As of right now, I am the only one of my friends who watches AMC’s “Mad Men,” a television drama set in the 1960s, which will enter into its third season on Aug. 16 (I have marked my calendar). The DVD release of the second season was last week, and I have already finished it, which I guess says a lot about my priorities. For those of you who have never heard of it, it is from creator Mark Weiner (who worked on “The Sopranos,” my absolute favorite). “Mad Men” is an abbreviation of “Madison Ave. Men,” where many high-powered advertising agencies were located during the ‘50s and ‘60s. One such ad exec, Don Draper, is the protagonist of the show, who lives many different lives: father and husband, star creative director of Sterling Cooper ad agency, handsome womanizer and deeply insecure man-boy with a big secret.
Draper’s wife, co-workers, mistresses and long-lost family members engage in scandals that form the various subplots, all while wearing authentic costumes from the period and maintaining what I can only believe is authenticity. Incidentally, if the show’s 32 Emmy nominations don’t get your attention, many women will soon find that “Mad Men”1960 is inescapable in the world of fashion and beauty. In their August 2009 issues, Instyle, Elle, Allure and Interview magazines all feature women from the show, discussing the resurgence of interest in the “femininity” and “glamor” of Kennedy-era fashion. I’d imagine that, if “Mad Men”’s ratings soar in the third season, as critics and I are predicting, false eyelashes and red lipstick sales will, too.
Besides hoping that the show will have an impact on coming trends in style and aesthetics, I am pulling for the Sunday night drama to accumulate more viewers because I feel that it is one of the few examples of smart television available right now. Critics agree with me, but as I read through reviews of the show on the Internet, I notice a pattern: mostly, old people like “Mad Men.” Apparently, the show’s writers, costume designers and actors are all nailing the reality of life in affluent America in the 1960s. If you get your parents watch it, they probably agree, and they probably love it. Which is all quite nice, but if, up until now, I was convincing you to give “Mad Men” a try, that last sentence probably changed your mind.
The problem with so many of the TV shows that we grew up on, which were set in America’s Golden Age of the 1950s and 1960s, is that in an attempt to acknowledge and honor the important changes that took place in that time, they always come across preachy and heavy-handed. Even comedic shows like “Happy Days” and “Wonder Years” would take on an “after school special” kind of sappiness when dealing with issues like racism, sexuality and war. Through the lens of hindsight, I’m sure many writers of these retro shows felt there was a need to reconcile their character’s actions and feelings with those of the audience’s generation. I’m sure they felt that, as sophisticated modern viewers, we would hate characters who discriminated against black people, gay people or women because it’s wrong to do that. If you believe that TV is a reflection of real life, then you probably also believe that your average 1960s family unit had a token black friend, that Dad supported Mom’s workplace ambitions, that nobody hit their kids or smoked too many cigarettes, and that they generally just loved everybody.
But that’s not true. It wasn’t then, and it isn’t now. The cool thing about “Mad Men” is that it is aimed at an audience smart enough to handle the truth (that’s you.) It isn’t meant just to remind your dad about the hats your grandmother used to wear when they went to buy him a new toy train … or something. It isn’t nostalgic at all; it’s dark and quiet and at times a little cryptic. Many episodes end somewhat suddenly, leaving you wondering if what you think just happened really just happened. It seems shocking sometimes that sex, substance abuse, class conflict and shame can all seem so familiar in the happy, shiny Pleasantville world we’ve come to associate with that era.
“Mad Men”’s writers never fill in the blanks for you. They are bringing you the American Dream in all its glory, martinis and bouffants, and Spam and Cadillacs. What keeps it from being boring or sickening is that it is unraveling before our eyes, watching these characters struggle to maintain it in the face of obstacles that every generation has struggled with. As Don Draper ignores the black elevator operator, as his co-workers loudly ridicule poor Peggy Olson for being overweight, and as housewife Betty Draper stews in her own misery over her husband’s infidelity, pickling her insides with alcohol and emotionally starving her children, it is so easy to hate them. But over time, the magic of “Mad Men” silently reveals the disconnect between our world and theirs, and you can’t help but marvel at how far we’ve all come.
Robbie Wright is a senior in English. She can be reached at [email protected].
