struggles are what keep drawing me to this program. I find myself watching an episode muttering, "I need to write characters like this." A simple gesture or look carries the weight of their conflict more than any slick dialogue ever could. I only hope that my love affair with these well written souls isn’t tarnished by the latter seasons.
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Funny story, about Mad Men. I wasn’t really a watcher until my wife got into it. She watched it during first season and was hooked immediately. The funny part is she kept raving about one of the ensemble characters. She’d be talking about the show and say, “Dude, and there is this woman who plays a secretary and she has this AMAZING body! Like, I can’t stop looking at her!” When I finally sat down to watch, my wife was right: Christina Hendricks is a knockout.
More than that, the writing for the show is also a knockout. I’ve been very impressed.
My only worry is that the show will wander, because they can’t remain in the pre-Hippy window forever. There were about 6 years, from 1959 through 1965 wherein the ‘business suit’ Madison Avenue types were paramount in popular culture. Then came Vietnam, and the hippy culture after it, and everything began to change a great deal. How will Don Draper and Co. be affected?
Anyway, I agree, Mad Men is a winner. Good study material for writers IMHO.