Mad Men 101

Thanks to a conservative blog for peace I have become quite intrigued by with US series “Mad men”. For most Australians this is quite an unknown program, the second series being premiered this Sunday night on specialized broadcaster SBS, leaving us well behind the US which is currently airing the fourth series.

For those who don’t know, Mad Men takes place in the early 1960’s, varying its setting between the main characters Advertising office workspace, their homes and social lives. As the series progresses we discover that the characters are not at all what they seem, both outwardly and inwardly, as we journey with them through the historical events and changing social patterns which have influenced so much of our modern culture.

It is this historical element which captured me. The ways husbands, wives and children inter-related. The constant smoking and drinking. The more relaxed pace of life. Infidelity and the subsequent risks and consequences. Psycho-analysis just beginning to enter the main stream. The fashion - men in suits, ties, hats and cufflinks. Women in dresses and smarts suits. No seatbelts. Jazz. Dope. Cars with fins. Summer family holidays. The attention to detail is quite startling and creates a convincing sense of time travel.

Being a 60’s aficionado, it didn’t take much to pull me in, but what is so clever about Mad Men is that unlike the “Wonder Years”, no rosy pictures are painted, life is seen as it was with all its complexity, shortcomings, joys, hopes and dreams. Despite its lack of any deep morality or unselfishness, watching Mad men leaves me with a wistfulness for that time and perhaps unrealistically, for a way of living which seems to be long since gone.

What do I think I am missing, either in reality or mystique? People being concerned with dressing well, and actually considering another human being. Opportunities for real  interaction, with offices that socialized and families that did things together. Kids having time to BE kids and play outdoors and with each other, rather than staring at screens. The world being a new place and new science and thinking changing and improving the life of the ordinary person. Travelling by public transport and having time to think, to ponder and reflect.

Maybe I am a romantic, but it seems like it was easier to live this way in the past. The next question is a common one these days - Can we reclaim them somehow? In this, like most things, I am a moderate. The past is not all unwaveringly good and I certainly wouldn’t like to live without many modern conveniences. But I can try and live with more space and with humanity, leaving time for me and for others. I can enjoy simplicity for its own sake. I can live my own path.