Mad Men Gives Us a Lovely Look at the Bad Old Days

Editor's Note: Hey Everyone ... meet Amy Kane. Amy Kane ... meet everyone. Amy will be keeping a close eye on all those cool TV shows that run on cable, shows that we think (and Amy thinks) you should know about. She gets started with our current obsession ... Mad Men on AMC. So lets all make Amy feel at home here on Film.com. Cheers!

There have been plenty of television series that take us back in time: The Wonder Years, That '70s Show, and American Dreams all played up the past for nostalgia and laughs. (Boy, things sure were simpler then! Boy, folks sure did dress funny!) The year 1960 as portrayed in Mad Men shows us the good, the bad, and the ugly. In doing so, it provides a perfect, unique, and dramatic backdrop to the characters’ stories.

From the opening credits where a suited silhouette plummets past skyscrapers constructed from advertising images in a visual reminiscent of that famous Vertigo poster, Mad Men’s art direction is exquisite. The sets, costumes, hair, and makeup are all flawlessly chosen to evoke the time period. If I were channel surfing and stumbled across a scene in which I didn’t recognize any of the actors, I would easily be fooled into thinking I was watching something filmed in the '60s.

The Hitchcock nods continue too. Betty Draper, played by January Jones, looks like a perfect "Hitchcock Blonde” in the mode of Grace Kelly or Eva Marie Saint. As we delve further into the mystery of who Don Draper is the suspense increases: the audience hasn’t been permitted to know Don well enough to know what he is willing to do to protect the life he’s created for himself. (Were you certain he wasn’t going to shoot his little brother in episode 5 instead of offering him hush money? I sure wasn’t.)

Thematically, Mad Men is all about hiding the truth. The characters are not just selling products, they are selling themselves -- to their co-workers, their spouses, and the world at large. Women were becoming more accepted in the workplace, but were subjected to a double standard that makes today’s glass ceilings look very fragile indeed. Sure, it was possible to progress based on brains and creativity, but you could blow it if you chose the wrong dress or shade of lipstick. The men don’t have it much easier. Bluster and bombast are in constant conflict with the formation of real relationships.

I am fascinated by the marriages. The newlywed Pete Campbell, as played by Vincent Kartheiser seems to hardly know his bride; Don and Betty Draper lead almost completely separate lives as well. It isn’t just the time spent apart during the workday, it’s the concept of working at presenting oneself to one’s spouse. On Mad Men wives wear curlers and little makeup to visit with their girlfriends and get dressed up to see their husbands. These days it’s the other way around.

It seems fitting that Mad Men airs on AMC. This network is largely responsible for my classic film enthusiasm. Lately, they’ve been defining the term “classic” rather loosely (Die Hard With a Vengeance? Seriously?), but I have always thought of AMC as the place to go for revisiting the past.

Tonight's episode will focus on Don and Roger. Apparently, Roger is going to behave badly during a night of drinking on the town. Meanwhile, Pete continues to struggle with newlywed status.

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