Mad Men and Philosophy: Nothing Is As It Seems
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PHILOSOPHY/POP CULTURE IRWIN SERIES EDITOR: WILLIAM IRWIN EDITED BY Is DON DRAPER a good man? ROD CARVETH AND JAMES B. SOUTH What do PEGGY, BETTY, and JOAN teach us about gender equality? What are the ethics of advertising—or is that a contradiction in terms? M Is ROGER STERLING an existential hero? AD We’re better people than we were in the sixties, right? With its swirling cigarette smoke, martini lunches, skinny ties, and tight pencil skirts, Mad Men is MEN MAD MEN unquestionably one of the most stylish, sexy, and irresistible shows on television. But the series and PHILOSOPHY 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 Nothing Is as It Seems characters and themes. From Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle to John Kenneth Galbraith, Milton and 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 PHILOSOPHY gain insights into a host of compelling Mad Men questions and issues, including happiness, freedom, authenticity, feminism, Don Draper’s identity, and more—and have lots to talk about the next time you fi nd yourself around the water cooler. ROD CARVETH is an assistant professor in the Department of Communications Media at Fitchburg State College. Nothing Is as It Seems Nothing Is as JAMES B. SOUTH is chair of the Philosophy Department at Marquette University. He edited Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy and James Bond and Philosophy. WILLIAM IRWIN is a professor of philosophy at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books as coeditor of the bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen recent titles including Batman and Philosophy, House and Philosophy, and Twilight and Philosophy. To learn more about the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series, visit www.andphilosophy.com $17.95 USA/$21.95 CAN EDITED BY Cover Design and Graphic: Susan Olinsky CARVETH SOUTH BLACKWELL PHILOSOPHY AND POP CULTURE SERIES This book has not been approved, licensed, or sponsored by any entity or person involved in creating or producing Mad Men, the TV series. ISBN: 978-0-470-60301-7 EAN: 9780470603017 ftoc.indd viii 4/15/10 9:23:57 AM MAD MEN AND PHILOSOPHY ffirs.indd i 4/15/10 9:23:07 AM The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series Series Editor: William Irwin South Park and Philosophy Watchmen and Philosophy Edited by Robert Arp Edited by Mark D. White Metallica and Philosophy X-Men and Philosophy Edited by William Irwin Edited by Rebecca Housel and J. Jeremy Wisnewski Family Guy and Philosophy Edited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski Terminator and Philosophy Edited by Richard Brown and The Daily Show and Philosophy Kevin Decker Edited by Jason Holt Heroes and Philosophy Lost and Philosophy Edited by David Kyle Johnson Edited by Sharon Kaye Twilight and Philosophy 24 and Philosophy Edited by Rebecca Housel and Edited by Richard Davis, Jennifer J. Jeremy Wisnewski Hart Weed, and Ronald Weed Final Fantasy and Philosophy Battlestar Galactica and Edited by Jason P. Blahuta and Philosophy Michel S. Beaulieu Edited by Jason T. Eberl Alice in Wonderland and The Offi ce and Philosophy Philosophy Edited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski Edited by Richard B. Davis Batman and Philosophy Iron Men and Philosophy Edited by Mark D. White and Edited by Mark D. White Robert Arp True Blood and Philosophy House and Philosophy Edited by George A. Dunn and Edited by Henry Jacoby Rebecca Housel ffirs.indd ii 4/15/10 9:23:08 AM MAD MEN AND PHILOSOPHY NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS Edited by Rod Carveth and James B. South John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ffirs.indd iii 4/15/10 9:23:08 AM Copyright © 2010 by John Wiley & Sons. All rights reserved Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and the author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifi cally disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fi tness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. 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PN1992.77.M226M33 2010 791.45'72—dc22 2010005158 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ffirs.indd iv 4/15/10 9:23:08 AM CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: “I Think We Need to Salute That!” ix Introduction: “A Thing Like That” 1 PART ONE “PEOPLE MAY SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY, BUT THEY DON’T REALLY WANT TO”: MAD MEN AND PROBLEMS OF KNOWLEDGE AND FREEDOM 1 What Fools We Were: Mad Men, Hindsight, and Justifi cation 5 Landon W. Schurtz 2 “People Want to Be Told What to Do So Badly That They’ll Listen to Anyone”: Mimetic Madness at Sterling Cooper 20 George A. Dunn 3 Capitalism and Freedom in the Affl uent Society 34 Kevin Guilfoy v ftoc.indd v 4/15/10 9:23:56 AM vi CONTENTS PART TWO “THERE IS NO BIG LIE, THERE IS NO SYSTEM, THE UNIVERSE IS INDIFFERENT”: MAD MEN AND THE PROBLEM OF MEANING 4 Pete, Peggy, Don, and the Dialectic of Remembering and Forgetting 53 John Fritz 5 The Existential Void of Roger Sterling 66 Raymond Angelo Belliotti 6 Egoless Egoists: The Second-Hand Lives of Mad Men 79 Robert White 7 An Existential Look at Mad Men: Don Draper, Advertising, and the Promise of Happiness 95 Ada S. Jaarsma PART THREE “AND YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPINESS IS?”: MAD MEN AND ETHICS 8 “In on It”: Honesty, Respect, and the Ethics of Advertising 113 Andreja Novakovic and Tyler Whitney 9 Creating the Need for the New: “It’s Not the Wheel. It’s the Carousel.” 126 George Teschner and Gabrielle Teschner 10 “You’re Looking in the Wrong Direction”: Mad Men and the Ethics of Advertising 141 Adam Barkman ftoc.indd vi 4/15/10 9:23:56 AM CONTENTS vii 11 Is Don Draper a Good Man? 154 Andrew Terjesen 12 Don Draper, on How to Make Oneself (Whole Again) 168 John Elia PART FOUR “NO ONE ELSE IS SAYING THE RIGHT THING ABOUT THIS”: MAD MEN AND SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY 13 “And Nobody Understands That, but You Do”: The Aristotelian Ideal of Friendship among the Mad Men (and Women) 189 Abigail E. Myers 14 Mad Women: Aristotle, Second-Wave Feminism, and the Women of Mad Men 203 Ashley Jihee Barkman 15 “We’ve Got Bigger Problems to Worry about Than TV, Okay?” Mad Men and Race 217 Rod Carveth 16 “New York City Is a Marvelous Machine”: Mad Men and the Power of Social Convention 228 James B. South APPENDIX: It’s Not a List of Titles and Air Dates; It’s an Episode Guide 243 CONTRIBUTORS: Some Real Mad Men and Women 247 INDEX: Client Files Lifted from Sterling Cooper 253 ftoc.indd vii 4/15/10 9:23:56 AM ftoc.indd viii 4/15/10 9:23:57 AM ACKNOWLEDGMENTS “ I Think We Need to Salute That! ” The work on this book required getting into character. Much whiskey, many martinis, and countless cigarettes were con- sumed in an effort to make the book an authentic companion to Mad Men. In the interest of research, liaisons were entered into, suits were worn, and hostile takeovers by other publishers were thwarted. Putting together a volume such as Mad Men and Philosophy requires a team of people working together — a team that deserves to be saluted for their efforts.