Menken’s, Macy’s, and America

As we know, everything in America is bigger, better, and more easily accessible. But, where did this need for the one-stop shop begin? In Mad Men, Rachel Menken’s department store ‘Menken’s’ has troubles advertising and so they turn to Sterling Cooper to help. Yet, not all department stores had such trouble advertising. The evolution of the department store is one intimately tied to America and the vast variety of department stores reflects America’s need to facilitate shopping in the era of the housewife. 

In 1858 Rowland Hussey Macy open up the “fancy dry goods” store under the company Macy & Co on sixth avenue in New York City. It was one of the first departments stores to open in America, and even to this day it is one of the most popular. Albeit a precursor to the modern day department store, the “fancy dry goods” store did not sell exclusively clothes, but rather they sold tools for embroidery, in addition to carpets, oil, and cloaks As Macy’s progressed into the fashion giant that it is today, it left behind it’s multipurpose business to transition into clothing.

Image credit: http://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/tag/herald-square/

In 1864 Macy’s began to use elaborate window displays, and created the idea of the ‘window shopper’. This newfangled and direct way of advertising relied on impulse buying. By presenting their most beautiful new garments directly in the window, the everyday person walking by can be taken aback by the fancy designs and can be enticed to enter and buy. This new advertising method has been recreated all over the world, and nowadays one expects window displays to be showy, extravagant, and flawless. 

Image credit: http://www.cityprofile.com/new-york/macys-department-store.html

In 1924 the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was born. Through their strategic name placement, Macy’s became a household name, and their advertising infiltrated the America psyche.  This classic American tradition was characterized by the ever-famous department store, and thus continued their brilliant advertising. 

For department stores, advertising is almost as important as product. If it were not for commercials and window displays and strategic sponsorship, Macy’s would not have become the powerhouse of fashion that is now is. 

Links referenced: http://www1.macys.com/store/about/history/index.jsp 

L'Shanah Tovah, Don Draper!

I admit, I did not keep up with the episode schedule so last weekend I spent Sunday afternoon glued to my screen watching Don put Pete in his place, Ken get published, and watching Don feel out of place in Greenwich Village. When I got to the end of the sixth episode, "Babylon," after that women got through her ridiculous poem about making love with Fidel Castro, and the two men took the stage, I had a sudden feeling of déjà vu, or rather déjà ecouté. “We remember, we remember, we remember you Zion,” sounded so familiar and then suddenly I remembered. I had heard it no more than 24 hours ago at the Yom Kippur Shabbat service at Temple Israel.

For all of you goys out there, Yom Kippur is the holiest of holies. It is a day of atonement and repentance observed by fasting from sundown to sundown and going to prayer services. It’s believed that on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, God writes everyone’s fate for the year in the Book of Life and then “seals the deal” on Yom Kippur. During the eight days in between, the Days of Awe, Jews try to repent for any wrong they have done against God or another human being so God will bring them good tidings for the rest of the year. That’s why common Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur greetings are “shanah tovah” (for a good year) or “gmar chatima tova” (may you be inscribed in the Book of Life for Good). These greetings may sound more awkward than saying “Happy New Year!” or “Merry Christmas”, but it’s more appropriate than saying “Happy Yom Kippur!” because after all, it is a day of penance.

During the service I went to, people were encouraged to share their wrong doings with the temple so the temple could forgive them. Many people called out their sins such as not supporting a friend in need or giving up on a social cause. Would Don Draper speak up? (If he did, he’d probably something vague and open ended.)

In addition to fasting, Jews are not allowed to eat, drink (alcohol or nonalcoholic), wear leather shoes, bath or wash, use perfume, or have marital relations in order to cleanse themselves. From the soles of his shoes (most likely leather, possibly Italian leather) to his fingertips (which are almost always holding a drink), Don Draper would not be a good Jew, although without a doubt, he could find a way around no marital relations.

The song "Babylon," based on Psalm 137 ("Psalm 137") when the Jews were exiled from Babylon, (click here to see the original version sung by Don McLean), is a typically sung at Temple. Thought it wasn’t written for Mad Men, it seems to relate to Draper. Zion is a name for Jerusalem and the Biblical Land of Israel, but it also has become a metaphor for any Promised Land or wanted goal. It has even been used in a spiritual meaning, symbolizing the yearning by wanderers for a safe homeland ("Zion"). What a coincidence, since Don could not have seemed more out of place and exiled than he did in the last scene of Babylon when Midge and her obtuse friend dragged Don to a show in the middle of Bohemia in Greenwich Village (see Don looking sad and alone here!). Don Draper is a vagabond, constantly wandering in between the city and the suburbs, going from woman to woman without finding a true confidant or soul mate. Although recently, Don has been confiding bits of his past and his worries to Rachel Menken, could she be his Zion?

Links referenced:

"Psalm 137." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 15 Sept 2010. Web. 26 Sep 2010.
.

"Zion." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 11 Sept 2010. Web. 26 Sep 2010.
.

Don Draper is an island. He has always isolated himself ever since he was a little boy. Like any true escapist, he leaves when he lands in hot water. In episode twelve of season one we find that Pete’s been snooping around to find the perfect angle to receive the promotion he has been looking for. When he reveals that he knows Don’s true identity, Don begins to jump ship.

Don’s flashbacks are always in great clarity. Natural light illuminates the space. This often happens when Don saves another client presentation with his great last minute ideas. It almost makes it seem as if he is divine, unscathed by flaws or failure. The opposite is true when he wants to escape his life and his thoughts are muddled.

The scene between Rachel and Don, when he is trying to convince her to leave with him is a particularly low-lit scene. The dark shadow that almost always dominates Don is ever present. Rachel tends to weave in and out of the rays that burst through the window. When they are seeing eye to eye, they stand in Isolation, but when she is refusing his offer she stands apart.

The light creates the mis-en-scene by physically depicting hostility. This is the end of his second escape. The lights give an air of ambivalence that characterizes Don’s hasty plan.

There is a need for the writers and directors to single out Don. This is not just because his tragic heroism drives the story but also to reveal his complexity.

It is also interesting that there is never more than three-quarters of their bodies shown at all times. Each shot often cuts to them in their own frame. The back and forth is conveyed by a shot reverse shot technique. This type of focus formulates the importance of their words as the space becomes smaller. They have limited space the more they grow apart as if the space mimics the relationship’s movement and lighting changes.

This is not the first time Rachel is put in a similar point of view as she often leads and commands every conversation she has. Her words are what are always important even more so as their relationship fights its previous mold.

It is no surprise however, that in this scene the effervescent relationship begins to fizzle out. She is not an escapist, but like Midge she sees the need for change, as any modern women should. She stands firmly in the bright warm light that Midge often stood in too. There is a shallow focus on the two subjects as Rachel pulls farther away. She realizes that Don is not the man she thought he would be. She is the most knowledgeable about Don’s past, but this does not salvage the relationship.

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."