Mad Men, now in its third season, is continuing to entrance viewers with its depiction of the lascivious Madison Avenue advertising world circa 1960. With plot twists involving business competition, struggles to mask homosexuality and the hardship of caring for elderly parents, the show succeeds in freshly exposing characters grappling with changing times.
From experimenting with marijuana to coming up with creative ad campaigns in an evolving economy to challenging the cult of domesticity, the show's characters are drawn into a world of change. Each individual feels utterly alone, as though he or she is the only one dealing with this massive shift.
The show is as hilarious as it is earnest. Peggy, the copywriter from Brooklyn, receives prank calls from her co-workers regarding her want ad for a roommate in Manhattan. One woman calls her under the guise of a woman who works around animal carcasses and has a face disfigured by burns. Betty Draper’s father, Gene, has his granddaughter read to him from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and outfits his grandson in the helmet of a Prussian soldier he killed during World War I.
And then there’s Don, as suave as ever, still trying to find his way in a world that seems to hinder his search for self-discovery. As 21st century college students, we can still relate.
