Mad Men’s Beatitudes

Oct 27, 2013 | By Evy Behling TC '17

Thanks to Netflix and my (non)existing free time, I’ve recently started to watch Mad Men. The show, if you haven’t seen it, presents a compelling portrait of the dark side of the early 1960s, when America’s consumer culture was coming into full fruition. The main character is the continually frustrating Don Draper, portrayed by Jon Hamm. Don seems to be searching for a purpose beyond his grey-flannel-suit job as an ad man on Madison Avenue. He’s pretty disillusioned, between his difficult childhood and his participation in World War II as a soldier. Even when his long-lost brother tracks him down, Don pays him off to stay away. He is so clearly running away from his past and from himself. Advertising, to him, is a path to happiness: