I found this show by way of seeing what Vincent Kartheiser was up to post-Angel. It didn’t peak my interest at first, but I kept hearing and reading good things about it, so I decided to take the plunge and download it. It’s second season debuts on AMC July 27th, and I am sorely wishing I still had DVR.
Set in an advertising agency on Madison Avenue in the 1960’s, Mad Men depicts the changing social mores of America, highlighting the rampant sexism, racial bias, and un-PC behavior of its high-level ad execs. After showing the new secretary, Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) around, Joan Holloway (office manager and my girl crush) introduces the girl to her typewriter. “It looks complicated, but the men who designed it made it simple enough for a woman to use.” Later, the new girl visits the company doctor to get a prescription for the pill. The doc puffs on a cigarette while he examines her and warns the innocent out-of-towner “Easy women don’t find husbands. Don’t think you have to go out and become the town pump just to get your money’s worth.”
Joan (Christina Hendricks) is actually my favorite character on the show (sorry Vincent), mainly because shes fucking gorgeous and sultry and curvy and a redhead. Roger Sterling, partner at Sterling/Cooper, and one of Joan’s biggest fans refers to redheads as ‘the cherry on top of a vanilla milkshake’. Hot. She is the intelligent femme fatale of the show, who thinks that Mannhattan is “everything“.
My boy Vinnie (ew, did I actually just say that?) plays Pete Campbell, a young junior executive at Sterling/Cooper. He’s the black sheep of the office, but is tolerated for his socially influential family. He sexually pursues Peggy although he legitimately wants to be a good husband, and is eager to succeed at his job. He’s the guy you love to hate to love. I am, of course, completely attracted to his misogynistic prickishness (yes I made that word up).
Series creator Matt Weiner (one of the brains behind The Sopranos) wrote the pilot script eight years ago, wanting to portray the changes in American society at the time-the capitalism and social conservatism of the Eisenhower era and the privileged executives that cared less about how good the idea was, more about how well it was sold to the client.
As interesting as the show’s social and political commentary is, the private lives of the Sterling/Cooper employees are the icing on the cake-excess is always fun to watch. Between the material wealth and complete lack of fidelity, these executives are spoiled babies, looking around at their Roman Empires, and wondering what’s missing.
Don Draper (Jon Hamm), the protagonist of the show, is a perfect example of this-he rarely seems happy with his ‘perfect life’. Although his secrets and insecurities are crippling behind closed doors, he masks it with a fearless confidence. When confronted by a beatnik, who challenges: “Perpetuating a lie? How do you sleep at night?”, Don grins and shoots back: “On a bed made out of money.”
I like the show because it’s not the glossy caricature of 1960’s America. You see the grit and the imperfections. The costumes are wicked, and I think I’m gonna check out some vintage clothing patterns, cause I wanna be Joan Holloway. I love immersing myself in a completely different world. I’m lost 1960, and I don’t wanna come back.
