TV: "Mad Men"

[utah_rose]

Why do some people think this is the best show on television? I don’t get it.

This show is about greed and how the lead character, Don Draper, destroys his family and his life with promiscuous behavior, alcoholism and bad decisions.

I don’t like the sex scenes but they do contribute to the story. I worked in a radio station at the same time, and the salesmen and personnel there (and this was not a rock station) had the same attitudes these guys have, so I think it is authentic. The ad agencies they mention are real, the accounts they mention are real, and most of all the settings and things that were going on at that time are real.

I think it’s very interesting how that ad campaigns were played out and the acting is good no matter how despicable the characters are.

One of the characters was Catholic and had an illegitimate baby that she had adopted, and has drifted away from the Church.

This was very common at the time as too the attitude toward women in the office (decorative and meant to keep their mouth shut).

I think if you grew up in this era, for better or worse, you’d remember it.

I attended parochial school and was shocked to see how some people really behaved.

Madison Avenue at that time and now unfortunately still has a lot of influence in the media.

It’s nice in a way to see the early “clean” commercials and the tendency to move away from them and then beginning to sell “sex” and making women objects.

It also has a moral to the stories—the breakup of families from affairs, the long hours the ad men work and neglect their families, and the consequences of promiscuity.

 

[Onyx88]

while this show takes place before roe v.wade, i was happy when one of the characters gave up her baby for adoption but disheartened when one character had two abortions and is going to have another one. for once i thought i was going to be happy with a hollywood but i should’ve known better.

 

[YinYangMom]

while this show takes place before roe v.wade, i was happy when one of the characters gave up her baby for adoption but disheartened when one character had two abortions and is going to have another one. for once i thought i was going to be happy with a hollywood but i should’ve known better.

Watch that scene again. Joan isn’t having a third abortion, she went to the doctor to make sure the earlier 2 procedures will not hurt her chances for conceiving now. She wants to get pregnant.

What I liked about that scene is how the doctor was smoking in the exam room. I also liked that he asked whether or not the procedure he didn’t know about was done by a physician and how she responded the woman said she was a midwife. I thought it showed Joan’s concern and regret over her past decisions, perhaps in the look of relief she displayed at the time.

Peggy didn’t really give up her baby for adoption as much as her mother and sister gave it away because Peggy was so emotionally out of it and ended up in a psychiatric institution. She had no idea she was pregnant even up to the moment she went into labor. This season we’re having to watch her uncomfortableness in this new relationship with someone who she has led to believe she is a virgin.

That’s what I like, there is follow up on these actions, followup which does not show the characters happy-go-lucky as if their mistakes didn’t matter. They own their decisions and live with the consequences. Living with those is not pretty and that’s why the show appears gritty. It shows how the demise of what was seemingly a golden era came to be through the lense of how advertising adjusted to social changes. Don told his 'wife’s college niece that they drive the advertising and we see how true that was.

 

[utah_rose]

Watch that scene again. Joan isn’t having a third abortion, she went to the doctor to make sure the earlier 2 procedures will not hurt her chances for conceiving now. She wants to get pregnant.

What I liked about that scene is how the doctor was smoking in the exam room. I also liked that he asked whether or not the procedure he didn’t know about was done by a physician and how she responded the woman said she was a midwife. I thought it showed Joan’s concern and regret over her past decisions, perhaps in the look of relief she displayed at the time.

Peggy didn’t really give up her baby for adoption as much as her mother and sister gave it away because Peggy was so emotionally out of it and ended up in a psychiatric institution. She had no idea she was pregnant even up to the moment she went into labor. This season we’re having to watch her uncomfortableness in this new relationship with someone who she has led to believe she is a virgin.

That’s what I like, there is follow up on these actions, followup which does not show the characters happy-go-lucky as if their mistakes didn’t matter. They own their decisions and live with the consequences. Living with those is not pretty and that’s why the show appears gritty. It shows how the demise of what was seemingly a golden era came to be through the lense of how advertising adjusted to social changes. Don told his 'wife’s college niece that they drive the advertising and we see how true that was.

I agree 100%. None of these people get a free ride from their actions. It shows the consequences of Don’s divorce (which came about lying about his identity and background) on the children and the pain it has caused.

It also shows his ex-wife in a “not too happy relationship” with her boyfriend. I can’t help but feel that these kids will turn out to be hippies because of what is happening to their family life.

I loved the idea that the doctor smoked, all of the characters do too despite the warnings that have come out about the dangers of smoking. All they want to do is make sure their “Lucky Strike” ad turns out okay on tv, and with that deceiving the public.

And yes, these characters were around us around that time. Did anyone read “The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit” which tried to expose the ads at that time?

Despite all of this, the ads then don’t compare with some of the sleazy ads you see now, ex. birth control products. I can’t imagine who the people are now who run these campaigns. The Draper agency would look like saints compared to these slumbugs. Thank goodness I have a DVR where I can whiz through these without watching, but I feel sorry for people particularly children who don’t.

 

[havana1]

I’m going to watch some Mad Men right now. I can’t believe I didn’t get into this show sooner. Each shot is stunning, and Don Draper is one of the most interesting characters I’ve seen in a while.

He’s also the sleaziest, and he makes Ari (on “Entourage”) look like St. Paul by comparison. I repeat: I am truly surprised - jaw dropping to the floor - at how many Catholics like “Mad Men.” It’s like the show is magically exempt from sincere and valid criticisms about profanity and sexual content. So, it’s not an occasion of sin?

 

[utah_rose]

He’s also the sleaziest, and he makes Ari (on “Entourage”) look like St. Paul by comparison. I repeat: I am truly surprised - jaw dropping to the floor - at how many Catholics like “Mad Men.” It’s like the show is magically exempt from sincere and valid criticisms about profanity and sexual content. So, it’s not an occasion of sin?

I think the show on the Mafia that used to run was much worse. It had a lot of profanity in it and also showed the Catholic Church in a bad light.

Last Sunday’s episode of Mad Men was particularly good. It focused on the problems Don Draper’s little daughter is having adjusting to their divorce. It doesn’t always feature sleazy sex, has a really good story line.

 

[yellowbird]

Going to ressurect this older thread… I have just watched Season 1 of Mad Men on Netflix…

I agree with Cat - it is a bleak show. I am finding it hard to identify with any of the characters… they all seem to lack even a shred of goodness. I’m fascinated by the way the women are depicted. They are just “office girls” - treated sooooo inferior to the men, subjected to constant insults, grabby male coworkers, sexual jokes… I wonder if it was REALLY that bad in the 1960s? If so, we have come a long way baby…

Oh, and all the drinking and smoking. Yuck. Wonder if all that drinking on the job is still part of the upper-crust of corporate America? Does anyone know?

I do like the fashions though…

 

[Gordon_Sims]

I agree that Cat was spot-on as well. I have a friend whose likes and dislikes in TV & movies nearly mirrors mine. He’s a rabid fan of this show. I watched the first episode and then sat there wondering what I was missing. A couple other friends have told me I should give it more of a chance, but the first episode (especially the ending when he goes home to his wife & family) left me wanting to forget I’d watched it.

 

[utah_rose]

Going to ressurect this older thread… I have just watched Season 1 of Mad Men on Netflix…

I agree with Cat - it is a bleak show. I am finding it hard to identify with any of the characters… they all seem to lack even a shred of goodness. I’m fascinated by the way the women are depicted. They are just “office girls” - treated sooooo inferior to the men, subjected to constant insults, grabby male coworkers, sexual jokes… I wonder if it was REALLY that bad in the 1960s? If so, we have come a long way baby…

Oh, and all the drinking and smoking. Yuck. Wonder if all that drinking on the job is still part of the upper-crust of corporate America? Does anyone know?

I do like the fashions though…

I “Tivo” the series (by the way the earlier episodes are playing on AMC early on Sunday morning. I like the fashions too. I think that a lot of this WAS going on in certain offices during the sixties.

I worked in another office (in a large department store) where the boss was extremely condescending to the female staff. In general, we were treated as “accessories” to business and not having any idea of our own. He was a real dictator, docked our pay if we were a few minutes late from break or lunch.

Also worked as a secretary at a large radio station (middle of the road, not rock) and yes most of the women were treated that way. In fact, the sales manager I believe promoted one girl because she “sat on his lap”. Another was having an affair with his secretary. The ad salesman were subtly at each other’s backs to procure ads, and the way they talked to the copy writers (women) on the phone was sickening. Not sure if the alcohol was in all offices but it was in some.

So in a lot of ways sadly enough, Mad Men does portray how offices were in the early sixties, and yes, women have come a long way.

I do like the fashions too, but don’t think the sexual scenes are necessary. Since I TIVO them I just fast forward them. You have to really get into the series though I agree not too many likable characters. But this last seasons shows Don going through sort of a metamorphis and trying to change although some of the characters are getting worse.

 

[yellowbird]

… although some of the characters are getting worse.

OMGosh, is that even possible? They are all so morally bankrupt and I’m only into season 2. I especially hate the young weasely guy… he’s the one who is always trying to get recognized by Draper, who can’t stand him. He literally makes my skin crawl.

I do think the show is sort of addicting. It’s sort of lesson on what NOT to be.

 

[utah_rose]

OMGosh, is that even possible? They are all so morally bankrupt and I’m only into season 2. I especially hate the young weasely guy… he’s the one who is always trying to get recognized by Draper, who can’t stand him. He literally makes my skin crawl.

I do think the show is sort of addicting. It’s sort of lesson on what NOT to be.

Yes they are morally bankrupt but some things never change, look at some of our politicians in our day.

The young weasly one is revolting, but you have to admire the acting. And yes, Draper can’t stand him. The early episodes though give you a background on the characters, because then when Draper’s world starts tumbling down, you’ll know why. Can’t really think of one admirable character either, unless you consider Don’s children.

What I do think is fascinating is the ad campaigns. So many of the products are recognizable, and the controversy over the cigarette ads is interesting. I can still remember some of those ads. An earlier show demonstrates the Kodak “wheel” and how Don turned the ad into the “Kodak carousel”. I believe some of the writers had to be ad men at one time, or knew people in the business. Also the ad agencies they mention are real! I remember typing up “commercials” from them with their ad heading!

I just wish they’d eliminate the sleazy sex scenes. Whatever happened to suggesting that the viewer come to their own conclusion, but guess I’m old fashioned.