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Talk is a public forum where you can ask questions and share your commentary with fellow Mad Men fans.
Please slow down: a humble request to the show's creators
Hello. First off, I would like to say that Mad Men is my favorite show on television; in fact, it is the only television show that I watch regularly. I came in about mid-way through last season and since then I have not missed an episode. You have achieved remarkable success on two fronts: you have achieved a very high standard of period detail and you have created excellent dramatic interaction amongst the characters. Most importantly, each element succeeds without relying on the other for secondary effect.
So many present day productions set in the 1950s or 1960s have struggled to create intelligent drama and nearly all of them have failed because they were either inattentive to detail or they allowed the period to dictate the drama rather than let the characters create it.
What concerns me is the speed at which the show is approaching the latter half of the 1960s, a period in time when this country almost shook itself apart due to its many divisions. I was too young to remember it clearly. Perhaps that is for the best, because by many accounts it was a very unpleasant time for America. And that story has been told and retold against the backdrop of a number of dramatic pretenses, mostly because it makes for easy drama. By now though, it is also very tired. We all know the story. It's been done.
Stylistically, the period detail of the late 1960s is still very prevalent and familiar in today's culture. That's what makes your emphasis on the details of the early 1960s so striking. It's almost totally unfamiliar. Having the characters interact in such unfamiliar territory allows us to relate to them without the familiar baggage of the late 1960s weighing the whole thing down and dictating the drama. So far, with only a few exceptions, you have avoided this trap. However, history appears poised to challenge you.
The show is currently moving into November 1963, and the events of that month and year are well known to many people. Some of them believe that it was those events that triggered much of the history that followed. With regard to the show's characters, I can't help but wonder what is going to happen to them as they get entangled in that history. Maybe it is better that their fates are left to our imagination.
I ask that you please consider slowing the show's time clock down and allow us to savor the unfamiliar and relish in the genuine drama a little longer.
Thanks.
Minkos, I think you feel that way because this season is almost over.13 episodes just doesn"t cut it.With this type of drama I think that it should be 90min. long. Between the commercials were only getting around 47 min and change. I know what you mean.It does seem rushed a bit....
I agree the magic of the show has a lot to do with the period. And the significant historical and cultural moments of the sixties could if treated in the Madmen storyline could turn the show into "Thw Wonder Years" Even the music of the Beatles couldn't save "Across the Universe" from tripping through the tired late sixties timeline litany killing the film despite its many visually stunning moments. "I'm Not There" the Dylan equivalent (Though far superior) was so because it focused more on the subject and his art in a creative without focusing on the events surrounding it. Perhaps these are poor analogies but I think the MAd Men are going to move through the changing sixties but I think we can count on MW to give us a fresh perspective that keeps the characters central. My parents who were about Drapers age in 63 didn't become hippies and hitch hike to California neither did most of the country.. They saw their world change though and I think the late sixties will inform the drama but not overpower it.
Minkos I agree. The last thing I want to see yet again, is a bunch of unwashed stoners with stringy hair and unmatched garish clothing. As the show progresses, leave it to Matt Weiner to not make a cliche out of that era. As JasonLloyd says, he will take on those years, but with a new look at a different angle.
*SIGH* Okay, this has been hashed out before AND Matt W. himself has commented on it. He said, quite clearly and succinctly, that people tend to forget that in the '60's not everyone was a washed out stoner with stringy hair, not everyone wore love beads and nhuru jackets, not everyone was dropping acid. And that although movies on the 60's tend to focus on that part of it, he is NOT going to.
I mean, HELLOOOO! What show do you think you're watching? The whole idea of being a hippie was to turn away from all that establishment stuff. But this show is all about the establishment. Which means that if you're watching this show to see white men in suits and ties smoking cigarettes, having cocktails, or because you like the conservative drama of what's going on in the upper levels of an ad company and behind the closed doors of a suburban home, congratulations. That's what you're gonna get. And lucky you, that establishment lasted the whole decade.
More women may come to work at SC, maybe even someone black or Jewish. But you don't have to live in terror that the show's going to change direction and have Don living on a commune with Suzanne. Ain't gonna happen. And Sally's only 10. So, unless the show jumps to '69 and Woodstock, she's not going to be doing much either outside of wearing mini skirts and go-go boots.
Will the show stay forever in that limbo of '63? Nope. It has to move on, and move along in order to keep its stories fresh and develop its characters and give them and us viewers new things to think about. MadMen isn't Gilligan's Island where the situation is forever the same and the characters never change or grow older. In fact, it's primary message is that nothing stays the same. The times will change and so will the show. You'll either like that or not, and if not, well, then it's over for you. Which will be sad, but that's its other message: Nothing lasts forever. Enjoy it while you can.
You're right, Thirteen... I feel better now. But I agree with Minkos. I hope MW doesn't jump to 1965 or 1966. A nice fast-forward (er, slow forward) to 1964 will be just fine.
People are not very bright.
Laurie B. "The last thing I want to see yet again, is a bunch of unwashed stoners with stringy hair and unmatched garish clothing." God forbid !!! They were never part of the 60s huh Laurie " Who DO you like?
This was my first post, so forgive me thirteen for not sifting through miles of talk thread to make sure this ground wasn’t covered previously.
I completely understand that there were millions of Americans who didn’t succumb to the ways of late 1960s counterculture during that time. My family and I were among them. As to the show, I know that it must progress and change, I just hope that it won’t be tempted to tread the obvious path. It is good to know that Matt Weiner has considered this issue and hopefully will apply the same deft touch as time progresses on the show. I’ll hang in there so long as the intelligent drama does.
To be honest, I really do love the suits and cars and styles of the early 1960s. That doesn’t mean I’m a terrified chauvinist, an oppressive reactionary, or that I want the world dumbed down to the level of Gilligan’s Island. But I guess that’s what some people would like to infer when your viewpoint differs from theirs.