I don't get "Mad Men"

[TehMac]

Originally posted by: jonks
Rome sucked also, it was just made for the Italians to look back and enjoy a time when they ruled the known world.

Are you referring to the TV series? Because if so you have no appreciation for good dialogue and a cool portrayal of history. That was a damn fine show.

Jesus, some people.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: Mo0o

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: Mo0o

Originally posted by: swbsam
I feel so dumb, my wife watches Mad Men all the time, and the critics adore the show. But I just don't get it - the writing and direction are great and all high class all around, but I find it boring.. Like a period soap opera..

I had 2 theories, chime in because I'm stumped:

1. I'm a heterosexual male, the show wasn't meant for me
2. My parents were not born here, so I don't have passed down nostalgia for the 50s/60s

It's odd that an acclaimed show does absolutely nothing for me, how about you?

It's a show for white americans that look back at those times w/ lots of fond memories

I was not alive during that time and still enjoy the show. The writing is first-rate.

The writing is good but the hook is that its set in the 60s and focuses heavily on the social mores of the time. If this show was set in modern times, itwouldnt be nearly as popular. I dont think that the viewers necessarily have to be from that time. If anything, people from that time might realize its just a caricature. But anyone who grew up hearing about it and seeing it on tv would find this show quite interesting since its reinforcing this ideailzed picture they have in their minds of what that time was like.

I dunno, its just my little theory about why this show is as big as it is.

Is it idealized? I always thought of that period as America's golden era with the post war wealth boom. I sort of envision kids being better behaved, wholesome nuclear families, hard work being rewarded with a long tenure at a company that looked out for you if you looked out for it. At the same time, I know it wasn't really like that. But the characters all seem to struggle with "WTF is the point of my life?" despite mostly being very well off and wanting for nothing. Most of them are alcoholics and seem to float through life without any real purpose. Its kind of like they've reached a goal and then said "Now what?" And families are still fucked up, there's just more shame about it.

The women are also hot as fuck. I mean, 50s-60s women's fashions were pretty nice.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: n yusef
"Mad Men" stands out with the depth and strength of its female characters. This is in contrast to the vast majority of TV and film, where women are written with little of the aforementioned qualities. This is no coincidence; 7 of 9 "Mad Men" writers are women. The OP's sentiment that "Mad Men" is not made for straight men is likely related to the strength of its women, particularly to the fact that Peggy is the most sympathetic character; the OP may have trouble identifying with her.

BTW, Mad Men shouldn't make one reminisce the early 60s. I'm a fan of the show, but "Mad Men-themed" parties and other such glamorization scare me. Do people really not notice all of the sexism, racism, homophobia, alcoholism, depression, etc.?

That probably all gets lost in the fact that both men and women dressed WAY fucking better back then.

 

[jonks]

Originally posted by: TehMac

Originally posted by: jonks
Rome sucked also, it was just made for the Italians to look back and enjoy a time when they ruled the known world.

Are you referring to the TV series? Because if so you have no appreciation for good dialogue and a cool portrayal of history. That was a damn fine show.

Jesus, some people.

reread the post I was responding to


Mad Men is an IQ test for quality tv. It's watched and enjoyed by only 3-4 million people each week. Idol gets 30 million. Do the math.

 

[TehMac]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
That probably all gets lost in the fact that both men and women dressed WAY fucking better back then.

With few exceptions the women wore some pretty fucked up underwear back then.

 

[NFS4]

Because of this thread, I went and downloaded torrents of Seasons 1 and 2. I've gotten through the first four episodes of Season 1 and I can't stop. This show is amazing and I can see why everyone is talking about it.

I just had to laugh seeing a pregnant woman puffing on a cigarette

 

[jonks]

Originally posted by: NFS4
I just had to laugh seeing a pregnant woman puffing on a cigarette

I loved it when Betty's daughter came into the room wearing a plastic bag from the cleaners over her head. Betty looks at her and says "Come here!" You think the kid is about to get reamed for nearly killing herself, but Betty scolds her, "If my clothes are lying on the floor in my closet you're in big trouble little lady!"

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: jonks

Originally posted by: NFS4
I just had to laugh seeing a pregnant woman puffing on a cigarette

I loved it when Betty's daughter came into the room wearing a plastic bag from the cleaners over her head. Betty looks at her and says "Come here!" You think the kid is about to get reamed for nearly killing herself, but Betty scolds her, "If my clothes are lying on the floor in my closet you're in big trouble little lady!"

yeah... Betty may be pretty, but she's a really terrible mother. lol.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: TehMac

Originally posted by: PingSpike
That probably all gets lost in the fact that both men and women dressed WAY fucking better back then.

With few exceptions the women wore some pretty fucked up underwear back then.

Meh, mixed bag. Yeah, you've got waist high panties and cone bras. But it seems like there's a lot more garters going on.

 

[0roo0roo]

thats the one thing i like. january jones looks hotter in oldies madmen makeup than her regular modern self.

 

[HopJokey]

Watch the first episode of "Mad Men" last night and now I am going to catch up and watch the rest of the episodes as well!

 

[TehMac]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
thats the one thing i like. january jones looks hotter in oldies madmen makeup than her regular modern self.

Yea haha, I think the same.

Originally posted by: PingSpike
Meh, mixed bag. Yeah, you've got waist high panties and cone bras. But it seems like there's a lot more garters going on.

The one episode where Draper fucks that chick in California who is European or whatever--not only was she hot as hell, but she had some interesting style.

 

[imported_Imp]

How does this show make money with only 2 or 3 sets of commercials between 16-20 minute acts. Wish Lost was like this...

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: Imp
How does this show make money with only 2 or 3 sets of commercials between 16-20 minute acts. Wish Lost was like this...

all the commercials are super high-end stuff... I think Madmen attracts one of the most affluent audiences on tv,

 

[TehMac]

Originally posted by: loki8481

Originally posted by: Imp
How does this show make money with only 2 or 3 sets of commercials between 16-20 minute acts. Wish Lost was like this...

all the commercials are super high-end stuff... I think Madmen attracts one of the most affluent audiences on tv,

Yea, their season premier was all paid for by BMW. Shows you the type of people who dig this kind of entertainment--people who like quality.

 

[Baked]

Originally posted by: NFS4
Because of this thread, I went and downloaded torrents of Seasons 1 and 2. I've gotten through the first four episodes of Season 1 and I can't stop. This show is amazing and I can see why everyone is talking about it.

I just had to laugh seeing a pregnant woman puffing on a cigarette

If the penalty for each downloaded song is $80K, how much do you think 26 episodes of downloaded TV show's gonna run you?

 

[TehMac]

depends if he gets caught. Didn't they make an example of that one girl because they knew she wouldn't be able to defend herself?

 

[Baked]

Yeah, made her pay millions for downloading some songs. I wonder how much the informant got paid.

 

[KLin]

Originally posted by: Baked
I'll forward this thread over to an RIAA agent and see what I'll get for tipping.

Nothing since the RIAA is the wrong agency. :roll:

 

[TehMac]

Originally posted by: KLin

Originally posted by: Baked
I'll forward this thread over to an RIAA agent and see what I'll get for tipping.

Nothing since the RIAA is the wrong agency. :roll:

Yea, wrong agency indeed. They're all a bunch of assholes and incompetents. Why not put your shit up on Hulu for a few extra bucks? Spread some goodwill around, people might consider buying/watching your shit down the road.

 

[TridenT]

This show is somewhat horrible.

I have watched the first two seasons and I am just starting on the third... I might quit..

But, it's like... I want Don to be a good guy and not so fucking unloyal, but all he is is unloyal. It's like... Why not just be honest or just break up with your wife? Why don't you just kick her out and do what you actually want? He obviously doesn't have a real conscience so I don't see the problem in doing it.

If the 1960s were anything like this... I definitely would hate to live there. I would be killing people left and right because of their stupidity.

 

[KLin]

Originally posted by: TridenT
This show is somewhat horrible.

I have watched the first two seasons and I am just starting on the third... I might quit..

But, it's like... I want Don to be a good guy and not so fucking unloyal, but all he is is unloyal. It's like... Why not just be honest or just break up with your wife? Why don't you just kick her out and do what you actually want? He obviously doesn't have a real conscience so I don't see the problem in doing it.

If the 1960s were anything like this... I definitely would hate to live there. I would be killing people left and right because of their stupidity.

If you're going to base what real life was like off of a tv show, you need to destroy the tv and go outside to see what real life actually is.

 

[PM650]

Originally posted by: NFS4
Because of this thread, I went and downloaded torrents of Seasons 1 and 2. I've gotten through the first four episodes of Season 1 and I can't stop. This show is amazing and I can see why everyone is talking about it.

I just had to laugh seeing a pregnant woman puffing on a cigarette

Try to beat my record of 5 days for seasons 1&2 :Q

I was not so happy that I had been missing this show for two years & hadn't seen a single ad on another network, however :|

 

[coreyb]

Watched both seasons in 3 days. Love the show!

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: PM650

Originally posted by: NFS4
Because of this thread, I went and downloaded torrents of Seasons 1 and 2. I've gotten through the first four episodes of Season 1 and I can't stop. This show is amazing and I can see why everyone is talking about it.

I just had to laugh seeing a pregnant woman puffing on a cigarette

Try to beat my record of 5 days for seasons 1&2 :Q

I was not so happy that I had been missing this show for two years & hadn't seen a single ad on another network, however :|

I took me five days to watch seasons 1, 2, and 3. I was so committed, that while on our beach trip this past weekend, I was watching parts of season two on my iPhone while I sat on the beach and my wife slept in the chair beside me -- I was just THAT into the show (it's so nice that my MediaSmart server automatically converts my videos into iPhone format so I don't have to worry about doing it myself).

I'm now totally caught up and am loving every minute. I will say though, season 3 is starting off kind of slow, but it's still awesome.