The Nostalgia of Buying, Essay Example

Matthew Weiner’s critically acclaimed series Mad Men has been celebrated as a return to authentic drama on TV. What may be less obvious to many viewers is that the series also functions as a kind of rallying cry for the continued commercialism and capitalism of American culture. The show, by utilizing an extremely high production value that is steeped in visual, aural, and emotional nostalgia, is an effort to chip away at the jadedness many people in America presently feel about advertising and consumption. To this extent, the show fosters a cultural, if not political agenda and this agenda is one of corporate power and the equation of net worth with self-value. Although the show often seems to offer a sour condemnation about the hollowness of superficial consumption, its overall thematic push is for the igniting the nostalgia of buying.

The article, “On Mad Men: Introduction” (2012) mentions that the show not only attempts to cast consumerism in a nostalgic light, but it also attempts to “brand” the idea of vintage as desirable in order to foster a further area of commercialism. The article states that “the fandom of the show requires grappling with a double temporality located in the identification, acquisition and appreciation of historically marked objects.” (Black and Hardie). In other words, Mad Men tries to stimulate the viewer’s thirst for consumption while simultaneously advertising a sub-category of goods: vintage and retro merchandise.

This is not to suggest that the show is nothing more than an elaborate commercial. However, to suggest that the show incorporates commercialism in every aspect from characterization to scriptwriting and cinematography would be well within the bounds of reason. In fact, this melding of creativity and propaganda is a theme that is explored throughout the show itself. Don Draper and the other members of the agency must continuously question whether they are genuinely creative or merely accomplished con-artists. They must also deal with the reality that their creativity is a bartered kind of art which exists only in its capacity to stimulate the flow of currency and the exchange of wealth. This sub-theme of the show can be considered as a bit of a red-herring however because the show functions in actuality as an example of art that is motivated primarily by corporate and economic interests.

Mad Men typifies the kind of art that is functional in a capitalist society. The show exemplifies “the way creativity, as a moment of originality, becomes part of organizational practice, in this instance in the advertising industry.” (Black and Hardie). Although the series may involve a startling number of innovations, plot-twists, cliff-hangers, and time-loops, one fact remains constant throughout every scene. That fact is that Mad Men is both a product and an advertisement at the same time. It is a product to be consumed by viewers, but it is an advertisement not only for TV and the AMC network, but for the entire philosophy of American consumerism. Though the show may flirt with social criticism and even philosophical ambiguity from time to time, it is at heart a celebration of the corporate centered culture that presently dominates American society.

The preceding examination of Mad Men offers a brief, but undeniable, set of evidence that demonstrates the show’s cultural agenda. Stated simply, the cultural purpose of the show is to make people feel good about participating in American materialism. Another aesthetic purpose of the show is to weld the functions of drama and advertising so skilfully that a new plateau is reached for both mediums, one that may appeal to a post-modern audience that is heavily cynical in terms of participating in the quintessential American dream. For this reason Mad Men must be considered not only nostalgic but reactionary in terms of its political and cultural expression.

Works Cited

Black, Prudence, and Melissa Jane Hardie. “On Mad Men: Introduction.” Cultural Studies Review 18.2 (2012): 147+. Questia. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.