MAD MEN, DEATH AND THE AMERICAN DREAM by Elisabeth Bronfen ( 9783037345504 )

Item Details

Title:

MAD MEN, DEATH AND THE AMERICAN DREAM

By:

Format:

Paperback

List price:	£15.00
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ISBN 10:

3037345500

ISBN 13:

9783037345504

Publisher:

DIAPHANES AG

Pub. date:

24 May, 2016

Pages:

160

Description:

Matthew Weiner s series "Mad Men," garnering awards, fandom and critical acclaim, has come to be viewed as a powerful time capsule. Given the precision with which the show invokes the visual culture as well as the political scene of the 1960s, it has been prasied for bringing back to the T.V. screen this watershed moment in American history. In her sophisticated study, Elisabeth Bronfen treats Lionsgate s serial drama, that aired from 2007-2015, as a signficant DVD novel of the early 21st century. Her claim is that it not only thrives on a significant double voicing, reviving the literature, film, music and fashion of the past "within" and "for" the cultural concerns of the present, and as such speaking both about the past and about the present. With Don Draper an embodiment of the prototypical con man, his precarious journey from poverty to fame and prosperity can also be seen as a continuation of the moral perfectionism so key to the American literary tradition. His fall and spiritual recovery is as much an individual story as a comment on the state of the nation. The notions of family and home he works (and fights) for are necessary symbolic fictions, with advertisement disclosing them as such. At the same time, the pitches Don Draper is such a creative genius at, tap into collective desires that are as much about fantasies of personal happiness as they are about buying into the America project. If we need myths to offer imaginary solutions for conflicts that can not be resolved in political reality, "Mad Men" self-consciously reflects on the role television has come to play in this work of the cultural imaginary, both fragile and fruitful. We identify and sympathize with the people in this series not despite but because they are fictional representations, different yet also a mirror of ourselves."

Synopsis:

Matthew Weiner's Emmy-winning series Mad Men has earned wide critical acclaim in its seven seasons. What is it about these impeccably dressed men and women of midcentury Madison Avenue that fascinates us? Decades later, when Weiner's iconic characters seem as much a thing of the past as the workday martini, why is it so easy for modern viewers to commiserate with the reserved but ambitious Peggy Olson, to jeer at Pete Campbell, and to cheer on Don Draper in his often indecorous struggles? We are drawn to Mad Men's dapper cast of characters, argues Elisabeth Bronfen, because, although the series has drawn praise for its depiction of the 1960s and '70s, it speaks equally well to cultural concerns of the present. The prototypical con man, Don makes a precarious journey from poverty to fame and prosperity that maps the pursuit of moral perfectionism that features prominently throughout American cultural history. Yet a lingering sense of dissatisfaction hints that the lifestyle Don strives for may be a mere manifestation of the illusory American dream-cemented in the same collective desires Don draws on to advertise cigarettes and luxury cars by day."Mad Men," Death and the American Dream takes readers through the cultural fantasies that underlie characters' motivations in this sophisticated and immensely popular television series, showing how-then as now-we turn to fantasy in the face of conflicts that cannot be resolved in political reality. Fascinating and full of accessible insights, the book will appeal to the show's many fans, as well as anyone interested in American studies, media studies, or cultural history.

Publication:

Switzerland

Imprint:

Diaphanes AG

Returns:

Returnable

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