Mad Men: Who is Don Draper?
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- Опубліковано 25 вер 2024
- Who is Don Draper? Even the protagonist of AMC's Mad Men himself cannot answer the question.
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In many ways, the Jon Hamm character is the American ideal that everyone aspires to be, but nobody really is. In the ending of the series, Don appears to finally have learned how to bridge his past and his present. But how did he arrive at this point, ready to create the iconic Hilltop Coca-Cola ad?
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ScreenPrism anything about halt and catch fire if you watch it
Twin Peaks The Return
Please do one on the David Simon New Orleans series Treme
Amazing work
make one about spike speigel from cowboy bebop
Who he is? He´s one of the most well-written characters ever. Weiner is a genious.
I would second that. Never has a character made me love him, pity him, hate him, and yearn for him to change. I think we are all Don Draper. We love ourselves, want to protect ourselves, at times loathe ourselves, and we all yearn for change at times.
HrTjernoby
On the surface Breaking Bad makes it clear that it's a criminal drama about meth cooking, which catches viewers attention effectively. Mad Men on the other hand is harder to sell since it appears to be a period drama about the seemingly legal but dull business of advertising.
Both shows have great character development behind the facade but Mad Men's viewership was stunted because not enough viewers were interested at first glance.
Genius
Tony Soprano
This reminds me of a quote I read about Cary Grant. An interviewer once told him “I wish I was Cary Grant “ to which he replied “So do I.”
Haha
That's incredibly meaningful and extremely deep.
@@AllisonChains64 Interesting because Cary Grant''s real name wasn't Cary Grant
@@NaijaCINE Okay, well I'm pretty sure that's not what Cary Grant meant.
@@NaijaCINE And I think you meant to put an apostrophe and not quotation marks.
Another visually poetic note: the series begins with a zoom-in to the back of don's head--indicative of his emotional repression and how little we know of him and his true identity--and ends with a zoom-in to his face, illustrating his harmonious self-knowledge and how far he and fans of the show have come to get to finally, truly see him for who he is.
Very insightful observation!
I don't believe this is true. The impression I got at the end is that he hasn't changed at all. That smile is not a reflection of newly acquired self-knowledge but a recognition that he can make a quick buck of this burgeoning counter-culture, which sums up his ethos throughout the show
@@JohnnyFriendly disagree. you're conflating the nature of the business he represents for the character himself. there is a darker irony to the ending's implications about consumer capitalism, but how would the recognition that he can make a quick buck inspire him at all at this point? you don't think he already knew that from the very beginning? that just doesn't make any sense. the whole scene with him embracing leanord during that meeting is figurative of his evolution; he's finally embracing the wounded, repressed, more emotionally vulnerable side to himself and his persona (dick whitman) that he's kept hidden throughout the series
@@fluff975 These are all valid points especially about Leonard which I admit bypassed me totally. Where I continue to differ is with your view that the character is separate to his business. I don’t believe you cannot separate the two. Throughout the series we see that he can only truly express himself through his business which is essentially a cynical manipulation of genuine human motives. This cynicism is so pervasive that he cannot prevent it from entering and poisoning his private life as well. So ultimately even though there’s a vague hint of salvation (empathy with Leonard) ultimately he falls back onto the easy option, conning people the way he’s done his whole life because that’s all he knows how to be.
@@JohnnyFriendly if u listen to matt weiner explain it u might feel differently
One thing that always fascinated me about Mad Men, was how some characters just disappeared from the show. Just like people in your life sometimes fall off the map. Nobody knows where they went, and everybody's too busy with their own lives to go searching for them.
Absolute brilliance!
I have done this.
They usually got fired, which was extra cringe because their character is getting fired and the actor is essentially being written off the show, which feels like getting fired.
"You're born alone and you die alone and this world just drops a bunch of rules on top of you to make you forget those facts. But I never forget. I'm living like there's no tomorrow, because there isn't one."
- Season 1, Episode 1
If Don has no past and "there's no tomorrow", what can he do?
ouidah He can either live desperately or he can be at peace and live in the moment.
That will only happen if he comes to peace with who he is and what he has done.
If he doesn't forgive himself he will paradoxically continue to engage in the behaviors for which he feels shame.
I think his behaviors are judged without being seen as symptoms of experiences he continually fails to cope with.
He has PTSD after causing and being witness to another man's death.
He was molested--a boy from a strict Christian home, that wasn't really home, was molested...that's serious shame he's dealing with...oh, and he lost his virginity to a prostitute.
Drinking won't solve his problem.
Endless sexual escapism won't work.
He denies himself love because he doesn't feel lovable.
Radical self-forgiveness and compassion for himself is his best and only shot at peace.
I want to like this again.
John Platt Lol mass shooters think like this.
One of the best lines ever.
There is an interesting parallel between how cigarette ads were gradually required to be more truthful and how Don Draper had to come clean about who he is.
Jason Lefler also he “quit tobacco” when his identity was threatened and Pete had to loose the account
Very true, this show had so much dept
I like that analogy. Like by Don being transparent to people, it’s similar to a Surgeon Generals warning about the potential hazards so people know what they are getting themselves into from the very beginning.
That's a good point. Especially that they were required to be more truthful - not that they chose to be. And, of course, Don knew the perfect strategy: shift the subject - as he's done with himself. They're no longer poisonous - they're simply "Toasted."
Timothy Mullins That was a different account, but otherwise, I agree.
“I can’t hear anything, I think it’s broken” is probably one of the most complex lines from this show, Don thinks she means he has no heart and that his heart is broken but she means that the stethoscope is broken. Wow
yes,perfect dialogue , I learn so much with that scene
Bill Kazmaier Maybe obvious, but someone had to write it...
I know I almost cried 😭
Why do you people call almost gimmicky lines like this - "complex" ?
Sure it sounds perfect, being in the perfect frame but it also sounds like some kind of pick up line.
It's cheap philosophy, maybe like a cherry on the top of a big, actually complex, multi layered, multi season cake.
@@marcusliber8865 It's a joke, everyone knows the line was supposed to be humorous
Faye Miller was such a great character. I loved how she saw through Don. I wish she lasted longer than a handful of episodes.
ZacherlJem I never liked Faye Miller but I think because I thought she was so wrong for Don based on what Don wanted. This gives me a new perspective of her.
angbable I see it as she was actually the most suited to Don because she actually understood him, right from the beginning she saw his “type”. She is a smart, independent woman that actually takes a risk in him because she does know who he is and just like everyone else, is screwed over by him.
Faye and Rachel Menken, who he couldn't fool but he never chose them
@@GX2re Oh yes he did choose Rachel.
She dumped him cause she told Don that hes a coward.
@@SardaukarNo1 what episode did Betty tell Sally that?
I've seen many shows, but Mad Men has made an impact on my life. I don't know how but it has made me accept myself as I am. I'm not comparing myself to Don, but I can understand his struggles and his alienation. Thank You, Mathew Weiner and Jon Hamm. Mad Men Forver ..
Shehzad Nawaz Same here
Yes,actually existential
So what? I was born in Cuba in 1956 where the population is majority white and we came here legally.America is the result of British Spanish, French,freed black slaves,and American Indians.Anyone who is born here has Contitutional and individual rights.The civil rights movement was organized to battle state governments that restricted black people from total citizenship.
And for this you will be much rewarded.
Best way to spend 20 minutes
RECITE YOUR BASELINE!
D D CELLS! INTERLINKED! CELLS INTERLINKED! DREADFULLY!
NO fapping still better
If you don't care about accuracy. He didn't switch dog-tags to escape poverty, he did it to escape the war.
He ended up as a 2-bit salesman.
@@SovereignStatesman Short-term yes, to escape Korea.
But long-term, he switched tags to not have to go back to his family and to be able to start a new life.
I felt the finale was poetic. In the first episode Don claims that love is something definite and devised of by ad men but by the end of the series he comes to find that love is undefinable
Yet he defines it again for a new generation...in a package.
The "I think it's broken"-"You can hear that?" moment is brilliant.
*Sterling sips a glass of whiskey*
"Who cares"
WASN'T THAT WHAT COOPER TOLD PETE WHO TOLD COOPER DON WASN'T DON BUT DICK BECAUSE DON HIRED WHATSHISFACE INSTEAD???
Pete Campbell: "The federal government."
Next day: "Campbell, Sterling, & Cooper! May I help you?"
I struggle to love any other tv show the way I loved Mad Men. No other show since then had that much complexity and subtleties. Foverer one of the best things I've ever watched.
I HAVE WATCHED MAD MEN AT LEAST 10 TIMES NOW. I GREW UP IN THE 60'S AND WAS AWARE THAT MAGAZINE ADDS TRIPLED BEFORE TV ADDS DID. AND THE CLOTHING OF THAT ERA WAS SPOT ON. IN FACT I COUNTED 21 PIECES OF FEMALE CLOTHING I ACTUALLY WORE MYSELF. MAD MEN TRUELY SET ITSELF APART FROM OTHER SHOWS BY BEING TRUE TO AN ERA LONG GONE...AND I WILL STILL WATCH IT MANY MORE TIMES...^-^..."IS IT JUST?ME THAT ALWAYS!USES ALL CAPS"...^-^...
Six feet under de HBO
@@realAfricanwithout question a top ten show I’ve seen. But come on the best ever title belongs to the wire🤷♂️you know that lad.
Its the only show I watch. It takes me roughly a year to watch the whole thing, I choose the odd Saturday night that Im in with a bottle of wine and I will watch several episodes in one sitting. Then when its all over, I just start it again. Been doing this for about four years now. Its the only show I will consistently rewatch, nothing else comes even close in terms of re-watchability.
That line that Don replies with after Betty asks, "What would you do if you were me.. would you love you?", and then he says, "I was surprised that you ever loved me." Mmmph. That ooomph is there. Good line. Good quote.
For me the most tragic part was when his brother died.
tied with when anna died. for me, anyway.
yeah that killed me, that and the moment when Sally caught him having sex with Sylvia.
I cried then, never forgave him for that. Or Lane. Cried a bit when Anna died too
Pop Gas nah the most tragic part was when Duck locked his dog Chauncey out of Sterling Cooper
When his brother died, I literally said "don't" out loud without meaning to.
Madness. Doing the same thing over and over, hoping for a different outcome. Draper’s character seemed to live by that definition. A mad man.
Well said. ❤
Really an underrated show! It seems boring at first, because it doesn't really have any typical drama happening, but the more you watch and the more you learn about characters - it's like reading the most interesting book. The music, outfits and scenes are so well-thought-through it is amazing!
Underrated? Mad Men was like the most acclaimed show on TV during its run.
Anna Draper is one of my favorite characters, I love how even through her own grief of losing her husband she’s able to help Don and be one of the only people who love and accept him for who he is. I mean think of how selfless you have to be to see through your own pain into another person’s and to help them start over.
I think she works almost like a mother figure
It's true . Her character is a touchstone. The audience can also find something constant within the changing narrative. It's an essential element
i don't think its that simple. in the early flashbacks when she ask don who are you and he responds that he is don draper she obviously knows that's a lie as she was married to Don. we never get to see those days and weeks afterward where I'm sure she wrestled with the grief and shock of her husband being dead and this imposter assuming his identity. we do see months to years later though when they are close and she gives him the divorce to marry betty. she ultimately proves to be a saint but i imagine her and don had some real tense conversations and some real soul searching to get to that point. I think for Anna, Don coming clean early and leaving himself at her mercy enabled her to be her best person about the situation and resolve to help Don. she had to know that helping him made all he was guilty of her guilty of as well but she did it anyway because i think she saw that while she did lose she also gained don so in a way her husband didn't really die but was resurrected and she could live with that.
MAD MEN IS THE GREATEST SHOW OF ALL TIME. It's the citizen Kane of TV shows. Hands down. Don't even talk to me if you disagree.
Statements like this show the person making the claim doesn't actually know why Citizen Kane is what it is for movies. Of course, it could be the person I am making this claim about actually knows this...
I'm sorry you missed watching Breaking Bad.
Oh, so I see you never watched The Sopranos.
Nitram Midnite pizza on the roof ?
That second episode of season 1 was fuckin garbage though. His secretary is boring, why the fuck the focus?
Mad Men always reminded me of the Great Gatsby. Don Draper & Jay Gatsby are both frauds who seem to have perfect lives, but it’s all an illusion. And in the end you find out that they’re sad, lonely and chasing something that they’ll never have. As classic as the Great Gatsby is I have to say I think Mad Men did it better.
Neel Aren’t we all?
its about the " imposter syndrom" . Even if he is a liar he is not a fraud. He is extremely talented. What makes him so anxius is that he is addicted to his own lies, and cant see that it`s impossible to live up to it. And that his work and actions is MORE than enough. The word " persona" is greek and literaly means " mask", in reality we all where masks in public. Don`s ( Dick) problem is that there is a dissonans in the emotions he feels to all of it. He creates the fantasy that all people who want the " american dream" chase, but he fails to see that it is just a dream and not " the american reality"
All gatsby ever wanted was daisy. Don has everything -- the perfect blond wife, kids, a good job -- but he still doesn't know what he wants to make him happy.
Differently. The Fitzgerald book puts Gatsby into a more complete context with great writing and the perspective of the narrator. Mad Men never really decides by the end what it wants to say. Does Don really ever confront his past or only disappear into a new advertising illusion he's selling himself and others?
@@JOHN----DOE Agreed. a) It´s the ambiguity. The "Happy End" showed me: Don Draper is foremost an advertising man. His crisis led him to a new advertising idea. Did he change ? We don´t know. b) I like the "Gatsby" comparison. Draper lives, Gatsby died. Gatsby had to die, because he committed blasphemy and angered the gods...by trying to turn back time. In contrast Draper was always moving forward, trying to shed the past.
What I liked about MM was I didn’t know what to expect. It took me a while to get in to the show, and it felt slow- not in a bad way, but slow and steady. And then when the revelation about Don’s past comes out it’s like wooooow! After that I couldn’t stop watching. This makes me want to watch it all again.
I felt the same exact way when I watched it for the first time
to me, i always felt like that show was about men who can never be happy with what they have, as they can't really understand what it is that they're looking for in the first place
tal that applies to most humans
I ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY AGREE...^-^...
he's the most complicated man in television. That's who he is.
He’s not complicated. Just broken.
@@whxsleo9532 both
I miss Mad Men. Very good analysis of Don Draper.
We do too! And thanks
Who doesn't
Such a good show and an interesting character.
“Who are you supposed to be?” What a powerful moment
Carousel pitch is one of the best scenes I have ever seen on television
Scene was gold
Particularly as a child of a 40-year Kodak employee, I agree. What a different universe.
“...that confirms there’s hope for this new Don after all.”
I guess you could say that it’s a... new dawn.
I’ll show myself out.
Insomniac DaydreamzZz yes please do. There the door.
That was some top-notch stuff right there, ScreenPrism. You caught my attention some time ago with a Twin Peaks video, and I'm being consistently amazed ever since. Keep up the good work!
Thank you!
Yes do a twin peaks
They did one, look it up :)
The depth of this show and the well written characters is absolutely amazing, easily one of the best shows ever made.
That was a truly wonderful analysis of my favorite series ever. Loved it!
Don Draper is one of the best TV characters of all time.
Mad men was a true blend of tv and art. And don was highly flawed. We love him for it. One of the best TV shows ever.
I remember watching this show and thinking, how can they be so calm, when all they want to do is scream.
Amazing. Although it’s slightly depressing for me, to realize, just how superficial a film viewer I am. 90% of these things would never have occurred to me, even though I watched that show 3 times. I mainly just think about the main storyline and maybe a little about the different characters...but all that symbolism and the deeper meaning of certain scenes....totally beyond me, unless someone points it out 😏
Rara Avis Actually, by you having that incredible insight about yourself shows you're not superficial. I think that by not being dragged by over thinking the writer's symbolism shows what a in-the-moment person you are and doesn't make you shallow but present in the now.
I'm right there with you lol. But like Kerry C. says, I'm pretty sure that point of self-knowledge is a sign that we're gradually starting to wade into those depths.
And I think some of these theorists watch a series 10x over, anyway lol
I was a lit major and apparently rarely apply that to ... anything. I feel like everything goes over my head.
I can do without the typical American guilt and self-deprecating tone. C'mon, every country has had some shady past, but America has one of the most solid and moral history. Stop hating America.
@@sambee4927 What are you referring to? No one mentioned America but you...?
This breakdown was AMAZING! So detailed and spot on. Made me notice things I overlooked in the show .
Thank April!
This video was so spot on, that I barely noticed it was 17 mins long. Amazing breakdown of one of the all-time complex character of a classic television show.
Not an easy one to pull off, but you guys were just awesome! Great work guys.
Yeah. They've been awesome on this!
I've always thought that Jon Hamm must have some serious personal demons that he used in his performance as Don Draper. He *seems* so different from Don in interviews, a friendly, charming, and incredibly funny guy, but the intensity of portraying the ugliness inside of Don makes me think it's partly a persona. There are scenes of Mad Men where there are close ups of Don's agonized face so deep in despair, self-loathing, and hatred that it's almost repulsive, and I wonder just how much of that is acting on Hamm's part. I hope a lot.
I don' know much about Jon Hamm, but he struggled with alcohol too, went to rehab not long ago. And there was something perfect about him being an unknown actor before- because the role couldn't have been cast better. Rather like how Don comes from nowehere to be the hot shit ad man everyone in the industry is drooling over.
I didn’t think about this and it makes me admire Jon Hamm so much more. I am incredibly proud of someone who can channel their own internal pain into something as beautiful a work of art as the show Mad Man. That is the mark of a true artist. Turn something deep dark and depressing into something light hopeful and beautiful in this world.
I also feel like this role was very emotionally and psychologically demanding for anyone.
He was an English teacher too-Jonn Hamm.
Jon Hamm lost both of his parents before the age of 21. He has some serious demons in his past and he probably took this into the role.
Is there hope for Don? My impression of the final scene was that he was turning his "awakening" into another source of money (= old habits), rather than evolving past it. That people don't really change, and that Don's only hope is to just continue as he was before, but with special enjoyment of the good moments, knowing that the bad moments will inevitably follow.
Asehpe --While I agree, generally people don’t change, they can become ‘grown up’ enough to accept themselves and find a measure of peace. That isn’t about money, it’s the genuine description of success.
Remembering that FANTASTIC scene where the man in the therapy session describes being unknown ‘like being in a refrigerator when the light comes on’ and breaks down and we see Don recognize the same grief and loneliness and hug his fellow sufferer. It shows that empathy he has used physical closeness to imitate, he finally shows ‘the real thing’.
I think it’s ambiguous - you can read it as hopeful (don finds zen) or cynical (don commodifies his emotions AGAIN) - that’s the beauty of it
Def..even Jon hamm said he doesn't think don draper has a happy ending
I cannot imagine anyone besides Jon Hamm playing this character...we all have a bit of Don Draper in us
God i wish more people watch this show, and really appreciate the beauty of show about of identity. Instead of only watching GoT and saying that Game of Thrones is the best show ever.
Honestly, I understood the ending in a very different way. Definitely pessimistic.
I don't think Don Draper has found inner peace. Actually, I think it's just another of the many occasions that he thinks he finds himself and, in the end, he will end up falling at the same point as always: loneliness.
I've always thought that throughout the show we can see Don having a lot of, let's say, "revelations," inviting him to change course. The moment when he goes to the beach of LA after visiting Ana, when he has Cooper's vision dancing, telling him that the best things in life are free, even when he does the carousel campaign. And yet it never changes.
I think the final chapter of Mad Men shows Don Draper receiving his latest and definitive revelation, the one that already has to do with peace and fullness, and he decide to sell that to the world through Coca Cola. He doesn't sell happiness anymore, but a false peace that can only be achieved through consumption. And that's just impressive.
Anyway, that's just my interpretation.
Exactly!
I loved Joan's video, and was so excited to see Don up here today! THANK YOU! Of course, now that I've seen it, liked it, do Betty! or Roger! MOAR!
Thanks! Glad you liked it. We are working on more Mad Men character studies
I related so much to Sally in her relationship with her father. I personally think Mad Men is the greatest TV show ever written. It's got the doom and gloom, but it's hopeful. I feel so cheesy...but Mad Men changed my life.
You did touch on the scene where Peggy has a break-down ending up in a psychiatric ward. With quiet concern, he says to Peggy, “I want you to get out here as fast as you can.. You have no idea how quickly they all forget this as if it had never happened.”
This simple way to survive a crisis has served Don Draper well and he makes it a gift to Peggy...
Don reminds me of my father, it's a little uncanny how similar they are. My father lived during that time period, though he would have been Pete's age instead of Don's, as he was born in the mid 1930s. My father also had the image...the looks, the dapper suits, women fell for him against their better judgement. But what was most like Don about him is that he also basically erased his past and revealed so little about himself to the people around him. He had a poor upbringing, but became somewhat wealthy doing pretty much what Don did (not necessarily the profession, but the conning). He knew a lot of people, but none on anything deeper than a surface level. When Sally tells her father that she doesn't know anything that about him, that sums it up. After my father passed, I realized how little I knew about him, how little my mother knew. I have the pictures of him from the 1960s...standing there in his tailored suits and smiling, holding a drink, behind the wheel of his latest expensive car...and it feels like looking at a stranger.
andromedastar
People think their children are their legacy when it’s actually how your children will remember you that is the legacy.
I took the ending to mean that Don Draper hadn't changed one bit and "inner peace" was just another con that he used to sell fizzy drinks.
I've just watched you're Joan Holloway and Betty Draper videos and now this one and they are all so very good. I loved Mad Men and the people at this channel seem to understand it so well. Watching these videos is like the perfect companion piece to the show, they're exactly what a fan needs when they finish the show but want more. Keep up the great work.
“I was surprised you ever loved me.” 😭😭😭💔💔💔 Don was not a good man, and he hurt a lot of good people. But deep inside was a sad little boy who grew up believing he was unlovable. It’s not right but sadly hurt people hurt. The best thing Don could have done was let the physiologist help him. But he chose fear and his false mask ego instead. It’s a tragedy.
I'm so happy these clips exist. Everytime I miss Mad Men I see them here on You Tube. Please never take them down.
great video! when you spoke about his amnesia, it struck me that he was a veteran of the Korean war, also referred to as "the forgotten war"
The broken heart bit is such clever writing my god
I'd almost forgotten how good he was in that role - he knew Don inside-out
Don is a fascinating character and a horrible father and husband. I like that he isn’t written to be likable but because he’s a walking advertisement, we as the audience still continue to see what he wants us to see even after we know he is not who he says he is. Weiner is a thoughtful man. Thoughtful writers write toasting stories.
And this is one of the reasons why people fall in love with this channel, an actual intelligent analysis. A small suggestion, a video analysis of Mr Robot
A fantastic video. Well thought out and executed analysis. Once again the best channel on UA-cam
Thank you so much Roland!
The scene in which he takes the children to the childhood home gave me goosebumps. And the perfect music!
IMO, the ending is deliciously ambiguous. He could have turned a new leaf, and made an honest, unifying ad campaign. Or, he could be cynically squandering that opportunity for yet another hollow advertisement.
He should’ve went to prison and inform he will be up for parole at the age of 80 and all wishes is for Peggy to wait for him the day he leaves those doors
And that's the beauty of it ♡
Don Draper having panic attacks etc...is some of the best unraveling/ revealing of a character i have ever seen...
I’d love to see this kind of series for Breaking Bad.
We're working on it! :)
Mad Men is still my favorite show of all time. Thank you for making these videos on the characters of Mad Men, they are very insightful.
I recently rewatched the series and my older self recognized nuances I never did in the first watch. Deep stuff man.
“This never happened. It will shock you how much it never happened.” is one of my favorite lines from the entire show
U guys are doing a great job at analyzing these characters. It reflects so much of us in these analysis.
Lovelovelove this video, well done! Mad Men is one of the greatest shows of all time and I absolutely adore Don Draper, he's so fascinating and tragic. I hope you do Peggy next!
Thank you! Glad you liked it!
This was absolutely brilliant!! Shows how well Mad Men was put together
Hamm (down) played this character brilliantly. Complex, yet smouldering and laid-back. Compelling. Excellent leading man, and phenomenal series.
Great breakdown of Mad Men. Though I'm still torn on the meaning behind the ending. I originally thought it was a positive turn for Don, but seeing it again I'm not so sure.
Don goes to a meditation clinic and receives a newfound look on life and that gives him a new idea on a sales pitch for sugar water. It's hard for me to see if he's learned anything at all, but another coping mechanism.
There's something darkly cynical finding purpose and positivity through the light of advertising.
I guess it matters how much you like Coke.
Thanks so much Noah!
An interesting explanation that I heard from other internet people is that throughout the series, which of course takes place almost entirely in the 60's, the country is going through a period of unrest and the general populace longs for the stability and prosperity of the 50's, just as Don longs for similar sense of a safe place of belonging. So he pitches ads that appeal to this nostalgia for the values and culture of the 50's (remember how much his ads focus on family togetherness and an adult's childhood nostalgia). However, by the end of the series (which is around 1970, -71), the country has become disillusioned and cynical, and longs for the optimism and raw idealism of the 60's. Don, in self-reflection, understands his need to be honest with himself and others, deal with his traumas, and ultimately becomes both more self-aware about himself and the culture as a whole. So, while he's cynically cashing in with the Coke commercial on the culture's desire for the ideological optimism of the past, it's also a sign he recognizes that he needs to connect with people honestly as his true self, as the commercial itself shows an idealization of people of all kinds of backgrounds becoming united, instead of idealizing a single image of what people should be (like being white, in a nuclear family, traditional, etc..).
I hope that was intelligible, I know my syntax kind of stumbles over itself, and I'm not the best communicator. Regardless, the show (and this analysis) is great and thought-provoking. Also, I *do* like Coke...
Noah Berkley I guess is the other way around. He puts his new liberated view and strength into the culture and society needs (his own light, his own growing) through the publicity.
I read it as more he found solace and inner solitude in that blissful moment meditating in Northern California. He applies it to create the Coke ad, and it's his expression of self-understanding, bliss and harmony. Whether or not you perceive it cynically solely because Coca-Cola is unhealthy is your choice; Don's intentions are pure. He's not the creator of the product nor is he telling you to drink it in excess.
At the end of MM I had the feeling that Don found the keys to hippie culture (such as meditation, hugs and good wishes, liberation and multiculturalism) to turn it into advertising. There was catharsis, there was pain, but in the end Don reflects how advertising manages to appropriate even "good wishes" and turn them into merchandise.
Despite this, this visual test I liked a lot and I hope to see more characters analyzed with the rigor of this fabulous youtube channel. Great job Screen Prism!
I’ve got to say it, I low key have a crush on Faye Miller
High key for me
She is lovely
As a POC, Mad Men totally seems to be about becoming the ultimate WASP and assimilation to 60's society. It seems like no one really fit in though. Great analysis!
misha I think as a woman of color I always lived this show because of tbis. I identify with don so much. This is why I don't care if there are actors who look like me on tv. I identify with characters by their characters
i dont think you know what that actually means
Exactly , of course everyone wants to fit in but you got to be true to yourself and not forget who you are and where you came from.
You don't look like a POC to me.....are you Jewish?
are jew considered people of colour ?
More shows and more character studies please!!! This was ssoooo goood!!!
Thanks!
That was in-depth and thoughtful and just simply beautiful.
Epic. Spike Spiegel would be a another good tragic character coping with his past.
Someone once told me during an argument: "You're never going to be your authentic self if you don't put your pieces together and embrace yourself really tight, present and past, with the light and the darkness". That was what Don (Dick) realized in the end, when he hugged that man named Leonard during group therapy...and maybe why I cried during the last 2 episodes.
15:43 I wish they had focused on that shot earlier. Notice how everyone but Don is fully framed in one window, but Don is still split slightly between two? It was a brilliant metaphor in a single shot.
Such a well written character. Don was abused, sexually , physically and emotionally. He was such a sad person. I think he cared for Betty and Megan but I think he really loved Peggy that’s why he never tried anything with her because he loved her. He new he would hurt her.
The crazy truth is…he was right. He couldn’t be open about his past professionally without being shunned…
You did it again! Amazing analysis. It really helped solidify how beautiful and perfect the ending was.
Thanks Elizabeth!
The first scene of Mad Men, the camera approaches Don from behind, his face hid, exactly the same way the camera approaches Cary Grant in Notorious. Cary Grant was born Archie Leach, came from a troubled, broken home, ran away, changed his name and forged a persona around that. I think that opening shot is a very deliberate call out to Cary who famously said, "everyone wants to be Cary Grant. I want to be Cary Grant."
Awesome work! I'd love to see one for Sally with her coming of age story:)
I'm just viewing these Mad Men videos. They are EXCELLENT, and explain the drive, angst, fears, vanity and insecurity of the respective characters. Mad Men was the best series ever created. Weiner is a genius storyteller.
Truly an amazingly done video essay. I'm impressed. Thank you for the clarity and insight!
Mad Men is a masterpiece. The most nuanced, cerebral high concept writing and acting seen on TV. EVER!!!!
Mad Men may be the least judgmental show ever. When it comes to breaking down the distinction between good guys and bad guys, even The Wire and Game Of Thrones don't go as far. Still, I've never understood the idea that demographic identity is somehow the same thing as uniqueness of character. As a Brit, it strikes me as bizarre how Americans will go to great lengths not to mention social class, even using the phrase "whiteness" to refer to the upper-middle-classes.
So true.
ASOIAF does, Game of Thrones got off that rail after the end of the fourth season.
Yeah, you haven't actually refuted anything I've said. You just made a bunch of assumptions about me based on a four-sentence UA-cam comment (which you don't appear to have understood).
+White Patrice The upper Middle Class is not reserved for white people in the UK. I am guessing you are not from the UK, going by your lack of knowledge.
I think the OP missed the point wrt the use of "whiteness" as it was used in the video.
Anyway - I highly doubt that in most of Europe there is much difference in how "white" the upper middle class is, statically speaking (over representation vs the actually population of white vs whatever, nationally), compared to the US. Some of that should be obvious even without looking at data, or I am wrong its more so in Europe.
What I really like about Weiner as a storyteller is how everything he creates asks questions instead of preaching answers. Through the years of Mad Men, he kept asking “Who is Don Draper”. In The Romanoffs (which you should watch) he asks “Do we need our heritage?” I think that it makes for extremely interesting television when there’s this fascinating central question that everything else orbits around. I saw some criticism that didn’t love The Romanoffs, but I think that Weiner makes that show work because he understands the core structure that makes a television series interesting. Pretty much I think guy’s great, I can’t wait to see what he does next
I find this worship of Don Draper a bit pathetic.
I never understood the MAD MEN fandom's penchant for labeling Betty Draper as a child. All of the major characters had engaged in childish behavior, including someone like Joan Holloway Harris. But the biggest child of the bunch proved to be one DON DRAPER. It's amazing to me that Don is still so highly revered by so many fans.
People are morally flexible for a pretty face if Don looked like Jonah Hill do you think he would have such a strong female fanbase?
Yes, one of the many unanswered questions I had after the finale was did Don finally grow up and become a responsible, full-time father to his kids when they needed him more than ever?
"Fascination" and "worship" are not the same thing. "Worshiping" any human is a bit pathetic.
He is a beautiful trainwreck...the juxtaposition is what fascinates people about him.
The Mad Men critiques/prisms are the best. Now that I've watched all of them I am going back to the beginning of Mad Men to watch again. I believe the show is the pinnacle of Television and brought on the most incredible wave of TV as art. Thanks for doing this work regarding the show.
Do Pete next!
Gmael mEam I would like Pete, because even though he is the stereytope of the white male privilege kid. Growing up with a silver spoon. Even Don called him out on it in the first season. It was nice to see him grow up by the end of the show.
Pete: The 1960's Patrick Bateman
This show was so deep. And I love reading the comments surrounding this show because - of its complexity - different eyes see different aspects of the same picture.
"A man is whatever room he's in"
I loved Don’s mentorship of Peggy. A truly pure, platonic relationship
don is the guy you can know all your life and still not really know anything about him
Don didn't like himself. Like Betty, he avoided dealing with his traumatic past by putting up a front. Even though he achieved success, had a beautiful wife and children, it wasn't enough because he was not at peace with himself. His identity was based on a lie, hence why he felt he was a fraud. Physical intimacy and affection were easy but emotional intimacy was difficult for him because Don had turned that part of himself off as a form of protection. He was ashamed of his past but even assuming a new identity couldn't erase the traumatic events he experienced. Many people of earlier eras felt trapped because of the lack and knowledge and understanding of trauma and mental illness. The tendency to be self-destructive or even seek self-punishment was and is a common trait. You can interpret the end of the series more than one way but you do get the sense that Don has learned to love himself which will hopefully open him up to loving others.
Oh god I need to watch this show again AGAIN
6 years later and this is still one of the most beautiful analysis videos on UA-cam
I'm the odd person out because I always really hated him. I don't care that he was charming or that he was "struggling" with his identity. When you have extramarital affairs without apologies, you're a bad person.
This is what i tell my kids - "There are very few absolutes in life - but the two that I know of are - #1 - Jimi Hendrix is the greatest guitar player - and #2 - Mad Men is the greatest television show." This is a great video. I've watched it a couple of times.
“Listen to me. Get *out* of here and move forward. This never happened. It will *shock you,* how much this never happened.”