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Mad Men: All Style, No Substance

6/23/2019

6 Comments

 
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I must admit, I have a rather unpopular opinion. 

I didn't like Mad Men. 

Can you believe it? I know. Everyone and their mother was obsessed with that show. Well, after seeing that the entire series was available on Netflix, I decided to watch it - beginning to end. I liked the idea of the nostalgia, of seeing the fashions change through the 60s and 70s, of understanding these characters inside and out. 

I was highly disappointed.

Here's why. WARNING: Major spoilers ahead!

1. The production value doesn't make up for the characters. Whenever I talk to someone about Mad Men, the first thing they'll comment on is the production value. They love the costumes, the sets, the idea that the story takes place in visually-distinctive eras that we currently have nostalgia for. And they're not wrong! The sets are well-done, the costumes are gorgeous, and it is interesting to observe the characters experience historical events in the past that we already know will happen. But let's be clear. None of this makes up for the show's negative qualities. It's cool to look at, but I'd rather flip through a book of old Sears catalogs than suffer through seven seasons of bad people doing bad things. 

2. There are no redeemable characters. I cannot think of one main character on the show who doesn't take an action that is horribly irredeemable. Everyone does something awful. And here's the kicker: no one even feels guilty. Don sleeps with tens of women on the show and really only feels guilt when he's caught. Of course, that doesn't make him change his ways. He tells Stephanie, the niece of his first wife (a marriage of convenience), in the LAST EPISODE of the show that she shouldn't feel guilty for abandoning her child. I mean, if that's the last episode, he really hasn't grown an iota since the beginning of the series, has he? Joan sleeps with her ex-boyfriend while her husband is gone serving in the military and bears his child, never telling her husband the truth. (This isn't to excuse Joan's husband for his behaviors.) Betty sleeps with Don in the sixth season when she's happily married to Henry. Peggy sleeps with Pete, a married man, bears his child and gives it away, then sleeps with ANOTHER married man years later. I could go on and on about the different characters and the actions they take that they feel no guilt for, but that would take up too much space in this review - so I'll stop here. But the characters never grow, change, or repent for their actions. 

3. Don Draper is an absolutely TERRIBLE person and the writers are obsessed with him. Don is suave, charming, debonair. And he is a horrible person. He acts terribly, betters himself briefly, and then becomes terrible again. The writers would have you believe that they know this, that they condemn him for it, but in truth - they adore him. The writers fetishize him. They give the audience flashbacks to explain Don's behavior, when, in fact, there is no justification for the way he treats the people around him. They give him moments of humanity to show that he's not a monster, but even the greatest monsters have some moments of sensitivity. Don is an entirely selfish character who doesn't grow or change and takes advantage of the women and people around him. And by season 7 that is a pretty exhausting main character to follow around. 


4. Betty Draper is an unfair depiction of a woman in that era. Betty Draper has, in some ways, become the icon for the suffering 1960s housewife. I find this entirely unfair. First, she's married to Don, one of the worst characters on television. No woman, housewife or not, would be happy married to him. Second, I don't think that being a housewife made Betty "crazy" - I think Betty had issues all on her own. Look at her relationship with her children - look at her relationship with Glen. She's a mess. And let's be clear - until the very last episode, when everyone gets their happy ending, the writers generally show women as unhappy. They're at home raising children? Their husbands are cheating on them and they are unfulfilled. They're in the workplace? They can never get to where they want to go. I understand that they're trying to show that women of that era couldn't have it all. But Betty Draper's character is not a good example of a normal woman who is suffering because she's a housewife - she's an example of Dostoevsky-ian heroine with many emotional and mental struggles. 

5. Peggy is basically irredeemable. Peggy gives away her child at the end of the first season. We see her at her mother's house with the child twice, I think, and both times she acts disgusted with him. We then don't learn what happens to this child until the fourth episode from the end of the series, in a passing conversation she has with Stan, the man she ends up with, where it becomes clear she gave him up to be raised by another family. And she doesn't express regret, or sadness, or any of those things. She expresses annoyance that men can leave their children with not so much as a thought, and women should have the same opportunity. Here's her response to Stan telling her he didn't have a great mother, and reflecting it back on herself: "Maybe she was very young! And followed her heart and got in trouble. And no one should have to make a mistake, just like a man does, and not be able to move on! She should be able to live the rest of her life, just like a man does." Yeah, that's the major lesson we as a society should learn. Not that men should take responsibility for their actions, but that women shouldn't have to take responsibility for theirs. 

6. Sex never brings anyone happiness and is pursued for the worst reasons. Sex is an obsessive part of this show. Who will have sex with whom? Will everything fall apart? It's as much a part of Mad Men as the set-dressing is. But Mad Men is unique in one big way. There is no time where you're rooting for a couple that finally makes it official and consummates their relationship physically. You're not waiting for any two characters to get together, like Ross and Rachel, or Jim and Pam. People just kind of ... have sex. And they are never happy afterward. "I had sex with my secretary in a hotel room." "I slept with my daughter's school teacher." "I cheated on my husband in a bar bathroom." This might all be fine if, at some point, the show portrayed a counterpoint to this behavior - a more meaningful physical relationship that brought depth to a marriage, for example. But nope. 

7. The ending wasn't satisfying because no one deserved a happy ending. I watched the entirety of Mad Men in about a month. I don't know about you, but when I've spent a lot of time with a show, getting to know the characters and the story, I usually find myself sad when it ends. I cannot stress enough - I did not feel sad AT ALL when I came to the end of Mad Men. This one fact blows my mind. I got to the last episode, wondering if I would miss watching Peggy, Roger, Betty and Don, and I did not. So why didn't the last episode make me cry? Why wasn't I moved by everyone's endings? Everyone ends up doing what they would have wanted - but no one deserved their happy ending. They lied, cheated, and stole and what do they get? Rewarded. 

8. For a show that focuses on character development rather than plot, I didn't understand any of the characters' motivations. This was the biggest issue for me. The show is all about the characters. It's not plot-driven. The story surrounds the characters choices and decisions. So why didn't I understand anyone's motivations for anything? People act badly because they can, not because their characters actually would. And that is a real oversight in my eyes. 

So, here's the big takeaway: No one learns. No one grows. No one changes into a better person. They act poorly and then continue to act poorly and then get a happy ending. One season of that? Okay. Seven seasons? Not so much. A progression is what makes a story interesting - and the progression can't simply be moving from era to era, costume to costume. 

What do you think? What are your thoughts? Have you seen the show? Let me know in the comments below! 
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6 Comments
Betty Penate
7/5/2019 08:24:13 pm

I was aghast when I read you didn’t like Mad Men. As I read your very strong critical points I realized you bring up issues with the show I also asked myself when I watched it on A&E. Peggy is awful for abandoning her child

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rushessay.com link
4/19/2020 08:56:25 am

Mad Men is probably my favorite show on tv. I think that there are people who have not watched the show, and I just feel bad for them. The show is just amazing, and I talk to people all of the time about them. In my opinion, it is one of the best when it comes to story telling. I have already made all sorts of content about it, and I have a blog about it, so go and read my work.

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JoAnn
7/17/2019 11:12:05 am

I agree that there wasn't one redeemable character on the show. Perhaps that was the point, though. Maybe by watching people who are utterly selfish, we realize that, though we have our own foibles, we aren't as bad as they are! Think also of Seinfeld--the characters were all awful--they were selfish whiners who weighed every decision according to what was in it for them. Still enjoyable and entertaining.

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Claudia Wagner
7/17/2019 01:53:09 pm

Thanks for saving me the time! I was thinking I would start watching it - now I won't bother :0)

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Charlotte
7/19/2019 02:37:25 pm

Lol, sorry for blowing up your posts. Just had to say I agree, I can’t stand when a show or story has no one to root for. Also, the moment a character switches the motivation from justice to revenge, I lose interest. One is noble and a righteous response to evil, one matches the evil with more evil.

The person above mentioned Seinfeld— for that reason, I only prefer the first 5 seasons because there’s at least some level of effort to adhere to moral rightness. Literally, every scene at the coffee shop is just them discussing if something is right. After season 5 though, it’s just selfishness for selfishness sake. Another reason I can’t stand the show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia— all awful people.

Actually surprised you made it through the whole show 😆, I don’t like being around selfish, cruel, mean people in real life, so I sure don’t like being around them in my leisure time 😂😂. #thankyounext 💚

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Francis X.
4/2/2020 07:58:59 pm

I thought the first 5 seasons were amazing. Especially the 4th season. Don pays for his sins in that season. He is depressed, drinks way too much, even for him, and lacks motivation and purpose...And you didn't mention the creative process that Don Draper goes through to form his advertising campaigns (i.e The Lucky Strike Letter). For me that was one of the best parts of the show. I learned a lot about psychology from watching Mad Men. Also the show was intelligently critical of advertising and consumerism. When it comes to Don Draper I also enjoyed the "I know what you did last summer" archetype. He commits a crime where there is no statue of limitations: desertion. I was a big fan of this show but I did not like the last two seasons although the final scene where Don becomes inspired to create the Hilltop ad I thought was very smart.

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