The Roots of Counterculture: The Beat Movement in Mad Men

“Nobody knows whether we were catalysts or invented something, or just the froth riding on a wave of its own. We were all three, I suppose.”
-Allen Ginsberg

Image credit: http://vintagescientist.blogspot.com/2010/03/mad-men-beatnik-style.html

The “Beat Generation” was a term first coined by Jack Kerouac in On the Road in the late 1940’s to describe the ever-disillusioned youth who had been worn down by the confines of society. Along with Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Gary Snyder started the Beat literary movement that would later turn into a large anti-conformist undercurrent of American culture in the 50’s. With a longing for freedom and self-expression, they were adamantly opposed to the increasing emphasis on consumerism as well as society’s mainstream, one-way conveyor belt.



As this movement grew, New York’s Greenwich Village and San Francisco became the epicenters of beatnik culture. These groups advocated for self-isolation from society and soon became associated with breaking social norms, like experimentation with music, drugs and sex. This underground culture, which was meant to serve as a critique of the stereotypical American Dream, quickly became a counterbalance to suburban life.

The character of Midge is exemplary of the beatnik ideal. Independent-spirited and unattached, she exists in stark opposition to Betty, whose perfect housewife veneer is indicative of the idyllic 50’s “white picket fence” image encouraged by society. The smoke-filled scenes in underground coffee shops and in Midge’s bohemian studio apartment serve to contrast Don’s seemingly structured and picture-perfect life as well as to highlight his isolation even within this alienated and self-segregated subset of society. In addition to this, the Beat Movement’s appearance, although brief, shows the building pressure and beginning stages of counter-culture movements in 1960’s society. As Bob Dylan so famously sung to epitomize the zeitgeist of the decade – “The times they are a changin’.”

Links referenced: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/57467/Beat-movement and
http://home.clara.net/heureka/art/beat-generation.htm

Don Draper: A Randian Hero?

“My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.” - Ayn Rand 

The simplest summarization of the philosophy of Objectivism could strike someone as the implicit ideology of Don Draper.  The ethics of a rational man, according to Ayn Rand, author of the acclaimed novel Atlas Shrugged, determine the course of his life, through reasoning and his own objective observation and rejecting the notions of altruism and self-sacrifice.  Furthermore, happiness is only achievable to a rational man acting in accordance with these principles.  

Bert Cooper first makes reference to the similarities between Don Draper and Ayn Rand’s idealized rational man in the episode “The Hobo Code.”  “You are a productive and reasonable man, and in the end, completely self interested." But Don’s egoism is first presented to the audience in episode one, “Smoke Gets in your Eyes.”  By definition, the affair with Midge, once revealed as extramarital by the end of the episode, is an act of carnal and psychological selfishness.  Rand would argue that such an affair, if in accordance with one’s own morality, is a rational act, in addition to being an expression of positive self-esteem.  Once his life story is gradually revealed, Don’s rational egoism is further affirmed by his creating a new life for himself for his own selfish purpose.  He did so not at the expense of the real Don and Anna Draper, but as he eventually explains, he had to remove himself from his traumatic past, and he had to get out of Korea.  The only way to do so was to leave Dick Whitman behind.  

Don particularly resembles one character from Atlas Shrugged, Hank Rearden, an ambitious steel executive whose business is derailed by excessive government regulation.  Both men play the part of a solid provider, even when they receive little to no personal satisfaction from doing so.  Both men find the tenets of post-materialism to be illogical, such as when Don dismisses Midge’s friends’ criticism of his lifestyle in “The Hobo Code.”  Lastly, both men pursue intellectual and sexual relationships with independent businesswomen as a means of escaping the seemingly vacuous relationships they have with their wives.  It is because of these similarities that I believe the writers of Mad Men intended to have some basic axioms of Objectivism be prevalent in Don Draper’s life.  

In an attempt to avoid oversimplifying Don’s philosophical motivation, it should be fully recognized that he does not solely see through an Objectivist lens.  The whole notion of evading reality is asserted by his abandonment of his true identity.  Rand would argue that man should not act without knowing the purpose of his actions, which one could argue, that Don has never truly been cognizant of his immediate nor long-term future.  But there is something to be said for his individuality, his commitment to success, and his apparent rational egoism, even if it operates at the expense of Betty and his children.  Don is driven to make money for himself, not for others.  He strives to be the best ad man at Sterling Cooper, which makes his relationship with the aspiring Pete Campbell more contentious.  His mind operates within his definition of a sound business model, that which is the client is to adopt his idea. He uses his own objective, reasonable mind to govern his life and rarely accepts that which is fed to him by Roger, Betty, or Pete.  Rand writes in Atlas Shrugged that “Man's mind is his basic tool of survival. Life is given to him, survival is not. His body is given to him, its sustenance is not. His mind is given to him, its content is not” (1012).  There is no doubt that Don chose to live by this assertion when his life spun out of control; he chose to repair it through volition.  

Don Draper: Sociopath? Or Just a Man?

Every episode, the writers of Mad Men make the audience love a villain. They cheer on as protagonist Don Draper cheats on his wife, mistreats his family and is rude to his subordinates, superiors and friends. He seems to coast through life with no empathy or strong emotions, a sociopath in his own right. However, Askmen.com editor James Bassil argues that Don is the epitome of traditional masculine traits. Don was voted ‘most inspirational man’ in a poll conducted by askmen.com, what does this say about men today? Are they really looking up to a sociopath or is Don really the ‘prefect’ man?

In the first season’s finale, Don is about to pitch his carousel idea to Kodak. Using pictures of his wife and children, he tugs at Kodak and the audience’s heartstrings. He talks of nostalgia, wanting to go back to a happier time, implying that his family once fulfilled him and made him happy. Between the deafening clicks of the slides changing and the candid pictures of Don, Betty and the kids, we flash to Don’s face as he speaks. Underneath his haughty default demeanor is, undeniably, emotion threatening to spill out.

It’s not hard to see how Don can be interpreted as a sociopath; he seems to lack empathy for everybody and only does things to help himself. But is he the epitome of masculinity? Given the obvious emotion Don displays in the Carousel pitch and the scene following it, we cannot call him a sociopath; he obviously feels something for his wife and his children. Sociopath’s lack emotion and fit in by mimicking others. So is Don just a poster boy for masculinity then? An anonymous commenter on the article argues that “Men, at their core, are ambitious, bold, out for their own well being, paternal, and providers.” It’s possible that all of Don’s sociopathic tendencies can be filed under "manliness." Don does not love his wife; rather she fulfills his need to be a provider. Betty needs Don to take care of her and be a father to her children, and Don wants someone to take care of. Yet it can be argued that Betty is not the type of woman that Don would fall in love with. His track record of serious affairs seems to be women who are independent and strong (i.e. Midge and Rachel). These women do not need Don, yet it seems that he is closer to loving them than he is to loving his wife.

“Bold, ambitious and out for his own well-being.” Definitely words that could be used to describe a man who hides his identity and steals a dead man's. A man who sleeps with an employee’s wife in order to control him better. A man who ruins his daughter's birthday party in order to get a few more hours away from the humdrum of suburbia. Don Draper is not a nice man, but he is not a sociopath. Don Draper is just a man. A man who has not been forced to tone down his masculinity in order to fit in to a more sensitive world, a man whose manliness has not been bogged down by society. “A man whose time has come," according to James Bassil, AskMen’s editor-in-chief. Alarmingly, the majority of men look to Don Draper for inspiration; should we assume that all men would be pseudo-sociopathic if it were not for external factors? Let’s hope not.

Links: "Don Draper:Sociopath?" and "Men Choose Television Sociopath as Their Biggest Influence in 2009."

The first season of Mad Men is frequently lauded for its pitch perfect recreation of the early 1960s. Yet many fans of the show find that some of their favorite moments and scenes are actually set in the early 1930s. If the question we are all asking is how to tackle the living mystery that is Don Draper, the answer may lie in studying Dick Whitman. The writers and producers of Mad Men carefully crafted the scenes involving the Whitman parents and young Dick/Don to show how several aspects of Don’s life and character can be traced back to his unfortunate upbringing.

The first flashback scene in this episode shows a wondering hobo approaching the Whitman home, looking for a little work in exchange for a hot meal. As the Whitman "family" stands outside, the hobo says he is reminded of his younger self looking at young Dick. Abigail responds that she isn’t surprised. It becomes clear that Dick was raised in an environment where little was expected of him in terms of a successful future. The woman who raises him barks at him to "stop digging holes," and she means this in more than a literal sense. He is perceived as someone who will do nothing more in life than pointless, cheap labor and although Abigail Whitman tells him to stop, there is no real expectation that his existence will ever be worth more than the air he breathes.

At dinner that night, the hobo mentions he comes from back east, New York. Archie Whitman immediately tells us this is a sign of weakness and laziness, that it’s no wonder this man wound up a bum. Dick was raised in a home where the type of work they did in New York was seen as intellectual pointlessness, nothing compared to steady, independent farm living. His family saw the detractions but failed to see the possible benefits of a life with more possibilities and glamour. We can see why Dick had no choice but to run from this atmosphere if he was to ever embrace a dream of anything more, a dream that came true as Don Draper in New York City, for better or for worse.

The next scene featuring the hobo, played wonderfully by Paul Schulze (Jack’s boss Ryan Chappelle for those who remember the third season of 24), finds young Dick preparing a makeshift bed for the visitor by the light of an oil lamp. The hobo tells about his life before he became a "gentleman of the rails," claiming to have had a normal job and family. He hated the confines of being tied down, and one day just left his obligations for the open road. In this very episode, Don asks Midge to leave for Paris with him on a whim. Life at home and in the office is trying for him at this point, and he once again starts to consider escape a desirable option. The seeds of these thoughts can be traced back to the hobo who gave him hope of escape when he told young Dick that it was clear he is "one of us," one that cannot be tied down.

Immediately before the final Depression-era scene of the episode, we are treated to an emotional scene in which Don begs his young son to ask him anything, saying he will always be honest with his children. There is no way this doesn’t directly relate to the next flashback, in which Archie Whitman denies the hobo the coin he was promised the previous night for the work he did that day. The hobo draws a knife on the Whitman family fence post, to signify to other wanderers that a dishonest man lives there. As the hobo walks away, Dick fleetingly runs after him, before shooting a disturbed look back at his father.

Don’s glamorous lifestyle in the advertising industry suggests to the casual viewer that he is a million miles away from his grim, Depression-era upbringing. The flashback scenes in episode seven of the first season, “The Hobo Code," argue the contrary. We learn about what was expected of the young Dick Whitman, factors that prompt his drive to escape, the difference in how he was perceived by his mother figure and an extremely prescient hobo, and conflicts he has about honesty and integrity. As much as shots in the close of this episode (Don sleeping soundly like a rock, which the hobo said he would never due while holding a job, mortgage and family, and the closing image of the nametag on the office door to remind us who this man has become) suggest that Don is completely removed from his childhood, it is clear that elements of his life as the child Dick Whitman still impact the man Don is today.