Mad Men: Back and Bleaker than Ever!

You know, writing the headline for this post suddenly caused me to associate Mad Men with Charles Dickens’ Bleak House, which is not an altogether out of line comparison. Both creations explore the values and social mores of a time period through the stories of multiple characters with interconnected lives. And though it’s hard to compare the characters of Peggy Olsen and Esther Somersen, they do have in common the fact that they are central female characters who start out as innocent and naive, are “scarred” by an unexpected event (smallpox/unwanted pregnancy), and come out stronger and more confident.You could dig even deeper to find Pete/Trudy comparisons to Richard/Ida, and on and on, but as I’m not a full-time English major anymore, and I’m not getting graded on this blog, it may have to wait for further reflection.

Anyway, as I was saying, Mad Men is back and it hurts so good. I find even the smallest scenes to be more suspenseful than a horror/thriller movie. The scene where Don’s daughter is driving with Grampa seems primed for tragedy, but nothing happens. Or when Peggy decides to smoke pot in the office. You can never predict which actions will have consequences and which will not, which is the subtle brilliance of shows like Mad Men. Every scene has the resonance of a ticking time bomb that may or may not go off.

~ by hurtfewabbey on September 8, 2009.