Mad Men
"There's no pretending as there is in these movies that people don't smoke and that the whole world is integrated. "
- Mad Men creator and writer Matthew Weiner.
Mad Men, A
MC's original series set at the crux of the 1950s and 60s, is like a crude advertisement for the era it's set in. Visually and stylistically excellent, especially for AMC's first attempt at original programming, the characters in the series lack a certain element of personality. Vulnerability is almost never revealed to other characters and almost as rarely revealed to the audience. Is this done on purpose? Is this isolation and distancing between characters for the audiences benefit or to its detriment?
The production design of Mad Men is near impeccable. Every location, from the smorgasbord of restaurants and bars, to the quaint Draper home, to the modest modern offices, to the artist's quirky loft seems to come from another time but simultaneously breathe with a fresh life. The locations modified with certain colors or set dressing might be seen any where today and not strike the viewer with an overwhelming 1960s vibe. However, these locations and sets provide a perfectly palpable palate for the costumes to bring you back to the 1960s while still keeping your mind believing everything you see is not only real but was real forty years ago.
Each character is styled with their own personality. Don Draper, the main character whose illusive identity becomes a plot within the show, is always dressed in an untouchable silver gray suit. It sets him up as a strong established successful man to be seen in a his trademark gray suit episode after episode. Only a man who could hold his own anywhere could pull off the cool vitality of Draper's polished look. Likewise, the other younger executives are dressed in their uniform to climb the ladder of success. Their hair is parted and slicked back. Their blue and black suits are all blocky and not form fitting yet their youth shows through their smaller frames. Their sleeves are speckled with cuff links that are everywhere then but hard to find now.
But while the men dominate the society in the 1960s, women's costuming displays their own character as well as role in society in Mad Men. Take Joan, the office hottie, for example, she is always polished, her costumes form fitting and flattering of her figure. Her hair is almost always up in and looks finished and neat. This mirrors her approach to her job and her life as ve
ry openly
sexual but still very restricted in terms of playing a role subservient to men. Her character is at the beck and will of the men in the office, often outside the office, too.
Peggy, on the other hand, dresses more simply and more modestly, like her character leads a simpler more modest life. She does, however, have ambitions to become a professional copy writer but through the season wears her normal somewhat frumpy clothing. Her hair throughout the first season is worn in a ponytail with short curled bangs. Peggy dresses like a simple character but has much more to offer than a less flashy style.
Betty, Don Draper's wife, is so picturesque it makes one sick. Sugary sweet to the point of nausea, Betty repeats often that her mother put emphasis on how she and her children looked and how they presented themselves. It's an interesting part of the psyche of the middle of the 20th century, one always concerned with appearances.
Betty's admitting that this is a major factor in her upbringing and present life is perhaps the most blatant acknowledgment of the influence of this concept in the 1960s and thus in the show. All these appearances, of men and women in the roles they're supposed to play, are just that: appearances. Undisputedly, the ability for an audience to connect with the characters in a show is what draws them in, and makes it relatable. However, with Mad Men's distinct lack of revealing emotional moments so prevalent in television series, is it a mark of quality for the show's design or the fault of shallow writing for undeveloped characters?
There is so much more that goes on underneath the beautifully styled surface of these characters but it's easy to mistake the sentiment of the decade for a fault of the show. That is, it's easy to mistake the heavy emphasis of the 1960s on what a businessman, secretary or wife should look like for simply shallow characters in a network television show.
However, it's to Mad Men's credit that they don't engage audiences with intimate moments for a character. We don't see Peggy crying over Pete or Betty breaking down in her therapist's office or Don showing his insecurities beyond a small joke or momentary facial expression. As a reflection of the ideals of the day the characters we come to know keep their emotions at bay on purpose. Or maybe they've just been trained to not show them to the world so the world of the audience never sees them in an emotional state.
What we see is a group of people just trying not to be the topic of gossip at the water cooler, people trying to keep their emotions in check and lives from unravelling, people not too much unlike you or me today. Perhaps keeping up appearances is not as important as it once was in the 1960s but just like our insecurities, it may just be another matter "Where the truth lies."
