Well, just a few weeks out and I’m suffering pangs of nostalgia for a favourite show and one of the inspirations for The Aspiring Gentleman, Mad Men. When I first started watching I was struck by the way the characters in the show lived their lives. There were glaring incongruencies with today’s society that made me consider if there was value in some of the rituals we have lost. And it was all vastly entertaining to watch.
Whether or not the show reflects the reality of the early 60s is irrelevant to me. Mad Men both confirms and denies our idealized vision of the golden age of American families. Even the youngest people from the show’s era in real life have long since retired and are frankly not contributing to today’s pop culture (Betty White?) It’s simply more exciting to pick and choose what we remember from that era, which is the real reason for retro entertainment anyways. Time Magazine picked some of their favourites at this season’s outset and it’s a good reminder that the drama episode to episode is not what the show is really all about.
