I’m in mourning…for Mad Men that is

After watching Jon Hamm FINALLY win a Emmy last night for his portrayal of Don Draper in AMC's Mad Men, I was inspired to write this post.

The first time I saw the show was in class my 2^nd year of university. I had a wicked prof who made us study the show as part of understanding the history of the public relations industry. The show’s ability to portray a time where office minibars, sexy secretaries and dapper male executives were the norm was a perfect case study for the class titled Gender Equality in PR.

Beside the accurate sexual inequities we studied in class, I loved the authenticity of the sets, costumes and the writers’ clever tactics of intertwining historic events into the story-line. But, what made me continue to watch the show after class had ended was the self-destructive behavior of Don Draper. I tuned in week after week to watch his downward spiral of emotional turmoil.

He was a successful Ad man with a charming ability to sell happiness to his clients, but the irony was that he failed miserably at achieving it in his own life. What made his character appealing, despite his faults, was my desire to root for him. From two failed marriages to his melt down to Hershey, I genuinely wanted him to be happy and was sad for him every time he destroyed his chance.  

I think the evolution of my desire came from his relationship with Peggy. He was her mentor who rescued her from her own self-destruction and fraught for her talents to be recognized. It seemed their relationship was the only one Don got right. It was like they both knew each other’s true self-worth and never let either forget it. This relationship was always an underlining story that would pop up just when you forgot their profound history. Here is a clip that I think conveys that:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RTS8wODHf

Mad Men's ability to take brilliant writing, talented actors and skillful cinematography to make a show that viewers will never forget, is what I think the art of storytelling is all about. 

I not upset that the show ended, it had to. The beauty of this day and age is that I have Netflix’s where it has become the cultural norm to binge watch your favourite shows over and over again any time you find yourself mourning for its characters. I see a week full of Mad Men season one in my future.