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Okay, so is anyone getting sick of me talking about Mad Men just yet?
Bear with me, it's almost over.
Mad Men was a great television series, and I believe that it deserved some of the merit that it received as a serious candidate for best television show in history.
Yet, a lot of people have been focusing - almost exclusively - on the relatively low tv ratings that the series had. It was never a ratings grand slam, and would never be able to compete with some of the more popular shows in history - say, The Walking Dead, or some such shows.
However, I do not believe that this is an indictment of Mad Men, or some kind of a statement that it was not as good as some have suggested.
Far from it, in fact.
As much as I like The Walking Dead (getting past the initial skepticism in order to do so), comparing it with Mad Men would be comparable to comparing oranges to apples. One has great and interesting characters, intense drama, and considerable violence. The other also has great and interesting characters, but focuses on more complex and nuanced themes, which renders it far less accessible.
I know some people who tried to watch Mad Men, and never got into it. Mostly, these were guys at work who tend to be fans of action, probably almost to the point of exclusion, honestly. And while I am not opposed to action per se, it seems to me that the focus on this genre in American society today has gone too far. For some people, including some guys that I know, it is literally all that they watch. That is a thought that depresses me.
One guy in particular that I know tried to watch an episode, and turned it off less than thirty minutes into it, after being distracted numerous times. To my mind's eye, he never really even gave it a shot, although truth be told, the outcome would likely be the same if he had.
Why? Because this was a show that actually demanded something of the viewer. It required an effort, it required some thinking, as well as some patience. It asked you to try and pick up on the myriad nuances.
Watching Mad Men means more than simply reacting (and often, guffawing) to mindless violence on popular shows, including The Walking Dead and super hero movies, both of which I am a fan of. Mad Men asks you to keep up with the characters, with the rivalries, with the hidden agendas of the characters, and with the more subtle impact of outside events and trends than what we often see from other movies about the Sixties.
In the popular culture of this country, such things are increasingly rare. We in the United States live in a country where everything is done for us, and that certainly includes those who will loudly proclaim that the government interferes too much with our lives and restricts our choices. Many of these guys would subscribe to that political point of view, yet they lay back and watch whatever is most popular on television, with endless hours of dumb television programming. There are some shows that they watch which I enjoy, including but not limited to The Walking Dead, Impractical Jokers, and perhaps a few others. But there are some shows, like Ridiculousness, that I just find so utterly stupid and mind-numbing, that it sometimes feels like I am getting dumber just watching it even for a few minutes while they are watching it.
That is the television viewing that seems to win out these days. Some of it - hell, a lot of it, is just dumb. Some of these guys love the loudmouth drama of reality shows, where obnoxious couples air their dirty laundry to the television audience and make spectacles of themselves worthy of the Jerry Springer Show.
You want a proven ratings winner in our society? Try a show that fits that kind of a mold, and you will likely be successful.
Mad Men dared to be different, and it made a huge impact, despite the relative lack of ratings. It punched harder than it's weight in terms of it's cultural impact, and therefore, deserves all of the accolades that it has received.
So, enough about the supposedly poor ratings, already. This show did what many surely believed would be impossible: it had a major cultural impact, and stayed on the air for seven seasons through the course of eight years. It will long be remembered and discussed, and will live on in the hearts of those loyal fans who followed it, such as myself.
That is how, and why, the show had value far beyond the television viewer ratings, and it is important. It is crucial.
In tribute of Mad Men, here is yet another post, with yet more links for fans. This link is for an article covering an interview with Matthew Weiner, who discusses the finale and shares his thoughts and revelations on it, finally:
'Mad Men' Creator Matthew Weiner Explains Series Finale, Character Surprises and What's Next by Ashley Lee 5/20/2015
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