Mad Men Season 1 Episode 10

Mad Men Season 1 Episode 10:

            The episode starts with a sort of glimpse at an introduction to Betty’s dad and his new girlfriend. She seems to have these emotions coming to the surface because of how the relationship is. This is a good opening to the attitudes and emotions that occur throughout the rest of the episode. At the office, the team is again looking at the Nixon and Kennedy campaign, making comments about Nixon being the most relatable man for them while Kennedy was just some guy who bought his way into school as a recent immigrant.

            That meeting closes with the beginning of another one in which Rachel Menken brings her father, whom seems to have taken a liking to putting in a restaurant into the first level of his store. His only hesitation is that it is becoming a store that he would not like to shop at, at which Don quickly replies that it is more about appealing to the crowd of Rachel which is smart, sophisticated and educated. This seems to please Rachel’s father a good deal at the mention of his daughter being sophisticated and educated.

            After the meeting, Roger Sterling passes Joan and informs her that his wife and daughter are out of town and they should get together. Joan responds with wanting to see a movie of which she seems excited to see. But she continues with a comment about the main character being passed around the men like a treat. After which she found her friend whom was in tears because she had been fired for covering for her boss.

            Pete in this episode starts by antagonizing Peggy with some sort of forlorn love affair that they had started before his marriage. Peggy deftly handles him and he stomps off to inform Don about losing the Dr. Scholl’s account. At which Don gets super frustrated and stomps off to complain to Roger. Toward the end of the episode, Roger hires on the spot a pair of twin girls who were modeling for something and he brings Don and the girls up to his office to party. Don gets asked to dance and so they go off to his office while Roger and the other girl stay in Roger’s office. A little bit later the girl with Roger comes out screaming, Roger had a heart attack during their late night office romp and he had to be rushed to the hospital. Joan rushes back to the office teared up as she helps secure clients and such in the wake of his hospital time.

            As the episode closes, Don and Rachel have some privacy time at her house in which he opens up about himself and his family.

            The theme seems to be continual through this episode about the sad reality of humans, but it is accentuated in that people begin to realize if they haven’t already that there is not much point to everything. Joan’s friend resembles this idea when she talks about building up the men of the office, hiding their faults for the men to just come back at them and fire them. We see Don finally become a raw person probably more so than we have as of yet in his revelation of family and his own emotions to Rachel at the end of the episode.

            The gospel message pretty much negates the need for the actions that the characters in this episode take. The gospel brings hope and salvation to those who are hopeless, to those who are wandering around wondering what they are doing in life. It seems like this is exactly where the characters this week were, that they were wandering around, wondering where to go and what to do with themselves. 

Mad Men Season 1 Episode 9

Mad Men Season 1 Episode 9: Shoot

            The episode opened with both Don and Betty at an event in the city. Jim the owner of a rival ad agency goes and meets both of them, Don gets hauled away for drinks by Jim’s wife while Betty and Jim start talking. Betty let’s out that she used to do a little modeling and misses it, at which point Jim starts in by offering her a chance for a modeling opportunity at his office. The next day at Don’s office, there is a gift from Jim waiting for him. Don now has to decide if it is worth leaving his current advertisement job for one with Jim in which he has plenty of large clients, money and people to work for him. At home, Betty is modeling for her friend all of the dresses that had been designed for her when she used to model. After which she decides that she would not mind taking up the offer to try out for the modeling job with Jim.

            When Betty showed up for the audition, she was accepted right away and they got started with the pictures. At the office, Don gets another gift from Jim this time it’s golf clubs and Roger mentions giving Don a raise. A few days later, Don gets another package from Jim and this time it is the photos of Betty modeling. Don looks at them and storms for Rogers office demanding the raise and no commitment. Don then calls Jim and tells him that he won’t take the job, when Jim replies with being sorry to lose both Don and Betty.

            One of the themes that has been going throughout the season and is continued in this episode is that of contentment. Don seems to be finding himself happy with his job and with Betty, but Betty seemed to want to find out if she really wanted to do something besides being stuck at the house all day. Biblically we know that we should look to God for all answers, to seek God in all things for we know that God is everything!

Mad Men Season 1 Episode 6

Mad Men Season 1 Episode 6

            The story of Don and his relationship with his wife begins to unfold, in how he seems to be resisting something when he is with her, yet he still seems to be pleased with her all the while she is desiring him more and more. Babylon, the title of this episode starts with him making a breakfast tray and bringing it up to the bedroom when he slips and falls on a toy at which point sends the tray and everything on it into disarray. Later that night, Don and Betty joke about it as they are going to bed and she admits to loving him more and more. Another relationship however is unfolding as the next day at the office shows. Roger’s wife and daughter show up at the office because his daughter is getting a haircut, when Joan comes along and shows them around to some places. The relationship that unfolds however is Joan and Roger, when admittedly Roger wants to divorce his wife and run away with Joan and she on the other hand likes her life just the way it is.

            We see as well, the relationship between Don and Rachel, the Jewish department store owner whom has apparently taken a liking to Don and admits as much to her sister over the phone stating that her father would not like the man that she had met. In the mean time, Peggy has begun to make her name known as a creative person, she developed a name for a client when they were trying out a bunch of different lipsticks and she called the trashcan a basket full of kisses, referring to all of the tissue’s with lipstick kisses on them.

            The whole episode seems to be continuing this idea of how unhappy people are with themselves and with the things that they surround themselves with. The smaller themes that I have been commenting on in these last episodes I think have barely brushed the surface of what is happening with these characters. Every time that I watch this show, I get this growing sense of angst where I feel so caught up in the lies, the unrest and the frustration I know I have when things like this happen to me. See, these characters, Don, Betty, Peggy, Joan, Roger and the rest of them are so caught up in the moment of the time. They are so focused on doing the things that make them happy and in trying to maintain that happiness, not just for themselves but for others as well. We see Don trying to appease his wife when he is at the house, doing things for her and yet we wonder why he hardly speaks when she says she loves him. Then he goes and talks it out with midge and somehow with Rachel. Roger has the same thing with Joan, he does not seem to be able to control or be happy with his wife so he seeks out an attractive entertaining soul whom is willing to sleep with him. But no one seems to be able to control or maintain the thoughts or feelings that they have, which is why I sit here watching this episode and saying to myself, when is this all going to hit the fan? Even Peggy in this episode seems to be growing more and more distant as she becomes happier with the job that she has. I can’t tell if the theme however is unrest, or trying to hide from their true feelings or even it’s them trying to control what they feel.

            

Mad Men Season 1 Episode 5

Mad Men Season 1 Episode 5: 5G

            The episode starts with Don and his wife at the house after a late night out at a party in which Don won a horseshoe shaped trophy. The morning holds a hung-over Don who is late or going to be late for work. Before lunch, Don takes a call that ends up being Midge, the lady that he is with typically when he stays in the city for the night. During this phone call, Peggy listens in and realizes what is going on and why Don leaves for lunch early and comes back late. That night, Pete asks his new wife to talk to her first man and try to get his own book published. The reason Pete wants this is out of a fit of jealousy in which a co-worker has successfully gotten his paper published in a big newspaper. His wife however is asking not to have to do this because of the old relationship and how it ended, in which Pete characteristically forces her to meet this guy.

            The next day holds the biggest surprise of all. Don gets called out of a meeting because a man named Adam Whitman was there to see him. With a shocked air about him, Don goes out to meet him and drags him aside so no one could hear the conversation. Adam then enthusiastically tells Don that he is his brother. After trying to hush Adam, Don agrees to meet for lunch later at the local diner. During that meeting, Don attempts to get Adam to forget all about the meeting and being his brother. When Don returns to the office, he finds his wife and kids waiting to go to the family photo shoot and Peggy apologizing for not being able to remind him of the shoot. That night Don drops off a lot of money at Adam’s apartment in order to keep him quiet and from talking about who Don really is. At the house, Don agrees to going to Cape May as a summer vacation with the family on bequest of Betty, because he admits they don’t have enough money to buy a house on the cape.

            A theme that we see throughout this episode is that secrecy. How keeping secrets or at least not talking about the things that concern you creates issue with others. An example of this secrecy and how it creates problems in this episode is when Peggy listens in on the call between Don and his mistress. Peggy has to hold this all in while she talks to Betty in the office. The other major example of this is how it visibly rips both Don and Adam apart when Don wants to keep things private by paying Adam off, Adam is crying after the encounter.

            In relating this to a Christian life, we can make the connection that secrecy is not the best policy, trying to hold things in and cover for other people breaks them apart. We see the bible address this issue when it says not to let the sun set while you are still angry (Ephesians 4:26). We know as people that in letting anger be slept on, we tend to become angrier or more upset which causes issues that we may or may not be able to control. I think that the lesson from this episode that we can take away and apply biblically is that as Christians are we willing to cause other people issues by hiding our own problems? 

Mad Men Episode 4

The episode opens with  Bruce Campbell in the office with the guys when his wife comes. He hesitantly listens to what she has to say while the guys tease him. His wife is trying to get him to go apartment shopping in which she is asking for him to spend the money that he doesn't have in order to make her happy.
On the home front, Don's wife is walking the dog when she spots the new neighbors husband trying to force his way in to see the kids as she walks on.
Bruce makes a stop by his parents to ask for a loan in order to pay for the apartment. His father stone walls him and can't seem to make any head way or get along with his father due to Bruce's profession. This forces Bruce to go to his father in law who readily says yes to helping with the apartment. In the office, Bruce is trying to exert his control over the office and over Don. Which causes Don to keep cutting him down, to keep making sure that he is on top despite Bruce having legitimate ideas and ads.
The rest of the episode focuses and personifies the growing unease of Bruce Campbell on both the home and work fronts. This comes to a head in this episode when Bruce finally over steps his boundaries as Don is trying to sell a client on an idea and Bruce stops it dead in its tracks by having already pitched an idea to the client and it is accepted, at which point Don effectively fires Bruce. When Don goes to tell Sterling about it, Sterling agrees to the firing until they are called into the senior partners office, at which point Don gets a piece on career politics in which Don learns he cannot fire Bruce Campbell due to his father. The episode ends with Bruce, his wife and his wife's parents looking out the window of the new apartment.
A continuing theme is simply that of the facade, specifically for Bruce. Not only does he put up with his peers at work, where he has to act like he is in charge with his wife. He also tries the same thing with his dad when asking him for money, putting on the tough face so that he can explain what it is to be an ad man. You also see him put on the i'm a guy and i'm in control when he talks to his wife about his meeting with his parents in which he lies and said that it went well. However it is growing more and more apparent that he is not in control of things because his wife pressures him and he submits, Don wins the arguments and such at work, and his father is still pushing him around.
The bible talks about not worrying about tomorrow, letting the cares of the day not bother you as you go to sleep, and not letting the sun set on your problems with other people. Bruce, keeps putting up this facade that i'm alright, I can do it, that i'm a man and nothing should get in the way of that. However because of this, he will have the most trouble of all. Not just because he doesn't talk about things, but because he is not taking care of the heart of the issues. Which would be his own heart, letting the pressures that his Father puts on him or that his wife puts on him, or even that work puts on him be lifted off and letting himself find a way to let that anger go. Coming up soon I have a feeling that we will see an episode of Bruce explode on himself and or others if he does not vent in a healthy way as the bible talks about. Another thing that the bible talks about in relation to this episode is the attitude, Bruce seems to be having a growing attitude of pride of which the bible speaks of heading that off, we see the examples of these great kings in the Old Testament that fell because pride or some form there of got in their way and brought a downfall to their worldly treasures. I think the challenge for me is that i need to stop continually cutting myself down with the past or even the things that I do now, which leads to the building up of myself in pride and let things go, give them to God and let him take care of my troubles.

Mad men episode 3

            The episode starts with Don on the train, when an old army buddy recognizes him and tries to start a conversation. Don decides to make small talk while seeming very contemplative about the whole thing. At the office, Pete Campbell is back from his honeymoon and the whole office seems to want to congratulate him minus Peggy. When he walks into his office, a group of Chinese people are sitting in the office having breakfast as a joke on Pete. He then has to deal with trying to get them out of his office. A little after this, Ms. Menken a client walks into a meeting with the men at which point she realizes that none of them have ever been to her store and so cannot accurately help her with advertising or changing her store, at which point Don fesses up and tells her he will visit. During the visit they kiss and she confesses to desiring him and he backs off citing marriage as the reason for not wanting to continue the relationship.

            When Don heads home he has to prepare for his daughter’s birthday party in which he must build a doll house for his daughter. During the party Don catches a married man making approaches on the new neighbor who is divorced, while his wife is kissing another man. The women during the party however break off and begin to talk about trivial matters while feeling out the new neighbor and her stance on things. After the party, Don goes out and gets a dog for his daughter as a gift.

            A theme that appeared was the façade that people have. Where the characters outwardly expressed joy and contentment but on the inside or when no one was looking they showed signs of displeasure either with themselves or the situations that they are in. We saw this after the incident between Don and Ms. Menken, or with Peggy as she told Pete that all was well and wouldn’t mention a thing about their tryst.

            The New Testament makes a point to talk about such a thing. In not just mentioning that we should be honest with one another, speaking truth or honoring each other with actions, but the reality that when we sin, there becomes a level of guilt and pain that we begin to suffer from. Not talking out our issues with God or with another person can tend to do the same thing. We begin to bottle things up and don’t take care of the issues that we harbor. At points this causes us to fall back on the things that tend to cause us to sin. 

Episode 2: Mad Men

            In the second episode of Mad Men, we begin to see a lot more information about all of the characters. It starts out with a dinner consisting of Don and his wife, and then Roger and his wife as well. In which the subject of having a nanny and thus childhood comes up. In this case, we learn that Don does not talk about or care to mention his childhood or that he had a nanny, his wife has learned to not ask about his family in any way shape or form because he tends to stonewall her. As the episode goes on, Peggy becomes a little more comfortable with Joan Harris another secretary whom is good at getting the guys to do what they want. Don’s wife Betty shows us a side of what it means to be a housewife in which her and a friend are talking about a new neighbor and discussing what it would be like to be divorced and living on your own. A little bit later the episode shows Betty driving with her kids in the car past that newly divorced and new neighbor as she is moving in when all of a sudden her hands start shaking on the wheel and she loses control at a slow speed. Betty then crashes the car, which starts a conversation with Don about whether or not she needs to see a psychiatrist. All the while Don is seeing and sleeping with an artist in the city when he stays there instead of going home, and we begin to see a little more about that relationship as well, in which he desires her and she wants him to stay more.          

            One of the major themes of this episode is that of uncertainty or rather what it means to be human, trying to work out all of the stresses of life and how that actually ends up. For example Don deals with the stresses of family, a wife and her problems, work issues and so on by sleeping with another woman. He tends to stop working and just disappear for sometime in order to relieve himself of stress. His wife on the other hand, she does not know what to do and so her body shuts down on her because of the pressures of Don not talking, taking care of the kids, and worries of being a housewife. Peggy, the secretary tends to put more effort into working and so she spends more time at the office than she does anywhere else, not wanting to socialize much or doing anything else. The uncertainties of life for these characters are being handled in a variety of ways and you can begin to see the reality of how unhealthy that is.

            I think that it is interesting that from that era till now the only difference we see between dealing with stress in the ways that these characters do is to make sleeping around, seeing a psychiatrist, or working devilishly more acceptable. However the bible is almost completely opposite of this style of stress relief because that is a human way of dealing with things. The bible rather continuously says not to sleep with someone other than whom you’re married to. It does not help any situation out except by relieving your immediate flesh needs. Seeking outside help is probably one of the best things to do however, because we need to be able to talk. I think however that it would be better to seek out someone whom can relate in a Christian way and encourage us in Christ not just in flesh. Lastly, pouring ourselves into our work might get things done in the short term, but it is important not to be able to burn out. God does not want people who are not able to do work, but people who can stand up and do the things he asked.