Week 7 - Mad Men

Mad men is a current American TV series about a Top Madison Avenue Advertising agency Sterling Cooper, during the early 1960s. It looks at an era when men were men and women were what men let them be. In looks at a subculture where play is part of work and sexual banter isn't yet harassment. “You need to know what kind of man they are, so you know what kind of girl to be”. Mad Men has a lot to say about identity, gender and ambition. The show follows the lives of the top employers of this company, especially creative director Don Draper, played by John Hamm. The show has received critical acclaim for its historical authenticity and visual style.  Mad Men makes a very bold statement about many of the values of the 1960s. The show has a very strong visual and historical impact on viewers with a range of historically accurate sets, props and costumes. The show even involves the characters dealing with real life events such as the assassination of president Kennedy and the threat of nuclear war. Many of the episodes finish by playing a popular song from the time. 

Mad Men presents a number of themes such as smoking, drinking, sexism, adultery, Homophobia, Racism, Feminism and Anti-Semitism. This reveals strong mindsets in early 1960s New York such as sexism and smoking and the beginnings of change such as feminism and the danger associated with smoking. The relationship between men and women in different situations is one of the main themes looked at. Joan Holloway, played by Christina Hendricks is the office manager for Sterling Cooper and is a representation of the sexist 1960s mindset that women can only achieve success and status through their femininity and sexuality. Joan enters a sexual relationship with her boss to achieve a higher status in the company. At the beginning of the series Peggy Olson played by Elisabeth Moss is a women in her early 20s who begins working as Don’s secretary. Peggy symbolizes change with the beginning of the feminist movement. Peggy also gains higher status in the company, but achieves this through her clever thinking and hard work. Others at Sterling Cooper advise her that she might be more successful if she uses her femininity and sexuality more. “You have great legs, i’m sure Mr Draper would like them more if he could see them.” said by a female employee. “If you pull in your waist you might look like a lady” said by a male account executive. Peggy finds if difficult to resist the pressure to become more feminine in the workplace. The relationships between husbands and wives and parents and children is also a social and cultural shock for younger viewers. Children had a lot more respect for their parents and wives had a lot more respect for their husbands. The presentation of the relationship between husbands and wives in the show is similar to the presentation of the modern day relationship between parents and their children. In one scene, Don scolds his wife, Betty for letting an unknown salesman in the house while he is at work. The way that Betty responds to Draper is similar to the way a child would respond to their parents. Betty Draper, played by January Jones is a glamourous housewife who stays home and looks after the children. Betty also reinforced the theme of women aiming the please men. To other characters, Betty is seen as Don’s perfect and glamourous wife. Although Betty is actually a troubled women and suffers from anxiety.In the 1960s the idea of conditions such as anxiety and psychiatry was new and were not taken seriously by many, including Don. All the characters in the show are very much set in their ways.

Despite being set in the 1960s, Mad Men is popular with an audience of young adults. Young women admire the style and fashion of characters such as Joan and Betty. Joan is portrayed as a very sophisticated and popular character and has an image that is desired by many young female viewers, despite her largely gaining her status through her flirting and sleeping with men, as well as her smoking and drinking. This begins to subtly make old sexist values of the 1960s seem appealing to women of this generation. Research has shown that young female viewers desire to be like Joan and Betty more than Peggy. Viewers are more enticed by the traditional ideas of glamour and sexuality and are not as interested in the idea of feminism, and working hard to achieve success. 

Mad Men also educates a younger audience about the values of the 1960s and invites them to compare what they see with what values we have today. One of the most culturally shocking part of the show to a younger audience is the excessive amount of smoking and drinking. Businessmen smoked during meetings with important clients and doctors even smoked during medical exams. In the first episode, the creative team are facing the challenges of advertising cigarettes while new health claims are surfacing in magazines and other media. The way they approach the ‘rumors’ of smoking being dangerous back in the 1960s is similar to how we approach the ‘rumors’ of global warming today. Their approach to health claims and conclusive evidence that smoking causes cancer reveals a very strong mindset that can still be seen today. “If this is the same scare you had five years ago, you dealt with it” talking about the smoking health claims, showing a refusal to accept change. The way Don dismissed the health claims linked to smoking is similar to the way he dismissed Betty’s anxiety, showing Don’s refusal to accept any change. In a similar way to smoking, health problems such as anxiety are taken far more seriously now but were laughed at by many back in the 1960s. Many of the housewives on the show see psychiatry as the fun new thing to do, not understanding its real health value.

Man Men is delivered through television in 40 minute episodes. The show has been praised for its historical and cultural accuracy and attention to detail. The writers of the show collected large volumes of research for the period in which the show takes place. Detailed set design, costume design and historically accurate props help create a more powerful and impacting experience for viewers. Man Men is also one of the most cinematic TV series in the last ten years. The creators and directors of the show have really used television as a powerful way of communicating. The choice of shots communicates ideas and themes to viewers in a subtle and open ended way. Cinematography is used to create strong symbolism within the show. Alfred Hitchcock’s film Notorious is the main influence on the style and cinematography for Mad Men. A particular type of shot will communicate to viewers how a particular character is feeling. The show uses a lot of pull in and push out shots that either zoom in our out on a character, often trapping them in the corner or edge of the shot. This symbolizes that they are feeling trapped in their life. Shots of the back of Don’s head are often used, creating a disconnection and distance between viewers and the character of Don, creating a much more personal experience for viewers. 

Mad Men has exposed young viewers to the themes and mindsets of the 1960s. Often culturally shocked, this audience is prompted to look at these themes and compare them with the ones we have today. Viewers can watch the show with hindsight and better understand how our social and cultural values have changed or stayed the same since the 1960s.