Mad Men, or White Guys Gone Wild

I’ve tried—I’ve really tried—to watch Mad Men and see what the buzz was about, if only to understand why the show has won so many awards and seems to be considered such great drama--

To coin a phrase—I don’t get it.

Yes, the setting is remarkably correct for the timeframe, and yes, the characters all seem the right degree of caricature to make the viewing entertaining.

That’s about it.

The chronic sexual hunting is slightly nauseating, the historical shuffling-aside of the women is horrifying and the closeting of the gay character is depressing. The “glacial” pace—yes, that is how it is described—“glacial”--makes me watch the clock. The lack of action makes me find other chores to fill the time.

In a word, I don’t like it.

I particularly don’t like the focus on the men—white men—who are self-indulgent and believe they can, and should, get away with anything. I dislike the grasping ambition. I dislike the cultural references to oppression of minorities, and the chronic boozing looks like a celebration of dysfunction. And the status-worshipping--that has never been a field of any interest to me, so that’s lost on me, too.

In a word, there’s no there there for me.

The demographic of Mad Men viewers is said to be white, under 50, and affluent. Poor people don’t get it. A lot of women don’t get it. It’s mainly a man’s show. A white man’s show, really. And a women-attached-to-successful-man show. It’s also a show for those who wish to look back at the early 60’s with rose-colored glasses. A time when white guys were king. A time when affluence was the perfect way to divert from inequity. A time where when something was good for the some, it was assumed to be good for everyone.

Perhaps too much cultural fantasy for me.

The show must inexorably march toward a more enlightened view of both the culture and humanity, in general. By that time, the writers will have been forced to add in more diverse and interesting characters. Till then, the show is like a diorama—frozen in time. The show’s fans like it that way, but like real life, the show must change because everything changes. Until that time, I will continue watch the show off-and-on, without much engagement, with one eye, and the plot just visible on the edge of my consciousness.
Wake me when something interesting happens.