When discussing the concept of quality TV and complex narrative it seems that these terms are inseparable from that of HBO. While HBO certainly is the grandfather of the new wave of excellence amongst television, especially with its early groundbreaking shows The Sopranos and Sex and the City, it is no longer the sole producer of these quality programmes, with other cable channels like AMC, FX and Showtime mimicking their style with great success. Recently this has even extended online with Netflix now producing original content akin to what would normally feature on cable TV. Matthew Weiner’s Mad Men which features on AMC gives a prime example of HBO’s ripple effect on television, as not only did AMC follow suit in airing original quality TV, but Weiner himself spent many years working for HBO as a writer through The Sopranos whilst developing Mad Men. Through Mad Men it is clear to see how AMC have used quality TV to rebrand themselves, which they have backed up with Breaking Bad, much like the way HBO had done in the late 90’s.
Whilst discussing ideas of complex narrative it would be nonsensical to not focus on Mad Men which, as indicated by its 4 consecutive Emmy wins in the Outstanding Drama Category, has stood as a mantelpiece for sophisticated and highly nuanced work on a television landscape. After the screening of the season 1 finale ‘The Wheel’ during this week’s lecture, as an avid Mad Men fan I was surprised by the less than enthused response from my friends. However, I would say that this is because that it was the first they had watched Mad Men. While ‘The Wheel’ is an exceptional episode, the show is not one of event driven plotlines but rather bases itself around exploring the inner turmoil of each character all whilst continuously building upon the world of the sixties, all things that require a long term investment from the audience and a high degree of deep attention. Therefore I can only assume that when watching ‘The Wheel’ out of context with the rest of the season its emotional gravity is lost as the audience have not followed the individual characters evolution from where they began at the start of the season.
Dissecting the characters developments in this episode, what Mad Men does most affectively is how it uses these character’s individual journeys to reflect the social and political upheaval of the time. This is seen most overtly with Peggy Olson, and the trajectory of her career, to embody the steadily increasing feminist movements of the time. This storyline comes to a head in this episode as Peggy continues to climb the corporate ladder at Sterling Cooper, as Don gives Peggy her first account, much to the chagrin of her fellow male employees. This story interlocked with the unexpected birth of her child it explores the shift of women’s expected roles to be housewives as they continued to rise in male dominated workplaces and the conflicts that arise alongside it.
However, Mad Men does not merely explore the highly volatile social times of the 60’s but, uses this period as a lens through which to juxtapose the equally turbulent social and political climate of post 9/11 America. On the most basic level this is expressed through the opening sequence which depicts the silhouette of Don Draper falling from a skyscraper between the New York City skyline, brining immediate visual responses to both an Alfred Hitchcock film and the infamous images of people jumping from the twin towers during 9/11. In doing so the show culminates to comment and provoke discussion of the American identity, from what is has been and to what it continues to grow into today.