New York City has always been the
essence of straight shootin’ and big drinkin’, but what was going on behind the
bright lights and loud streets that are portrayed on Mad Men? New
York City in the 1960's was a fast paced place, evident by it being the
backdrop to an advertising firm in Mad Men. While it is said
that New York is the city that never sleeps, New York City in the 1960's was
slowing down, socially and economically.
As a result of a gradual population
shift to the suburbs, much of NYC’s manufacturing industry migrated out of the
city. The areas that once housed these manufacturing businesses became sources
of crime and low-income settlement. Strikes became the most common form
of garnering attention for a cause, like with the Transport Union Workers of
America transit strike (1966) and the United Federation of Teachers strike over
firings (1968). Socially, new issues were being brought to the forefront, like
the gay rights movement. The Stonewall Riots (1969) were some demonstrations by
the gay community against a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York City,
which catered to a gay clientele.
Great economic stress called for
desperate means to obtain money for residents. In 1967, the city council of New
York removed licensing requirements for its massage parlors, which led to an
underground prostitution scene. Landlords in middle-class areas of Manhattan
would lease their residences to pimps that would run prostitution rings in the
buildings disguised as massage parlors. In a time of social change and economic
depression, it seems that the long-lived institution of prostitution reverted
people back to older, happier times.
Although many of the rising issues
in New York City took place towards the later ‘60s and Mad Men focused
on the early ‘60s, it is reasonable to say that Mad Men planted the seed
for future portrayal of these issues. Many aspects of these social and
economic issues can be seen in subtle ways in Mad Men. The
population shift out of the city is depicted by every main character (besides
Pete) since no one on the show actually lived in Manhattan. The constant
asking of a bonus from multiple characters pulls into question if the staff was
underpaid at the time. Salvatore’s abrupt departure from the show due to his
refusal to admit his homosexuality and engage in a gay affair touches on the
rising gay rights movement. Prostitution is a recurring theme on the show, but
becomes obvious when Don and Roger are seen paying for women to sleep with
them. Although Mad Men touches upon aspects of the changing
city around the show, it never fully delves into the social and economic decay
that clouded over New York City in the 1960's.
