Mad Men

AMC’s 2007 premier of Mad Men coined the beginning of a television revolution. Viewers of the hit program became captivated by every aspect of the show, from the retro designed setting to the verbiage spoken by characters, Mad Men leaves audiences with an intense wonder to observe how the story unfolds. Mad Men portrays the 1960s in a way the current generation has never before seen and for our nation’s elder generations it creates an extreme sense of nostalgia. While the show’s setting portrays the 1960s viewers have gained the ability to unravel many culturally relevant references from both past and present times. Regardless of age, gender, social status or ethnic background Mad Men reflects specific aspects viewers are able to relate with. Due to the show’s portrayal of the time period in which the story it is set, the reckless behavior, success and overall dysfunction portrayed has gained a wide variety of dedicated viewers. Taking a look back to the 1960s viewers observe a revolution in American society. The 1950s left our nation in a cookie-cutter way of life, however, due to the increasing awareness of our nation’s inequality, decreasing overall standards, changing views of war and shift in popular culture American society broke away from ideas of perfection of the ‘50s. Viewers see an accurate depiction of these aspects, at one time or another, portrayed throughout Mad Men. The shows accuracy for portraying this time period of radical change is nearly spot on with the reality of the decade its self. In short, Mad Men reflects American society because of the nostalgia it creates, the wonder it leaves viewers waiting piece together and the longing to satisfy our guilty pleasures the way characters such as Don Draper and Roge...

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...es as a result of their ridiculous decision making. Viewers have learned to not under estimate these characters and their ability to put themselves in undesirable situations. Until the end audiences will anticipate to see how the story unfolds and what will result of the years of careless decision making.

Works Cited

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Weiner, Matthew. "Babylon." Mad Men. AMC. 23 August 2007. Television.

Weiner, Matthew. "The Gypsy and the Hobo.” Mad Men. AMC. 25 October 2009. . Television.

Zimmer, Ben. "'Mad Men'-ese." New York Times Magazine 25 July 2010: 18. Academic

OneFile. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

Abboud, Mona. "Did 'Mad Men' Get It Right?" Chicago Tribune. N.p., 07 Apr. 2013.

Web. 17 Feb. 2014.