Mad Men - Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

Season 1 Episode 1 - Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

Watch the episode by May 16th. If you have questions about the content for discussion below, attend Friday's office hour.

Leading questions and ideas to consider before and after viewing:

Social Attitudes and Norms:

What are the implied ideals of relationships according to what we see in this episode? What do men want? What do women want?

Do you think they represent who people really are or are they the result of expectations based on a sort of branding? Is this really any different today or has the branding just changed? Are people really more connected to these brands because they are more authentic? Or are different people disconnected now?  

When Paul Kinsey worries that it’s not good to talk that way about a new female employee the minute you meet her, Ken says, “It’s good to let them know what kind of man you are so that they can decide what kind of girl to be.”

Consider Salvatore and Peggy. How do they act based on what they think they ought to be rather than who they might really be?

Consider how Don deals with Pete Campbell’s sexual harassment of Peggy. Is this effective? 

We are told, “Buy X, because it is who you are. You need it because it suits you – it fits.” When you choose something naturally, it is authentic. When you choose something consciously to fit what you have decided to be, it is contrived. What you you think causes some people to do the latter?

What's the ideal of marriage as put forth in the music that opens and closes the episode? (Band of Gold and On the Street Where You Live)

How does this fit with the strategies used or implied to attract a partner?

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. What is it in this answer that works for Don based on the problem he is facing? What part of the American ethos is at work in the line, "I love smoking"?

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.' " What does Don really mean? Is there a connection between Don's definition and what Jefferson meant when he defined "life, liberty and happiness" to be "unalienable rights"?

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." Based on all the social attitudes and norms that we see exhibited in this episode, what do you think she is commenting on?