Talk:Mad Men/Archives/2012/01

Themes

excuse me, but alcohol is still an accepted part of society.

You should sign your comments, if only so readers can tell where one person's comments end and another's begin. Otherwise, yes, of course you're right. And this statement:

Engagement and marriage, for men, did not preclude relationships with other women;

is pretty silly, too. Is the writer claiming that adultery has vanished in our more enlightened time? Or that adultery was socially acceptable in 1960? It should go without saying that neither is true, but apparently it has to be said. 68.80.50.49 03:17, 4 August 2007 (UTC)essex9999

Of course drinking is still accepted, but not in many of situations portrayed in the show as "normal" - drinking by pregnant women, the three Martini lunch, and driving while clearly impaired are all far less acceptable in today's society. It is a matter of degree Seaphoto 17:11, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Lawteacheredstudent deleted excessive references to smoking. Original post had definite anti-smoking bias that was unnecessary. Smoking is not a theme in the show, only something the characters did. No one ever says clothing is a theme of a show because everyone wore clothes, right? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lawteacheredstudent (talk • contribs) 00:45, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

Pretty much every show on television has people wearing clothes. Not many have that much smoking. Whether you or I think it's unusual is immaterial -- the amount of smoking on the show is usually commented on in the media, and Weiner often mentions it in interviews. And smoking is a recurring plot point because of the agency's work for Lucky Strike cigarettes. I think the Themes section needs improvement -- obviously the show isn't only about smoking, drinking and having sex with secretaries -- but the stuff in there now should stay. Greyfedora 16:13, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

Can we include something about how the show highlights the social impact of various awareness campaigns? The show often depicts activities that would shock and horrify people today, such as smoking and drinking while pregnant, allowing children to put plastic bags over their heads, and mindless littering. I think one of the themes of the show is just how effective advertising is at controlling the behavior of people. These sorts of campaigns have profoundly affected our society's world view. I'm not that good at putting it words for the article. Thanks. 161.130.178.151 (talk) 05:36, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

Oh, and I just thought of another subtle theme of the show: the changing image of female beauty. In the first episode, they showed a stripper who was quite voluptuous and would certainly thought too hefty for that job today. There were several other times when models and strippers were intentionally shot in a way that highlights the more classic idea of female beauty that was more pervasive at that time. 161.130.178.151 (talk) 05:46, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

That belongs more in a review or a blog posting. On Wikipedia, we're not supposed to do any original research or critical analysis; just summarize what other people have done. David (talk) 19:36, 16 December 2008 (UTC)

From the page: "Upon Betty discovering his real identity, however, he reverts back to Dick Whitman's mannerisms: fumbling with cigarettes, visibly shaking, and losing all of his composure. It is not because he had been caught, but because he had reverted back to his old self, Dick Whitman, that changed his mannerisms."

-This sort of shaky critical analysis does not belong on a Wikipedia entry. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.52.215.5 (talk) 19:09, 5 November 2009 (UTC)