If you have yet to watch Mad Men the AMC original drama, go out and watch it. NOW! It's amazingly good. I was skeptical myself until I watched the first episode and got sucked in. It takes place in the 1960's during America's hey-day of Advertising. "Mad Men" refers to the men who worked in advertising on Madison Avenue in New York City. The period detail is exquisite and they bring in a lot of cultural and technological references. It's also a lot of sex, booze and tobacco but all the characters are interesting and their individual stories along with the relationships with each other makes for amazing TV. This is exactly what we need right now in what's proven to be a very tough economic climate. During the Depression, people flocked to the cinemas to watch others live the glamorous life on screen so they could live vicariously through them. Although I think today's contemporary audiences don't necessarily need to watch other contemporaries rejoice in their wealth, we do however want to escape to another time and place where things were very different. Either a time we lived in or a time our parents lived through. I'm a firm believer in understanding the present by understanding the past. But also take this show with a grain of salt. It's an exaggeration as TV shows tend to be.
So watch it please. Season 1's DVD is available now. I just ordered mine and am anxious to receive it in the mail.
The Apartment (1960) ~ First Season. I think it's part of the foundation of the story as it also deals with affairs between men and women in an office setting. A character sees this in the theater and is affected by how Shirley MacLaine's character tries to commit suicide.
Butterfield 8 (1960) ~ Second Season. Conversation about how an old friend became a call girl and the comment was that that is very Butterfield 8.
I love this show and I'm catching up on season one. It definitely recalls the films of Douglas Sirk as well, though I doubt they will mention them.
ReplyDeleteWho knows? Maybe they'll drop a line about a Sirk film. I'm waiting to see if they mention any 60's sex comedies. When the writer and two main actors were on Charlie Rose they mentioned a few.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad so many people are getting into Mad Men! It really shows that we needed an intelligent well-done drama!
I rarely watch TV (not in a snobbish way; I just prefer movies), but I actually considered checking this show out, simply to see Jon Slattery.
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