Mad Men on My Brain, But This is Nothing New
I am slow when it comes to experiencing all things pop culture. The most probable explanation for this is that I am cheap. I don't like spending money going to movies nor on Netflix. I don't spend money on music but wait for people to make me mixes. (Pandora was made for people like me). I don't have cable and don't watch TV at home. I do watch Hulu, and am learning the wonders of The Modern Family (and Glee), so there's that. I could pirate things, I suppose, but I don't have the time or mental capacity to figure out how to break the law. All this is to say, I have always been and may always be a little pop-culturally stunted.
I've embraced this quality of mine, but I say it to explain why it took me four years to watch the pilot episode of Mad Men.
I was hanging out with my neighbor last Thursday, driving back to our apartment building after walking around downtown with his dog. He (my neighbor, not his dog) likes Mad Men and has told me I should watch it. So he says to me, "Beth, when we get home, we should drink Aniversario and watch Mad Men." (He is on an Aniversario Rum kick.)
I don't know why, but the way his words resonated in my ears, it was one of the best ideas I had heard in a while. It was beautiful out, so we sat out on our porch with a laptop, sipping rum out of Styrofoam cups.
I realize it would be lame to go into detail about the show because I know it's not novel to be obsessed with Mad Men, but I'll say this. I'm obsessed.
At first, though, it made me sad. The main character is a slutty married man when you get down to it, but I know there's more to it than that.
My thoughts on the show aren't riveting or new to anyone who's been watching it from the beginning, but... I'm drawn to how well they convey the complexity and depth of being human, showing how what one deals with on their own affects everyone around them. I also find it intriguing how they show the stress and struggle of Don Draper, a man who can get anything he wants, without him saying much. He is smart, alluring, and intoxicating. He's also unhappy.
And, it is visually stunning. Mmm, the colors.
I am three episodes in because there are only three episodes on the first DVD. A sad fact is that my neighbor is moving soon which means the rest of the DVDs will be moving with him. He told me I could and should watch all three seasons in two weeks, which I don't doubt I could, but I've decided against this. It would be better to spend our last days as neighbors sipping rum out of Styrofoam cups on our porch with his cute dog nearby than locking myself in my apartment and burning my eyes out trying to watch every episode. And I personally know my fair share of mad men. I can watch them to get my fix in the meantime.
I've embraced this quality of mine, but I say it to explain why it took me four years to watch the pilot episode of Mad Men.
I was hanging out with my neighbor last Thursday, driving back to our apartment building after walking around downtown with his dog. He (my neighbor, not his dog) likes Mad Men and has told me I should watch it. So he says to me, "Beth, when we get home, we should drink Aniversario and watch Mad Men." (He is on an Aniversario Rum kick.)
I don't know why, but the way his words resonated in my ears, it was one of the best ideas I had heard in a while. It was beautiful out, so we sat out on our porch with a laptop, sipping rum out of Styrofoam cups.
I realize it would be lame to go into detail about the show because I know it's not novel to be obsessed with Mad Men, but I'll say this. I'm obsessed.
At first, though, it made me sad. The main character is a slutty married man when you get down to it, but I know there's more to it than that.
My thoughts on the show aren't riveting or new to anyone who's been watching it from the beginning, but... I'm drawn to how well they convey the complexity and depth of being human, showing how what one deals with on their own affects everyone around them. I also find it intriguing how they show the stress and struggle of Don Draper, a man who can get anything he wants, without him saying much. He is smart, alluring, and intoxicating. He's also unhappy.
And, it is visually stunning. Mmm, the colors.
I am three episodes in because there are only three episodes on the first DVD. A sad fact is that my neighbor is moving soon which means the rest of the DVDs will be moving with him. He told me I could and should watch all three seasons in two weeks, which I don't doubt I could, but I've decided against this. It would be better to spend our last days as neighbors sipping rum out of Styrofoam cups on our porch with his cute dog nearby than locking myself in my apartment and burning my eyes out trying to watch every episode. And I personally know my fair share of mad men. I can watch them to get my fix in the meantime.