Mad Men and Philosophy

Nothing Is as It Seems (The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series)

By: Rod Carveth - editor, James B. South - editor

Narrated by: Tom Parks

A look at the philosophical underpinnings of the hit TV show Mad Men.

With its swirling cigarette smoke, martini lunches, skinny ties, and tight pencil skirts, Mad Men is unquestionably one of the most stylish, sexy, and irresistible shows on television. But the series becomes even more absorbing once you dig deeper into its portrayal of the changing social and political mores of 1960s America and explore the philosophical complexities of its key characters and themes. From Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle to John Kenneth Galbraith, Milton Friedman, and Ayn Rand, Mad Men and Philosophy brings the thinking of some of history's most powerful minds to bear on the world of Don Draper and the Sterling Cooper ad agency. You'll gain insights into a host of compelling Mad Men questions and issues, including happiness, freedom, authenticity, feminism, Don Draper's identity, and more.

Takes an unprecedented look at the philosophical issues and themes behind AMC's Emmy Award-winning show Mad Men.

Explores issues ranging from identity to authenticity to feminism, and more.

Offers new insights on your favorite Mad Men characters, themes, and storylines.

Mad Men and Philosophy will give Mad Men fans everywhere something new to talk about around the water cooler.

©2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (P)2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Good insight, but limited to season 1-3

This essay compilation editorial is great at providing some insight into the characters on Mad Men. It answers some questions I had about the deeper meaning of some characters or happenings. I now have a deeper understanding and greater appreciation for the show, which gives attention in the most minute of places. It is my all-time favorite show and I feel it is a work of art.

All of this said, there are a lot of limitations in that this compilation was written less than midway through the series. The essays cover only seasons 1 through 3 out of what was eventually seven seasons. The last two season in particular show a lot of character development, which is only speculated in the essays here. Other times, the essays end up being invalidated by later happenings in the show. For instance, the article on race is accurate in its description of the Jewish community in the show, as those topics were prevalent in the first seasons. However, the essay talks about the lack of story development and background in dealing with the black community. The show eventually has several central black characters and even entire seasons focus on the black civil rights movement as the company and characters grow and embrace—or don’t embrace, at times—the civil rights movement and black community. I would love to see a follow up article or two, a new edition, or a volume 2 that covers the series’ latter half. It really is needed to round out perspectives here and give the full picture. Don alone develops so much over the course of the last four seasons, as do all of the characters, which bring into questions many of the analytical points given here.

Boring and repetitive

A few interesting arguments but very repetitive. Various writers analyzing the same episodes from the first 3 seasons - over and over. Feels like I’m reading papers from a bunch of 20 year old philosophy students who think they’re super witty. The show was/is amazing - this book is not.

Extremely Insightful... But VERY Limited

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The number ONE thing is that the book only talks about Mad Men up until the end of Season 3... although we know there was ultimately seven seasons. This means that a lot of the essays just end in speculation on the development of the characters, without being able to comment with insight on what actually happens.

This also means that the book is really, REALLY missing some of the pivotal moments later in the show - namely Don's eventual spiritual awakening which makes him the ultimate Mad Man (i.e. that Coke ad), and Roger's search of authenticity after taking LSD.

While the book does make some good points about philosophy, tying some of the characters into ancient and contemporary thinking, some of the essays read like they have been put together by full-time philosophers who have only seen the first few episodes of the show. The first episode, 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes' is referenced approximately a thousand times more than any other episode in the book - although there are better examples of what the writers are trying to convey even in the first three seasons.

This book could have been a timeless commentary if it had actually been written by philosophers who were fans of the show, and they had waited until the show's end to publish. Instead, it comes across as a fast cash-in that simply skims across some of the show's themes.