Essay Questions:
1. "Band of Gold" is the song being played in the bar where we find Don Draper at the beginning of the episode, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." Explain how people in the episode conflate the importance of being married with the importance of being in love and evaluate what aspects of the American ethos may be contributing to this confusion. To justify your position, consider the approaches used, suggested or implied by individuals in the story to find a marriage partner as well as the lyrics of the song.
Band of Gold lyrics
Band of Gold - Don Cherry
2. Don asks the waiter in the bar about why he smokes Old Gold. Eventually, Don digs deeper and goes beyond the brand, asking the waiter what he would do if his brand was suddenly gone. The waiter responds, "I suppose I could find something." And then he concludes,"I love smoking." Don is appreciative, "I like that," he responds. Given the rising challenges in selling cigarettes to the public, what aspect of the American ethos does this resonate with and why?
3. How does the,"It's Toasted," slogan create happiness as defined in America?
Don tells the Lucky Strike executives that, "Advertising is based on one thing - happiness." Don defines happiness by example. He says, "It's the smell of a new car. It's freedom from fear. It's a billboard on the side of the road that screams with reassurance, 'Whatever you're doing, it's OK. You are OK.' " Use Don's examples combined with the original meaning of happiness as applied in the Declaration of Independence to explain happiness in the American context (i.e. the pursuit of happiness as an unalienable right important enough to mentioned beside the right to "life" and "liberty").
4. Don outlines his philosophy of life to Rachel Menken that,"True love doesn't exist. It was invented by guys like me to sell nylons," that, "You are born alone in this world and you die alone," and therefore he chooses to live like there is no tomorrow, "because there isn't one." Rachel responds, "I don't think I realized it until this moment, but it must be hard being a man too. I don't know what it is you really believe in but I do know what it feels like to be out of place - to be disconnected. To see the whole world laid out in front of you the way other people live it. There's something about you that tells me you know it too." What does she mean? Consider all the evidence presented in this episode with respect to the social attitudes and norms concerning who men and women are and what they want out of life.
5. Explain the irony in the way the episode,"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" ends with the song,"On the Street Where You Live."
On the Street Where You Live Lyrics
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bobbydarin/onthestreetwhereyoulive.html
On the Street Where You Live - Vic Damone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SabMZ6z-KRU
On the Street Where You Live - Bobby Darin
1 6. What makes “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” an appropriate title for this episode?
7. Today, we have different social attitudes and norms with respect to who men and women are and how they are expected to act. We are told these new norms are more authentic, but are they or are they just a different brand that leaves different people feeling disconnected?
Complete ONE of the essays above for Thursday, May 20, 2021.
Next Episode : Nixon vs Kennedy - Season 1, Episode 12
Have this episode watched by May 20.
Things to consider before and after viewing:
A. Individualism (self reliance, getting ahead), capitalism, and the self made man as validation for it all, and in a larger sense, America. How do you see these concepts influence perceptions and thinking in this episode?
B.
From self-made to self-packaged to branding - consider the transformation Don and others are making in their lives. There is one line delivered by a certain character that best exemplifies a philosophy that helps encourage people to remake themselves and even alter who they are/appear to be for any given situation. See if you can recognize this line.
C.
This episode features several different kinds of reinvention – Duck Phillips, Sterling Cooper in the context of the election of Kennedy, Pete Campbell
D.
Is the office party and Don's impulse to run away withRachel a sort of short term reinvention or is it escapism? What fuels it?
