During the heyday of the 1960's, a group of advertising agencies in the Madison Avenue area of Manhattan were given the moniker - "Mad Men."This is one of those shows that takes time. Not time for you, time for them - you need to relax and let it happen. But once you give the show it's required time, you can't seem to get enough.
The show takes place at one of these such agencies called Sterling Cooper. Headed by their creative director Don Draper, this team of misfit advertising men (and woman) have more to offer us than just a jingle and a wink, they offer us their most intimate lives and closest secrets.
There is something about the way they dress or the way they are completely 1960's innocent that makes the characters absolutely irresistible. It's as if our parents and grandparents have come to visit and we know them. They still have that funny way of dressing and are always clean behind the ears. Their hair is perfectly formed and we can't figure out how it stays together.
We also see ourselves in their humanity. They make decisions and have problems, they take action and fail to act. It is in their faults that we find our own. Many times while watching the show I have found myself questioning their decisions only to realize that I have made a similar poor decision.
Once the deep and emotional characters and storylines find their way into your mind it is difficult to forget or abandon. It is like going to Church each week and finding out you haven't missed much, but you've also missed everything. You need to put the pieces back together from what you are shown and decide whether or not you will behave accordingly.
The acting is superb. I can't tell you how much the subtlety explodes on screen with just a look from their faces. It is a truly amazing sight. You know these people and it's because the actors are becoming the very embodiment of your subconscious.
A few criticisms, but not many --
I find that the show has a hard time keeping its audience on the same page with what they're trying to convey. In no way would I say that I'm a very intelligent person, maybe somewhat intelligent, but there are times when something on the show will just utterly confuse me. I'm not sure how those moments make me feel. I'm not sure if we're supposed to cheer or boo the character's decisions. I'm not sure if the characters themselves know what they're doing. At times this mystery can have a great and profound effect leading the viewer to contemplate their own life and situation. But there are those rare moments when I feel we're being talked down to because we don't get it.
Another large problem with this show is that you need to be in the right mood. There are several times when I have a DVR recorded episode but I can't seem to push myself to play it. Something about the serious and dark subject matter that makes it too heavy to consume on a fluttering basis.
Although, once you really get into the show, all of it seems a bit familiar:
But every now and then, an episode will capture every emotion of the human experience:
Summary
Current Season: Third Season, Episode 9
Network: AMC
Airs: Sunday nights at 10:00pm Pacific
Verdict: Watch. Watch it straight through from the beginning.
1 comments:
This is a really great show. It's kind of a behind the scenes look at the lives of our parents and grandparents as they were in the 1960s. It almost makes you question your own history. I'd even go so far as to say that this show details how our culture and soceity were created to be what they currently are. Cool huh?
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