Pop Culture for Fun

The depiction of the ’60s

Pretty much 90% of the movies done after the time and set in the ’1960s are about the war, the hippie movement, the racial discrimination still going on or biopics of political prominent figures. Mad Men doesn’t discard those issues, but rather incorporates them in what is the story of an ad agency, and most importantly one upper-class man and those around him. You’ll get a whole episode set during the events following Kennedy’s assassination, but it’s all through the eyes of the main characters. If there is one thing they do not side-step(and that’s thanks to the importance of the characters) is the status of women in the era. And it’s all told through the eyes of several women, all with different approaches to life.

Smart Writing

If there’s one thing missing on the tube these days, it’s intelligent writing. Sure, you have a couple of shows that offer constant clever episodes, like Breaking Bad, Dexter and the likes, but for each of those there’s a couple of formulaic police procedurals or reality shows. If there’s one thing Mad Men doesn’t shy away from is churning out double entendres, scenes full of symbolism and a deeper meaning in whatever the characters do or say. And there’s little to no loose ends, not to mention a tightly knit plot that manages to juggle multiple characters and devote plenty of time to each and every single one.

The One-liners

I doubt there is a single show out there capable of churning out so many fun one-liners (most of them uttered to perfection by one John Slattery). Let’s get it straight, this is a drama, but there’s plenty of humor (if sometimes dark, as evidenced by one scene involving a British man’s foot and one lawnmower). Here’s a couple of memorable ones:

• “But that’s life. One minute you’re on top of the world, the next minute some secretary’s running you over with a lawn mower.”
• “You know what my father used to say? ‘Being with a client is like being in a marriage. Sometimes you get into it for the wrong reasons, and eventually they hit you in the face.’”
• “When God closes a door, he opens a dress.”
• “We’ve got Beef Wellington, Oyster’s Rockefeller and Napoleons. If we leave this lunch alone it will take over Europe!”
• “What you call love was invented by guys like me to sell nylons.”

Christina Hendricks

Well, I shouldn’t have to explain this. Mad Men has a lot of attractive women walk in and out (Julie McNiven, Alison Brie, Peyton List to name a few), but the reigning queen is Joan Holloway as played by Christina Hendricks. To keep to the era of the time, she’s the Marylin Monroe of the ad agency. Unlike Peggy Olson’s character she doesn’t want success, but adheres more to the standards of the era (as we’ve seen her try and be a housewife), while still being a strong woman that knows what she wants and how to get it. Plus, her red hair and curvy figure are plenty to look at.

Don Draper

Played by Jon Hamm, Don Draper is at the center of the show. An enigmatic, complicated and less than perfect individual, men want to be him and women want to be with him (as painful as it were to write this cliched line). He’s a fascinating character to watch as he discovers himself, and we discover his secrets. He’s like Cary Grant met Christian Bale, charismatic yet silent, handsome yet troubled, modest yet proud (as big as an oxymoron that is). He gets so built up as a persona that the writers could make him a superhero and it wouldn’t be too weird (think about it, Don Draper fits the bill as far as secret identity names go, at least for Marvel).

“Draper? Who knows anything about that guy? No one’s ever lifted that rock. He could be Batman for all we know.”