‘Mad Men’ : The Family Business «

 

"There are all kinds of families. Some might look more traditional on the surface than others, but they’re no less legitimate. Conforming to the one particular structure is no guarantee of happiness. Just watch Don when Peggy asks him how well his whole nuclear-family experiment worked out. Better yet, ask Sally! Like a marriage with no arguments, the idealized family where everyone bonds over dinner each night instead of sullenly watching TV simply doesn’t exist. Or rather, it exists only in the world of commercials, which constantly remind viewers that they are not measuring up to standards without also reminding them it’s impossible to. So why keep selling people something they can never achieve? Because provoking insecurity moves product, or so the usual thinking goes. Ads are selling the desire of anticipation. Once you make the purchase, your expectations are either fulfilled or dashed. And when has any product ever delivered what the ad promised? The wait is generally the most satisfying part of the process."

read review by MOLLY LAMBERT