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Mad Men is fun TV, but I'm glad I don't live in the 1960s Mad Men is fun TV, but I'm glad I don't live in the 1960s
(3 months later)
Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner is famous for his planning, so maybe this was always his dastardly scheme. He showed us paradise, then proved it was anything but. He's the bad boy with whom we fell in love, only to have our hearts broken, while still keeping us hooked.Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner is famous for his planning, so maybe this was always his dastardly scheme. He showed us paradise, then proved it was anything but. He's the bad boy with whom we fell in love, only to have our hearts broken, while still keeping us hooked.
When Mad Men premiered in 2007, audiences were captivated by its brilliant writing and acting, and the mystery that was the dashing Don Draper, but they also swooned over the clothes, the hair and the sheer gorgeous glamour of it all. The setting was Madison Avenue, 1960, and it was as alluring as Versailles, with Don as the Sun King. New York was the center of the world and the characters knew it.When Mad Men premiered in 2007, audiences were captivated by its brilliant writing and acting, and the mystery that was the dashing Don Draper, but they also swooned over the clothes, the hair and the sheer gorgeous glamour of it all. The setting was Madison Avenue, 1960, and it was as alluring as Versailles, with Don as the Sun King. New York was the center of the world and the characters knew it.
The show ignited passion, and a passionate nostalgia. The Mad Men-themed parties, a line of Banana Republic Mad Men clothes, a surfeit of YouTube videos describing how to re-create period hair and makeup – this was a world we yearned to visit, seamed stockings, Brylcreem and all.The show ignited passion, and a passionate nostalgia. The Mad Men-themed parties, a line of Banana Republic Mad Men clothes, a surfeit of YouTube videos describing how to re-create period hair and makeup – this was a world we yearned to visit, seamed stockings, Brylcreem and all.
It was also fun to congratulate ourselves on our superior 21st-century knowledge. Weiner earned plenty of laughs showing people who thought nothing of smoking and drinking while pregnant, littering parks or letting their children play with plastic bags over their heads. Modern political progress, we thought, was even greater. In 2007, it was pretty clear that the choices for a Democratic presidential nominee were going to include a woman and a black man – an image that would give aneurysms to the 1960s power brokers who relegated women to the secretarial pool and blacks to the servant class.It was also fun to congratulate ourselves on our superior 21st-century knowledge. Weiner earned plenty of laughs showing people who thought nothing of smoking and drinking while pregnant, littering parks or letting their children play with plastic bags over their heads. Modern political progress, we thought, was even greater. In 2007, it was pretty clear that the choices for a Democratic presidential nominee were going to include a woman and a black man – an image that would give aneurysms to the 1960s power brokers who relegated women to the secretarial pool and blacks to the servant class.
More than the surface elegance – and the pleasure of watching Peggy Olson tap on the glass ceiling – there was the appeal of the confidence. Don, a literal self-made man, enjoyed total control. He controlled his employees, his family and his emotions with aplomb, and never lost his formidable cool. He, and the men like him, reveled in certainty. This world was theirs, they had built it and they deserved all the bounty they were reaping. As Don effused, "Who could not be happy with all of this?"More than the surface elegance – and the pleasure of watching Peggy Olson tap on the glass ceiling – there was the appeal of the confidence. Don, a literal self-made man, enjoyed total control. He controlled his employees, his family and his emotions with aplomb, and never lost his formidable cool. He, and the men like him, reveled in certainty. This world was theirs, they had built it and they deserved all the bounty they were reaping. As Don effused, "Who could not be happy with all of this?"
As the series progressed, flaws appeared in the 1960s' brilliant sheen. Season two's finale took place during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the characters thought nuclear war was imminent. The threat diminished, but their certainty was shaken. The sturdy floor was cracking and preparing to break, just as in the title sequence.As the series progressed, flaws appeared in the 1960s' brilliant sheen. Season two's finale took place during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the characters thought nuclear war was imminent. The threat diminished, but their certainty was shaken. The sturdy floor was cracking and preparing to break, just as in the title sequence.
This season on Mad Men, it was 1968. The feeling of a nation out of control was reflected in the Sterling Cooper & Partners office, and especially in Don, who finally recognizes and admits it. The season accomplished a remarkable achievement: no one wanted to go anywhere near that year. Whether you thought the season uneven, or felt its discord struck resonance with its turbulent setting, nearly everyone can agree that 1968 offers little temptation. Weiner, the master craftsman, yanked the rug of nostalgia out from under the audience.This season on Mad Men, it was 1968. The feeling of a nation out of control was reflected in the Sterling Cooper & Partners office, and especially in Don, who finally recognizes and admits it. The season accomplished a remarkable achievement: no one wanted to go anywhere near that year. Whether you thought the season uneven, or felt its discord struck resonance with its turbulent setting, nearly everyone can agree that 1968 offers little temptation. Weiner, the master craftsman, yanked the rug of nostalgia out from under the audience.
Nostalgia for cherry-picked details of 1960 wasn't only endemic among Mad Men's audience; it was a key component of Don Draper's character. Just as those who didn't live through the 1960s longed for the slickness and glamour, so Don longs for the sort of childhood he'd never had. The sort he wanted to give his children – and might have, if he weren't so haunted by his past. In selling the Kodak Carousel in 1960, Don says nostalgia literally means "pain from an old wound." By 1968, everyone knows this defines Don's whole existence.Nostalgia for cherry-picked details of 1960 wasn't only endemic among Mad Men's audience; it was a key component of Don Draper's character. Just as those who didn't live through the 1960s longed for the slickness and glamour, so Don longs for the sort of childhood he'd never had. The sort he wanted to give his children – and might have, if he weren't so haunted by his past. In selling the Kodak Carousel in 1960, Don says nostalgia literally means "pain from an old wound." By 1968, everyone knows this defines Don's whole existence.
Don's 1960 mistress, Rachel Menken, told him the double meaning of another Greek word, "utopia" – the perfect place, and the place that cannot be. The former was how the Don Drapers of the world saw America in 1960, the latter was the truth.Don's 1960 mistress, Rachel Menken, told him the double meaning of another Greek word, "utopia" – the perfect place, and the place that cannot be. The former was how the Don Drapers of the world saw America in 1960, the latter was the truth.
Mad Men's greatest strength is not the depiction of the era's famous historical events, but its evocation of the period's atmosphere and mood, helping viewers understand how mid-century America thought, behaved and ultimately informed the decades that followed. One wonders if Weiner's earned the appreciation or the envy of history teachers.Mad Men's greatest strength is not the depiction of the era's famous historical events, but its evocation of the period's atmosphere and mood, helping viewers understand how mid-century America thought, behaved and ultimately informed the decades that followed. One wonders if Weiner's earned the appreciation or the envy of history teachers.
Throughout the season, the characters repeated their own history. The first time, we were intrigued, the second (or in some cases, umpteenth), we were uncomfortable. It's only a coincidence that Weiner ended this season of our discontent when many in 2013 are fighting to return us to the worst of 1960, by rolling back hard-won women's rights. Upcoming Supreme Court decisions might undue the voting rights that many black people fought and died for. Weiner gave us a rarefied world whose air we'd love to breathe, but showed us the stark reality of the restrictions of liberties. This was not the past we were looking for.Throughout the season, the characters repeated their own history. The first time, we were intrigued, the second (or in some cases, umpteenth), we were uncomfortable. It's only a coincidence that Weiner ended this season of our discontent when many in 2013 are fighting to return us to the worst of 1960, by rolling back hard-won women's rights. Upcoming Supreme Court decisions might undue the voting rights that many black people fought and died for. Weiner gave us a rarefied world whose air we'd love to breathe, but showed us the stark reality of the restrictions of liberties. This was not the past we were looking for.
Maybe the image of newly empowered Peggy Olson, contemplating the city through the corner office window, is our consolation for losing the nostalgia. The traditional power structure may be crumbling, but those still standing are moving forward. After all, in 1969, we're going to walk on the moon.Maybe the image of newly empowered Peggy Olson, contemplating the city through the corner office window, is our consolation for losing the nostalgia. The traditional power structure may be crumbling, but those still standing are moving forward. After all, in 1969, we're going to walk on the moon.
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