It’s a Mad World…
November 9th, 2009
Last night concluded the 3rd season of AMC’s original series “Mad Men”. I began watching this show after all the praise it garnered at the Emmy’s in 2008, and the show has certainly grown and evolved over the course of three seasons; exploring deeper and darker parts of life then one would imagine before watching the first episode.
Because this show is a period drama, the themes typically explored are those of life and work in the US in the mid 50s on into the 60s (December, 1963 at the end of the third season). This season did a decent job with some departures from the typical setting of the show. In a one episode arc where Don gets the opportunity to travel to Rome for business with Hilton, Betty joins him. She can’t help but be swept away, but upon returning, her desire to be a bigger part of his life becomes painfully evident, and remains a very real issue for her character. As the rest of the season transpires, the strength of their relationship is continuously tested, and much of the suspense is appropriately rooted here.
One of my favorite memories from earlier seasons of the show was the Kennedy Election, which is celebrated in typical Sterling Cooper (The Advertising Agency which serves as the setting for the show) fashion with all night sipping of whiskey and smoking Lucky Strikes in the office. With the passage of time in the world of the show I knew the Kennedy assassination would be drawing near, and sure enough it occurred this season.
When Kennedy gets elected, the mood is jubilant, business is booming, and all is well at Sterling Cooper. When he is assassinated, the ownership and future of the company is veiled in uncertainty, and many of the main characters are finding themselves dealing with domestic disputes or inner demons that consume the entirety of their time outside of work. On a less thematic note, I thought the way they worked the original television broadcast of Kennedy’s death into the show was brilliant. Campbell and Crane are engaged in a consuming discussion in Harry’s office and as such, they don’t notice Walter Cronkite interrupting the broadcast on the television across the room.
Near the end of the second season, and beginning of the third, I wasn’t entirely sure if I was going to continue watching, but I had faith, and I’m now glad I did. The conclusion of two enormous story arcs with the closing of this season was more than enough to keep me thinking about all the things that made this show good in the first place. However, this season in particular I found myself experiencing a much different side of the show.
I always tell friends who haven’t seen this show that it’s a show that “could be set anywhere”, because the scope of the show is far more heavily based in exploring concepts about morality, creativity, and relationships than it ever will be about the endless hustle and bustle of a Madison Avenue office building.
There’s something about Don Draper that keeps us all coming back for more. His life is built on a half-truths, and he spends a lot of time coming to terms with what he’s turned into. His creative genius when dissecting the advertising campaigns and his drives into the middle of the nowhere at night force me to reflect a lot about my own creative process, the time I spend alone, and the relationships I have with people in my life. Some nights I feel like Don, driving out those roads into the darkness, looking for something I can be sure is real.
Tags: AMC, Mad Men, Television
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