Grandiose

Patsy 2022-01-25 08:07:28

Ambitious screenwriters began to be keen to put the entire play in the cultural and historical background of great changes, in an attempt to win the "movie-level TV series" and "the epic masterpiece in the TV series". But in the portrayal of the background of the times, few films can closely interweave the background of the times with the characters and plots like Mad Men.
The whole drama is interspersed with a number of bright lines with thematic role of the times to promote the development of the plot and the transformation of the characters:
the promotion of women's status-->Peggy's career path; the awakening of feminism-->Joan's marital conflict; the western development and the rise of Hollywood -->Don's western past, Harry's career turn; the early sign of commercial globalization-->Pryce British in New York; the trend of the times such as the openness of homosexuality and the pluralism of religious beliefs, as well as cultural thoughts such as psychoanalysis and science fiction The list goes on. What's even better is that the fate of every character is limited by the era and driven by the trend. No one exists independently of the era.
In addition to the above bright lines, there are many dark lines of historical events to create specific emotions and deepen the drama of the plot itself. Let me give you two examples: the
third season of Margaret Sterling’s wedding day, Kennedy's assassination, the sad atmosphere at the wedding banquet and the sterling family drama It's fun and memorable.
After the Watergate Incident in the fifth season, drug use and wife swapping became the mainstream pastimes of the middle and high class with an empty heart. Roger and Jane were able to meet frankly after taking drugs, and agreed to divorce-you can see how miserable Roger's life is, and how he struggles to survive the blurred borders of normal and depravity, reason and impulse.
The most amazing thing is that the screenwriters reflect the times in the details. I have seen a detailed analysis of Mad Men's clothing, props, prices, and products on the forum, and I am striving for perfection in the details. A recent Mad Men review of Time mentioned that the background of the fifth season was at the end of the 1960s, when color televisions had just entered people’s lives, and the fifth season used unprecedented amounts of contrasting colors on clothing and scenery to portray the impact of this technological innovation on people’s lives. Impact. Linkhttp://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2114449,00.html It can be said that Mad Men's interpretation of the background is no longer limited to the narrative level, and there are also many innovations and processing in artistic techniques. Personally think this is still very rare in TV dramas.

Since the beginning of Mad Men's seasons, it has aroused heated discussions in the fields of business, culture and even philosophy. The profound meaning of philosophy and the insights of human nature are even more endless. Just to read the article http://www.lifeweek.com.cn/2012/0514/37186.shtml posted on Weibo by a friend , quoting two paragraphs, can Benevolence
"subtitled" mad Men and Philosophy, "a book that" none of this is they seem, "why take such a subtitle is because the relationship between the" "mad Men" characters are so rarely on the surface. The perfect couple is actually unhappy, distrustful, and unfaithful to each other; partners who smile right are thinking about each other's secrets; sweet and obedient female secretaries are the real managers. Almost everyone uses their relationship with others to achieve their own goals. The show is almost a tribute to manipulation and trickery.
" "How do advertisements manipulate people's psychology? There is information asymmetry between advertisers and consumers. In addition to conducting research and using statistical models, advertisers also use psychological research on the nature of visual perception and desire to design advertisements, and strive to penetrate the unconscious level of consumers. People manipulate their behavior without realizing it. But Don Draper doesn't seem to be the case. In the first episode, he threw Freud's impulse to death into the trash can. He rejects scientific calculations about consumer reactions and prefers to use his intuition to grasp consumer psychology. He prefers to resort to movies and poetry rather than psychological reports. He puts his own life into work. He knows Betty, but he knows Betty and this kind of rich and educated suburban housewives, not Betty herself. Betty is upset that she can be classified into one category, and she doesn't know her husband. "


Mad Men is the most ostentatious drama I have ever watched. It is not one of them, but it also has a calm, subtle and naked reality at the same time. The screenwriter is keen to use social embarrassment to compose: dining table, elevator, office, lover, boss, mother-in-law. What kind of intricate relationships hide behind the cynical faces, and how much self-esteem, interests and desires are driven by the witty words. The theme of Mad Men is the emptiness, helplessness, and loneliness after these competitions and struggles come to an end—no matter how the times change, the constant individual loneliness. Don, who is freely falling in the complex world in the opening, is this kind of loneliness in embody. Everyone is a patient, and life is full of self-digging graves.

[This article originated from the question of Zhihu: What attracts you most about "Mad Men"? http://www.zhihu.com/question/19624921/answer/14526900】

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Extended Reading
  • Coby 2022-03-24 09:01:31

    Really wonderful characters full of rich and memorable. A good drama, but I don't want to rush to watch it

  • Gabrielle 2022-03-22 09:01:28

    Well made and beautiful.

Mad Men quotes

  • Don Draper: Advertising is based on one thing: happiness. You know what happiness is? Happiness is smell of a new car. It's freedom from fear. It's a billboard on the side of the road that screams with reassurance that whatever you're doing, its okay. You are okay.

  • Don Draper: Send him in.