Mad men and philosophy: nothing is as it seems

275 Pages·2010·1.709 MB·English

by  South, James B.;Carveth, Rod

PHILOSOPHY/POP CULTURE WILLIAM IRWIN
IRWIN S E R I E S E D I T O R :
E D I T E D B Y
Is DON DRAPER a good man? ROD CARVETH A N D 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 MAD MEN
Is ROGER STERLING an existential hero?
A
We’re better people than we were in the sixties, right?
D
With its swirling cigarette smoke, martini lunches, skinny ties, and tight pencil skirts, Mad Men is
M and PHILOSOPHY
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 E
and political mores of 1960s America and explore the philosophical complexities of its key
N
characters and themes. From Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle to John Kenneth Galbraith, Milton N
o
Friedman, and Ayn Rand, Mad Men and Philosophy brings the thinking of some of history’s most a
n t
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powerful minds to bear on the world of Don Draper and the Sterling Cooper ad agency. You’ll d
i
P n
gain insights into a host of compelling Mad Men questions and issues, including happiness,
H g
freedom, authenticity, feminism, Don Draper’s identity, and more—and have lots to talk about I I
L s
the next time you fi nd yourself around the water cooler. O
a
S
s
O
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P t
ROD CARVETH is an assistant professor in the Department of Communications Media at Fitchburg H S
State College. Y e
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JAMES B. SOUTH is chair of the Philosophy Department at Marquette University. He edited Buffy o
t s
the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy and James Bond and Philosophy. h
i
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g

WILLIAM IRWIN is a professor of philosophy at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. I
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He originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books as coeditor of the bestselling a
s

The Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen recent titles including Batman and Philosophy, It

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House and Philosophy, and Twilight and Philosophy. e
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m
To learn more about the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series, s
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
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M A D M E N
A N D
P H I L O S O P H Y

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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 Phil osophy 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
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M A D M E N
A N D
P H I L O S O P H Y
NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS
Edited by Rod Carveth and
James B. South

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Copyright © 2010 by John Wiley & Sons. All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Mad men and philosophy : nothing is as it seems / edited by Rod Carveth and James
B. South.
p. cm. — (The Blackwell philosophy and pop culture series)
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-470-60301-7 (pbk.)
1. Mad men (Television program) I. Carveth, Rod. II. South, James B.
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
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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
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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
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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
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