YES! I've thought that from early on.

His life is so screwed up.....lying from the very start about who he is and everything he does. It would just seem fitting for it to end
tragically that way..

That can't happen.Matt Weiner is planning on having this show for 10 years and the Don Draper character is crucial to the show. But, it would be nice to see him delve deeper into his problems and maybe have a re-ocurring dream that he's falling which he is.

Isn't it great that the Main Title Design won an Emmy?

Even though Jon Hamm has said in Season 1 dvd audio commentary about the opening credits: "there I am falling", I don't think it portends Don Draper committing real suicide. I can see it having a figurative meaning, like a death of his identity and his being, but not real suicide.

We are already watching the figurative fall Don is taking. He is down a few stories from the roof, after Betty kicked him out, but he has many more to fall before he takes action. He is self destructive, but not in a suicidal way, imo.

Sometimes an opening is just an opening. I think it is supposed to allude to being overwhelmed by false promises, etc.
Great opening, but Don thinks too highly of himself to take the coward's way out.
Now Duck, he may be pushed to suicide. We'll see

My thoughts were the same as jamm54. I think its symbolic of the *real* Don Draper (Dick Whitman) dying to his former life.

I don't know, now. Someone brought this up in another talk, and when they laid out all their points, maybe (sadly) this is Don Draper's destiny at the end of this series - suicide. If you've ever watched the opening credits in slow motion, his office crumbles down around him, and he's out the window falling past all the advertising images/slogans for wife/family, alcohol, the American dream, partying, sexy girls, etc. (only thing missing is tobacco which they probably couldn't get on there because of today's FCC standards). Maybe Don, when he can no longer move forward in his life, will commit suicide some day.

Don is a survivor for all he has experienced, I do not see him committing suicide.

FYI-people who resort to suicide are NOT cowards. They are distraught and hopeless to the point that they see no other way out. They are to be pitied for not being able to hang on just a little longer. Shame on you and your prehistoric mind set.

Redhead64, how do you know what people who commit suicide think? Unless you have a PhD in psychiatry, your opinion is no more valuable than anyone else's. Hanging on a little bit longer is not useful for someone suffering with chronic pain or a terminal illness.

Don is never going to commit suicide. He loves his life too much and Episode 8 will not be the end of Don. He will figure out a way to get out of the dog house with Betty - she loves him even though she doesn't trust him and she knows the kids are crazy about him. Don is a survivor. He has carved out a life with another man's name and anyone with that kind of drive does not commit suicide.

Falling is a common fear, I believe but am not sure it is associated with fear of losing control. It's one of the most common dreams people have, in all cultures. I have always thought that the graphic refers to Don's fear of losing the life he has built on a lie.

chopin47: EXACTLY my point-they are ill NOT cowards. And how do YOU know what people who commit suicide think? My opinion is just as valuable as anyone else's on this forum . . . even yours.

The "falling man" as I've posted elsewhere ends up seated comfortably, not splat on the ground. It's a long drop, signifying many changes flying past him but he doesn't drop into a black hole of oblivion.

Hi Nora! Is it true? We may have Mad Men for 10 years at least? That would be incredible!!!

Hi Redhead64! You are right about people who commit suicide. I can't imagine what it feels like to have no one, nothing to look forward to, and to be filled with such despair that death would be your only option. I do know from Psycho-Socio. courses that I have taken, and from 30 years of working in a people oriented profession, that there are many reasons people choose to end their lives.
Sometimes, it's to find peace, sometimes to end physical or mental pain, sometimes to control their bodies when faced with chronic/terminal illnesses. Sometimes it is accidental, and unfortunately sometimes it is an attention seeking behavior.
I learned in college years ago that sometimes when people are clinically depressed, and then placed on anti-depressants, they begin to feel stronger, and more active. This isn't always a good sign though, this is the most dangerous time because now the person can plan, and carry out the suicide. We may look at them and say "gee the person is getting better", and they may be, but they need to be watched and listened to closely.
OK, enough of that for tonight...

Thank you 60's child.

Love your Charlie Brown motif. Did you ever get the duplicate username situation corrected?

I wasn't equating the possibility of Don committing suicide with cowardice. Having known two people who have committed suicide (one a relative) it's not about cowardice, it's about depression and mental illness. Can't think what else it would be about.

The only place I see Don being a coward is about the "truth", and being incapable of telling it to anyone, not even himself.

The surprising thing about the two suicides I've known is that they were both women, and they used the same method (gun in the mouth).

Hi jamm54: I hope you did not think I was referring to you. My original post was to Fooksie.

No, I didn't think you were redhead64, I just wondered where that even came up relating to the falling.

I'm glad you think Don wouldn't commit suicide, that just makes me want to cry. Even though Don is a messed up individual, I hope that's never his "out" in this series - I can't think of anything worse as an ending to his life story.

I'd rather see Don be an aging lothario, an alcohol, and cardiacing than the alternative! At least he'd still being going "forward", no matter how crappy the path that his forward takes! LOL

I'd rather see Don be an aging lothario, an alcoholic, and cardiacing than the alternative! At least he'd still being going "forward", no matter how crappy the path that his forward takes! LOL

Hmmm.

I wonder if it's literal though. I don't think it is. It could just mean that the status-quo is plummeting, which could make sense given the time period, but it could also say something on a more personal level about the lives of the men on the show and what might ultimately happen to them one way or another. And, like Auburn Annie has indicated, the falling man ends up seated on a chair quite comfortably...so how much will really change ultimately?

60'schild,
That's what Matt Weiner said in an early interview. That he wanted his characters to evolve through the years and he planned for Mad Men to have a 10 year run. I'm sure this show will have a long run. It just gets better and better. Matt also indicated that it's so great to be working with a network that gives him such creative freedom, thus, all the innovative ideas,story lines, risk taking and great acting. Interesting how HBO passed on this show the first year. The second year they were begging them to come back but loyalty to AMC made it prohibitive. And they are thrilled to have such creative freedom and be in the book of firsts for successful shows on basic cable that will set a trend I'm sure.

10 years of bliss-OMG can hardly contain myself-let's hope it happens!

I don't think that the man in the opening is jumping from the building on purpose or committing suicide. Before he falls, his office, the world around him dissolves and falls apart around him. I think this is symbolic of how the world of the ad men (advertising and the ideas they sell) are made up of mere fantasies and lies that they sell as truth. Nothing is real or has substance. This fake world falls apart and so he falls with it. The fall is also about lack of control. Don especially is about false truth. He created this whole life for himself that is based on a bunch of lies, and while he has been supremely good at keeping it all together thus far, one day he is bound to lose control and fall apart. The fall is like a "fall from grace" - the lies and other destructive behavior will eventually lead his "perfect" life, his little Eden, to be destroyed.

I don't think it forshadows anything. I think it supposed to a metaphor for a man spiraling out of control and the depths to with advertising will sometime sink to.

By the way, the opening reminds me of one the Hitchcock movies, To Catch a Thief, I think.

The opening show of Season One had Don on top of his game, on top of the world, life was good. Was that as good as it gets for him? Does his life take a downward dive from that day in 1961? And if so, was there one point where the downward fall began? Was it something as easy to miss as the man speaking to him on the train and using the name Dick? Or was it when he ran in a panic to Rachel? Is there ever just one thing that throws a life out of balance?

Well, the main advertising campaign for Mad Men's caption is "where the truth lies"...

Hanna is right.

Hi redhead64! I hope I didn't get too deep with the suicide topic...I tend to get carried away at times about things I am passionate about. Like Mad Men!!
Thanks for asking about my user sign in name. Clayton Neuman responded to my concerns very quickly and took care of the name mix up.
And, thanks for the Peanuts comment!
I also really like your redhead picture!

jamm54, I am very sorry for the loss of your family member and friend.
My wish for people who experience such a loss is that there is some peace.
Sometimes the person who commits suicide doesn't leave reasons why. The people left behind are left feeling guilty (I should have seen this coming), or constantly wondering why it happened.
I hope you have found that peace.

60'schild: you can get as deep as you want! The redhead pic is a young Ann Margret. She's one of my favorites!

jamm54: I too am sorry. You have more insight into the subject having been so directly affected by it.

hanna: great analysis!

Thank you both for your condolences. Oh yeah, it's devastating when someone does that. I can understand the despair and depression, and also how alone they can feel when they do something so irreversible like commit suicide.

I'm glad though, that everyone pretty much feels Don Draper isn't a suicide type. I hope that is never part of anyone's story on this series, that's for sure!

I think the one positive (horrifying as it sounds), is that in several articles I've read about suicide (in this case people who survived jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge) is that EVERY single survivor of that jump said the MOMENT they did it, they knew it was a mistake. That no problem warranted death as an escape. In the case of the two people I knew, they used a method that had no survival alternative, so......

Okay, back to the beauty of MadMen's opening graphics which are superb, symbolic, and beautiful - like so many Hitchcock movie opening sequences!

Someone said it earlier, that Advertising is made up of mere fantasies and lies that they sell as truth. Don is one of the best at this. Isn't Don's job going to affect other aspects of his life? The writers show in every episode how advertising infects and infilitrates all our lives in one form or other. Don Draper is so immersed in this industry that it bleeds over into the rest of his life, his personal philosophies and ideals, which is making him decend slowly down into an Abyss. The lies started with his identity, continues and is stoked by his career in Advertising, and over to his family life which is a false portrait of the American Dream which he is complicit at selling. I don't believe the opening scene is a literal portrayal of someone committing suicide. It seems to represent more of a figurative fall from grace, but if I could choos who it would be, I'd vote for Pete Campbell.

Pete Campbell has been kind of dormant this season. Other than his father's death and his wife's infertility, he hasn't been weaseling around much in the office. I miss him, but I could see almost all of the guys at Sterling Cooper being the ones figuratively falling out the window. The least "conflicted" person being Ken Cosgrove.

I miss the weasel too! I know Don always tries to put Pete in his place, but I never wanted him to break his spirit. Even with the encounter with elevator blonde, he's definitely been weasel-lite this season. He needs to develop some sort of habit or addiction that makes him steal from SC or something. With the sad way he tried to get Pegs to have a conversation with him only to be rebuffed and the way he looked at Don this week, waiting for an invite to the party, he seems more like a lost puppy dog than a weasel.

Well, even in this week's episode, where Harry came up to the table to ask the guys something about his tv department only Ken, Paul and Sal were hanging around, but no Pete. So, I don't know what's up that Pete hasn't been part of the "guy pack" lately. They used to practically move in the background scenes like a wolf-pack, but Pete's been unusually absent.

During one of the Season 1 commentaries on the DVD, Christina Hendricks mentions that Weiner had written into the show that Harry commits suicide. But, he (and everyone else) loves Harry's character (and the actor, Rich Sommer) so much they dispensed with that story line.

She didn't say what Weiner will do with that detail, now. They leave further speculation to whatever we can make-up to make it rational or fit our storylines.

.....I love Harry. Taking him out of the story would leave a big hole. Besides, his anguish seems to have passed and things are looking up for him, with the new promotion and responsibilities and the baby.

At the risk of repeating myself, my take on the opening animation is that, like any person living a double life of lies, Draper is free-falling through his life, without a net. Living on the edge.

I also agree with some of Hanna's ideas in regard to the advertising. Love those opening credits.

Thanks greytone for all the great research and background information. i thought i was pretty observant, but there are some real brainiacs on here, and i'm constantly surprised by the things i miss on the show. good lesson!

I miss 'The Weasel' too! I can't wait to see the look on his face when he finds out that he has fathered a child with Peggy! It has to come out... maybe not this season, but it has to. People like Pete are all around us. All of us work with one or more Petes so we can relate to the annoyance of someone like him. And i love when Don gives him one of his famous looks- pricless.

I love Harry Crane, too. There's a sweetness and decency about him. He's kind of your classic "nervous" guy, like a Barney Fife, though not quite. He's always "anxious" which makes him seem more human and easy to relate to.

Yeah, where is "Weasel Pete"? The guy we loved to trash? Even Don pays him no mind anymore.