An Analysis/Review of "Mad Men"

by: James Southworth
Rating: 5/5 Stars

TV shows can be a pretty tricky business, as they are in considerably larger numbers than movies are. On one hand they can be an advantage, giving characters more depth and a lot more story lines and themes. On the other hand, a bare bones plot can lead to a lot of filler episodes, or even worse, the show could be cancelled. So to say good TV shows are a dime a dozen is an understatement. Finding truly great TV shows is harder. But looking for the classics- it's nearly impossible. I'm going to contend in this part analysis and part review that "Mad Men" fits that tier of classic TV shows that should be viewed by everyone. I will attempt to prove that in both reviewing the show as a whole as well as giving an analysis of my five favorite characters.

When I first started "Mad Men", I wasn't sure if it would be the show for me. It felt in the pilot like a pretty straight-forward drama: a man named who had taken on the fake persona of Don Draper after being dismissed from the armed forces attempted to hide his secrets by having a perfect family and working for the very profitable advertising agency "Sterling Cooper". But by the end of the pilot, I was absolutely hooked. Why? Because not only was Don Draper a very interesting character, but a plethora of other very interesting characters were introduced as well. I knew that this would be a show I'd want to watch through. But interesting characters were not the only thing this show had in abundance.

I could honestly go on and on about all the thematic arcs this show has which are shown in very clever ways. A big pervading part of the show is about how the human condition is to show what seems to be there rather than what actually is there. This even directly correlates to advertising- which makes one wonder, is advertising a result of that aforementioned human condition, or is the human condition a result of advertising? Whatever the case, that idea is there, and Don Draper might embody it best. He is practically a living advertisement, always looking to people like a well-adjusted man who can do everything and has the perfect life. But underneath it all, Don is not at all who he says he is. His name isn't even Don, it's Dick. His mother died at birth, he was raised poor under a prostitute. But, for a majority of the show Don is able to keep his secret because people don't ever look past the facade, a pretty direct commentary on how problematic that can be for us. Don isn't the only character like this, however. Joan Harris seems to be just the right secretary: sexy to the men and swaggering to the women. However, underneath, she has a lot of insecurities of her own. Pete Campell looks confident and happy as a privileged inheritor of a lot of money, but the audience sees he's actually a spoiled, entitled brat who will never get just what he wants. I could go on and on, but I think you get the point.

This leads nicely into the next big theme, which is that happiness is not going to be an always present force no matter how hard you try for it. Don is always looking for meaning in his life, and can't even seem to realize he already has it in a family that really cares for him. So, he finds his happiness in often destructive ways, going into affairs with many, many women. But at the end of it all, he really had nothing to show for it with two divorces, losing his children, and being more alone than ever. Betty Draper simply defines her happiness by the nuclear family, and when she finds out Don's secret, she moves on to another man, but instead ends up overly bitter and on a metaphorical island of her own unintentional design. Peggy Olson is consistently trying to revolutionize her role as a woman by getting to the top of the ladder, but when she gets all the way there she still simply wants more. Director Matthew Weiner shows how all of these characters haven't ever come to the realization happiness isn't always there, and because of that, there are consequences to the extreme actions they'll take to get to try and achieve permanent happiness.

However, in the midst of these dark themes, there are still redemptive lights that shine through the cracks. Weiner also convincingly shows how all humans do deserve some form of satisfaction (which isn't the same thing as happiness). We sympathize for Don when he fails an advertising pitch, is divorced to Betty, but we're happy when he finds some consolation with Betty and a new wife in Megan Draper. However, the very fitting ending they gave for Don was not finding happiness in another person or in work, but rather in getting in touch with himself. Though Pete might seem entitled, we do still see an affectionate side to him for his wife Trudy and his daughter. Even Roger Sterling, who can be the embodiment of sexist, racist, and homophobic, still has a lot of humanity in him when he sees the potential for fatherhood and having a true relationship with one woman that won't just be a trophy wife.

In the setting of an advertising agency, Weiner is also able to bring across a dark time in human history when sexism, racism, and homophobia were all too prevalent, and he often shows the darkest parts of it. At the beginning of the show, men are the only ones in leading positions at the agency, while women take the role of secretaries. It seems that everyone is satisfied with where they are, but one comes to quickly realize that is far from the case. Peggy wants something more than being a secretary, she want's to let her creativity show. Joan wants to be known as something rather than the bombshell secretary. Sal is in an extremely sad state as he has to endure homophobic slurs and keep his sexuality hidden. When black characters appear in the show (who are women as well), they are all shown as wanting to have more of an influence in their culture. It can often be painful to watch all of these things, but it's also important that we remember a time when this stuff existed. Women get all of the blame in an affair. Joan is made to sleep with a client so that the advertising agency can get him. Betty is consistently frowned upon in her divorce, even though Don was the problem, and this makes her a rather bitter character. When it's found Sal is gay, he is fired from the agency without another care about him. Roger wears blackface in one of the more shocking moments of "Mad Men". Black characters are more likely to get fired in the show than any other.

Not only does this show excel at all of its themes, it also delivers the episodes in some pretty awesome ways with all of its visuals. The cinematography of the show is absolutely beautiful. The show also simply looks and feels like it took place in the 60s with timely costumes, set pieces, and dialogue. Speaking of dialogue, there are so many memorable lines in this show, so many I invite you to watch the show to witness them. Dialogue is beautifully done and beautifully delivered. There are often very interesting camera choices used to evoke a mood. There are many episodes which use their visuals to a risky degree, and it always works. For example, in "Far Away Places", easily one of the best "Mad Men" episodes, Roger Sterling and his estranged wife get high on LSD and some clever camera tricks are used to show their bizarre drug trip.

Now, on to the main event: the acting. What can I honestly say but that the whole cast is pretty much pitch perfect? Every member presents a character that is so multi-dimensional and intriguing to watch that each of them deserves a spin-off show. So much can be said about each. However, I'm going to highlight my five favorite actors/characters and give an extended commentary on each of them. They deserve it. So here, they are, in order of favorite to least (although I love all of them):

Peggy Olson (Elizabeth Moss)

 If there's one character that the audience can really pick out to root for and see as perhaps the least corrupt main character, it's Peggy Olson. We start with seeing her as an ambitious young secretary who simply wants to do her job well. As the show goes on, we see so much of Peggy. We see her inner conflicts with giving away her child. Just as important are her ambitions, and I always wanted to see her get to them just because of how enthusiastically she pursued them. It seemed that unlike some of the other characters in the show, societal hindrances did not stop Peggy from moving forward with inspirational determination. By the end of season 6, Peggy is walking into a national advertising agency in what is one of the most awesome transformations I've seen in a character. It put a huge smile on my face. Elizabeth Moss plays this character beautifully, showing each subtle texture of her character gracefully. I personally think she has portrayed one of the best women characters on television, one that is very complex and contradicts the roles that women are often put in. It was absolutely refreshing to see a woman character who was just as interesting, if not more, than her male counterparts.

Don Draper (Jon Hamm)

 I feel that it's sort of fitting to put Don right next to Peggy, as in some ways he is a mirror image of Peggy, while in other ways he's the exact opposite. Don is right up there with Walter White as one of the most iconic characters on television. He was the person that got me at the very least intrigued in the show in the opening shot with him talking to a black man (which seemed odd given the time period, but I see now it was purposeful). There's so much to Don right from the beginning, and the audience gets to witness pretty much everything about him, which makes the audience love and hate him. That is what makes him a great character to me, though. He feels like a real person, someone you could meet on the street, not like just a television character. To me, his redemption at the end of the show was the most refreshing,as I felt he really did deserve happiness, and I was glad he found meaning in life. Jon Hamm is simply an incredible actor. He delivers all of his character's dialogue just right, and his facial expressions speak volumes. Don might be one of the best character studies presented on television.

Sally Draper (Kiernan Shipka)

 I would've never guessed Sally would be one of my favorite characters at the beginning of "Mad Men", as I just viewed her as one of Don's children, nothing more. But as the show progressed, Sally became her own entity, and she is the character that went through the most changes. She started in the show as an innocent child, but by the end she was a bold teenager who became the leader of her family. Though a lot of her childhood was tragic because she was, in fact, a child of the Drapers, it was inspiring to see her move past all of that and even still find love for her dad and mom. She was a primary witness at how flawed both of them were, but still she loved them and became an independent woman in the process. I was a little worried for Sally at one point that she could be a sociopath, but she was even able to move past what seemed a destructive stage. Kiernan Shipka is one of the best child actors, hands down. Shipka showed everything that was demanded of her. This character would be a hard one to portray, but she did it with grace. She really felt like the heart of the show.

Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks) 

If it isn't evident yet, I really love the women characters of this show, and now Joan is being added to the mix. Much like Sally, I didn't think much of Joan. She really just seemed like the sexy character. But she became so much more- in fact a lot more. Perhaps the first evidence of this was when she got in a serious relationship and ended up raped and pregnant. However, instead of breaking down, she became empowered and proudly raised a son who she loved with everything in her. She is not afraid to show her emotions, but she is also not weak. Most would view letting your emotions all out as a weakness, but Joan turns it into her best strength. She is certainly nice to look at, but I saw her as above just her body image- she was beautiful on the inside, too. Christina Harris plays both the emotional and strong parts of her character in an incredibly balanced way. How could one not simply root for Joan to get her happiness when she already became empowered in her hardships?

Pete Campell (Vincent Kartheiser)

I do know a lot of people probably view Pete as a spoiled, entitled man-child, and that is one part of him. I would argue it's a result of how he was raised, with both of his parents not really being all that great. And besides being spoiled, I see Pete as simply being in a broken, tragic state. Through a majority of the show, it seemed pretty obvious to me Pete would never be happy. He had success, but he wanted something more, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Even when married, Pete was bitter and got into an affair which ended in a divorce with his wife. But in his spoiled demeanor, there was something oddly charming about it to me. I found it hilarious a lot of the times, and a lot of his dialogue was very memorable, as he said some of the most ridiculous things but never realized it himself. Vincent Kartheiser embodied this character just right, never making the character antagonistic, and in the end he made the audience glad Pete got a happy ending.

And there you have it. "Mad Men" is probably right at my second favorite show of all time, only being slightly beaten by "Breaking Bad". I couldn't recommend the show enough. It's smart while not being pretentious, has some great and consistent thematic arcs, and realistic characters that all deserve character studies and should be a part of any school teaching how to make good characters. Matthew Weiner made a masterpiece in this TV show, and it's one that I believe will be remembered for years to come.