What events of 1962 will Mad Men use on their second season?
Here are some events of 1962. Which events do you predict Mad Men writers will use?
The Sunday Times becomes the first paper to print a colour supplement.
The United States Government bans all U.S.-related Cuban imports and exports
Best Picture of 1962 - West Side Story
Other Pictures of 1962 - Breakfast at Tiffany's
World's Fair in Seattle Washington - The Space Needle is highlighted
Dayton Hudson Corporation opens the first of its Target discount stores
Engel v. Vitale: The United States Supreme Court rules that mandatory prayers in public schools are unconstitutional
The first Wal-Mart store opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas
AT&T's Telstar, the world's first commercial communications satellite, is launched into orbit, and activated the next day
Telstar relays the first live trans-Atlantic television signal
Amazing Fantasy #15 is released, and is the first published work featuring Spider-Man.
NASA launches the Mariner 2 space probe.
President John F. Kennedy, at a speech at Rice University, reaffirms that the U.S. will put a man on the moon by the end of the decade
Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring is released, giving rise to the modern environmentalist movement.
Cuban Missile Crisis begins: A U-2 flight over Cuba takes photos of Soviet nuclear weapons being installed. A stand-off then ensues the next day between the United States and the Soviet Union, threatening the world with nuclear war
The term "Personal computer" is first mentioned by the media.
Richard M. Nixon loses the California governor's race. In his concession speech, he states that this is his "last press conference" and that "you won't have Dick Nixon to kick around any more
Vietnam War: After a trip to Vietnam at the request of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield becomes the first American official not to make an optimistic public comment on the war's progress.
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I think the ban on Cuban imports will be featured because then Don and the boys can whine about their cigars being unobtainable! Plus, it would be fun if Peggy or one of the other secretaries had a fantasy about one of the executives ala "West Side Story" where she was Maria and the guy (Pete?) was Tony. Silly, but in the hands of M. Weiner and Crew could be very fun. Also, they could have a bit about Telstar being launched and play that neat song I remember being on the radio.
Kennedy Kennedy Kennedy! I predict this season will be all about JFK. He was young, he brought an end to the conservatism of the 50s. I think we're going to see a lot of our characters, like Don and Roger, bucking at this brave new world while others, like Peggy and maybe Trudy, will embrace it. The "Mad Men", once self-styled Masters of the Universe, will start to feel left behind, and it's all because they couldn't get Nixon into the White House --- Brilliant!
The Cuban Missile Crisis would have to dominate part of the story for that year. It was pretty frightening in the showdown with Cuba over the nuclear weapons pointed straight at us, and as I remember as a kid, EVERYONE was freaked out! It was constant coverage on tv and in the papers because we really thought we were going to have a war then, and Kennedy would not back down.
I also think the influence of both Kennedys will dominate the storyline to some extent. Jackie was making quite a mark in the news for her "cultural entertainments" at the White House, style (Oleg Cassini) and youth (if I remember right being one of the youngest First Ladies in the 20th century), and her renovation/restoration of the White House. Additionally, everywhere they traveled around the world, JFK was admired and practically worshipped because of his energy, enthusiasm, youth and the message he was sending - we were America, and we could achieve anything!
And I'm pretty sure the "space race" was dominant then, too. As kids we were glued to John Glenn's orbit around the earth at the time, and the competition with the Soviets/Sputnik.
The Kennedys, together, really brought a youthful, vibrant, and different energy to the White House, politics, and the nation. Kennedy was pushing achievement and contribution to the world (Peace Corps, space race, fitness, culture in American society), and a real belief in our country, and our society. It was pretty idealistic in its own way, and "young".
Additionally, though it wasn't mentioned 1962 introduces James Bond to audiences on the big screen (Dr No?). That had a huge impact! Suddenly, it was all about intense Cold War spying, gadgets, and "technology". Everyone was enthralled with the glamour of it all because it was so "new" and "different". Plus, add in the whole idea of being in outer space as something that was only imagined in books and movies suddenly being a reality? The future was here, and we were the future!
Sorry to keep addiing on. I went to Seatle's World's Fair (Century 21 as it was called). It was all about the future! It's not for nothing that the "Space Needle" looks like a space ship sitting on a stand. The New York World's Fair (1964?) was all about the future too. Everything was about technological advancement, space, and the future. (Aren't all World's Fairs about the future?). Notice they just don't happen anymore because things that were dreamed of came to pass (microwaves, cell phones, personal computers, calculators, etc). The excitement has gone out of the call to the future, I think. Maybe we're too jaded now or too sophisticated.
Hey, Clayton and JAMM54, you are so right about the Kennedys. I recall getting Jackie Kennedy and Caroline Kennedy dolls (by Madame Alexander!) for my 12th birthday (Jan. of '63) Jackie was dressed in the white satin ensemble from the Inauguration and Caroline had on a cute little sheer blue dress. They were exquisite and I wish I still had them. I was old enough to take care of them and not play with them until they were bald! (unlike my Barbies...all of which were from the first year they came out--worth thousands now in good condition!) Hell, I was 8 and I thought dolls were for playing with. LOL They only cost $3.00 (new) then and who knew we should have bought 2 and played with one and kept the other in the box and never opened it!) We could sell it on Ebay or ? for at least $10,000 now! What a time it all was! I can recall a lot of Kennedy in the news...he and Jackie were indeed the glam couple of the time. She was so elegant and classy and he was so young and vibrant (no one knew then that he was hopped up on pain shots all the time for his back!) or a skirt chaser to rival Don Draper and Roger Sterling!
SCFAN, I never knew about those Kennedy dolls (I was 8 in '62), but I REALLY wanted a Barbie so bad. Never got one, they were too expensive for us. Closest I got was a Barbie patten leather lunchbox and thermos (and my Dad confiscated the thermos for work - my mother called him a "brave man" for using a Barbie thermos).
Only likeness doll I ever got (LOL) was my John Lennon Beatle doll in 1964. Sure wish I had that now! Luckily, I got to see the Beatles in 1964 at the Seattle Center Coliseum with Jackie DeShannon and the Righteous Brothers. My poor brother had to drag me along (I was 10 to his 14), and wow, what a screamfest/nightmare scene that was. I was almost trampled to death by the teenage girls!
The Cuban missile crisis was one of the biggest events of the decade for the U.S. And for the communications business, Telsar was huge. Both are good bets to be included in MM2.
Wow, JAMM54, You got to see the Beatles!!?? I would have traded all my Barbies for that! (one blonde ponytail one from the first year they came out, one black hair ponytail same, and one "bubble cut" red hair from second year) I guess it all evens out...you wanted a Barbie and I was Beatle crazy and never got to see them. I heard that was part of why they quit touring...they were mad that no one ever shut up screaming long enough to hear them anyway!
Dylan's first album was released. 'Course we got a taste of America's greatest popular artist in the last few moments of season one. But there can't ever be too much Dylan, right? I bet Midge would've crossed his path at some point.
[i]"Here's to the hearts and the hands of the men
That come with the dust and are gone with the wind."[/i]
-Dylan
@scfan: yeah, I got to see the Beatles when I was 10! I lucked out there for having an older brother liking music then (I loved music too and still do). Also got to see Jimi Hendrix in 1968 here in Seattle right after Monterey Pop. He was absolutely fantastic. Strangely, I'm still stuck on music, and my brother NEVER listens to it. Feel lucky, tho, got to see the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, Righteous Brothers, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, and a host of others before I got too old to bother. Still love 'em.
JAMM54 - 'Dr. No' wasn't released in the US until '63, so like the Beatles, we'll have to wait until next season for any reference, I imagine. Unless someone comes back from Europe having seen it, or they reference the Ian Fleming novel.
I agree with DickWhitman on Dylan... there's a nice parallel between Robert Allen Zimmerman and Dick Whitman, with both their reinvention and the cutting off of their past. While it seems pretty early to get a mention, he'd been making a name for himself in Greenwich Village for a year by the time this season's timeline starts. Elvis, of course, still dominates the charts.
JFK, NASA, Civil Rights, and mechanization will be huge influences this season. The Cuban Missile Crisis will probably be used in some climatic way at the end of this season. Also, I think that the "baby boomers" and the youth culture are definitely taking hold along with the pressure to be more efficient in your job. When did the big push in using effeciency experts take hold in American business? I noticed that Don mentioned about feeling that he was getting something done when he ate lunch at the bar. My dad was the same age as Don, and I remember that he did not like seeing the doctor either. Also, he was told by his doctor to cut down on his smoking too. Eventually, my parents quit smoking. As to the person he was mailing the book to at the end of the show, I think it might be Bert Cooper. We did not see him in this show, so I wonder if he has retired or died. Mr. Cooper was a father figure for Don. Does anyone else notice the similarities between this show and The Great Gatsby? Just wondering.