I Know There's An Answer

Television shows come and go with either a creative bang, meh, or a whimper coming into their final year. The endings to these series’ as a result will leave you inspired, give off a shrug in indifference, or be in disgust to the point of wondering if you wasted your time with the show. When we last left Mad Men it was adrift in its excesses of slow pacing, questionable character development, depressing atmosphere, and maddening use of ambiguity. Could the series recover to end on a high note, or will it continue to decline in a sad and glacier manner? Fortunately for us the latter was not the case, at least for the most part. This shorter however still long post will go over the show’s final moments, its ending, the universal appeal, the connection animation and advertising share, and concluding thoughts on the show. In its final year, the series was still dealing with some lingering storytelling issues. Sterling Cooper went through turnovers soo many times you'd begin to wonder whether they should have simply called themselves "Mad Men" to be honest with themselves for once. There were inconsistencies regarding pacing, especially since the first half of the season was spent trying to dig the show out of the melancholy ditch it dug itself in. Then there was the silly business of figures like Diana Bauer, whose role in the story was simply just to pull our chains in the most frustrating way possible. Lastly there was the unnecessary splitting up of the season which hurt the overall momentum of the year. I find the last part in particular to be selfish and troubling as the show among others of recent years was cheating the system by "double dipping the chip" in persistent pursuit for the crown that is the Emmy. But when all was said and done the last season was a welcome return to form for the show over the previous two years as the last batch of episodes seemed to correct some of the other issues that were dragging itself down. The character development was nuanced again, the emotions were balanced out, and the focus of the stories were tighter once more. Part of this shift I believe was because the show was gradually resetting itself back to what it was from the first season so there are a lot of callbacks to the themes of its first year. In that sense the first and the last seasons act creatively like bookends for the rest of the show to rest in on the book shelf. Some of my favorite moments from the entire series actually came from the final year as it went back to the heart of relating to these flawed human beings who were struggling against the obstacles we all face in life. The scenes that truly touched me included the moments where Don Draper & Peggy Olson rekindle their comradely and dance like old souls with a profound care and respect for one another. Then there was the shot of Don & Peggy alongside Pete Campbell eating at the diner that perfectly encapsulated the tightly knit unorthodox family they had found in one another. Next was the fitting tribute to Bertram Cooper and his actor Robert Morse in singing "The Best Things In Life Are Free" which for all the strange stuff the show had done by that point ranks as among the best of them all. Following that was Betty Draper’s tearful final wishes to her daughter Sally of her going out with dignity as she had lived in life. Finally there was the scene of a humbled Don sitting on a bench in the middle of nowhere with nothing to his name but his identity. Through those wonderful scenes I could hear the warm echoes of Pet Sounds once more ringing in my head.

This all leads up to how the show wrapped up Don's story. A lot of commentary has been focused on the commercial itself, but honestly I don’t care much for the gaudy ad. Personally I would have liked to have heard Peter Paul & Mary's "Blowing in the Wind", Boy Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone", or The Byrds "Turn!Turn!Turn!" to sign off the series since the lyrics of those songs correspond with the themes of the story. Since I prefer to ignore the commercial all together I focus instead on Don sitting in serene tranquility as the actual conclusion to the show. I like to emphasize more on that because to me that shot was the perfect way to bring closure to the show as it was both conclusive and open ended enough for us to reflect on the meaning of the scene. The scene revealed a once broken man who is finally able to achieve true peace and a sense of identity in his life. It is one of the few times...if not the only time...in the entire series where Don actually allows himself to smile. At that very moment Don was transformed from a mere facade into a full bodied human being for the first time. He can now begin anew not just professionally but also personally in his life whereas many of his more ambitious and morally compromised peers in advertising world will continue to struggle with their own place in the changing times. I don’t consider the ending to be cynical because Don discovered his humanity and like any other artist he uses this new profound outlook on life in his work. Advertising is an art onto itself that is meant to project how we perceive of the world and an artist like Don is not going to let go of that artistic passion because it is who he is. The depth of analysis the final scene brings poignantly harkens back to the ending of Pinocchio which also asked us to reflect and absorb on the meaning of its ending. Does anyone remember the lyrics of the haunting song “When You Wish Upon A Star”? How can anyone not be moved by Cliff Edwards’ beautiful rendition of the song. On the surface the tune may read as your standard “I Want” song about wish fulfillment and dreams coming true, but it means soo much more than that. There is actually a spiritual and ethereal quality to the lyrics. To me the one part of the song that stands out to me the most is when the choir followed by Jiminy Cricket sing hauntingly of the nature of the Blue Fairy’s role in our lives. “Fate is kind. She brings to those who love the sweet fulfillment of their secret longing. Like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in and sees you through". I believe fate was kind to Don on that day, for it holds no bias or cynicism to flawed beings who desire to love. She brought to him through the memory and ideals of his late sister the one gift he craved for above all things: humanity. In the midst of the sleepy world set against all the horrors of the world, where justice turns a blind eye and many souls are lost to despair…one wooden block head somehow survived the power of death and thus learned how to become truly human at his journey’s end. As Lisa Simpson once so eloquently said to her brother Bart, “Some philosophers believe that nobody is born with a soul -- that you have to earn one through suffering and thought and prayer, like you did last night.” I can think of no other profound sentiment to end Don’s story than with that hopeful and beautiful thought.

Many period shows have come and gone because they offered nothing new to what has already been said before. Mad Men however brought something different to the table as it sought to reinvent the period drama with an attention to detail that very few shows had ever undertaken. A slew of wannabe shows soon followed and failed as those pretenders missed the entire point of the show’s appeal. That below its slick surface was an intricate study of the human condition. The only other show that got the message was the equally worthy Dowtown Abbey from across the pond. They are arguably siblings, flaws and all, in the writer-driven movement of the new Golden Age of Television. After all, the smooth Sterling Cooper and dry Grantham Manor share intriguing mysteries that are felt not only by us from the outside but also to the inhabitants of those very sanctuaries as well. This Hitchcockian insight into duality and identity runs on both sides of the pond as we see characters chase in vain the worlds of which they romanticize before being swept away by the realities they all must inevitably face. This appeal extends beyond the Baby Boomers and the Lost Generation that experienced those moments, for while we may live in different periods we are still able to absorb those bygone eras of history as if they were happening in our own time. This is because the historical prism that runs through these shows can transport us to the days of yesteryear with enough ease that we don't even have to wonder about the gap between our periods. That is the universal aspect that all the great romantic pieces share with one another regardless of their methods of storytelling.

The same can be said of cartoons that revolve around kids as the protagonists. Most shows in this area tend to be lame because they usually offer the typical generic lessons and platitudes we would come to expect nowadays. They are the type of shows we once watched as children only to look down upon them nostalgically and nothing more long after we had left the One Hundred Acre Wood. There are however a few special ones that contrary to its childlike appearances were meant as much for adults as for children. Hey Arnold and South Park were those kickass cartoons of the Animation Renaissance that operated on two layers. On the surface it showed us the world seen through the child's point of view, but "kid" shows they simply were not as underneath it lied a deep observation towards life as an adult may have. While these two shows had different means of telling their story the creators nevertheless were aiming at the same audience of people who were once children as they once were as well. This universal aspiration harkens back to Charles Schulz’s masterful Peanuts stories whose profound poignancy set the gold standard for the wonderful shows like the aforementioned to follow. There is a maturity and self-awareness to these characters that was unnoticeable to us when we were younger but is more apparent later on in life as we continue to see ourselves in their personalities and situations. As a result of them transcending time we were all able to return to the One Hundred Acre Wood without a care or thought about the age of these works or characters. It is that nuance which what makes a work of art truly timeless in the end.

As Matt Weiner once correctly pointed out, we do have an uneasy relationship with them because we like what we see and crave for it despite our hesitance to admit it the impact they have on us. What I truly admire in Mad Men is how it has shown how advertisements are an art form onto itself just as animation is. I believe this is important to point out because there exists in some circles a narrow minded bias towards marketing as an art because it is viewed in a more cynical light. I believe such views are as ignorant as the ancient argument that animation is not an art form because the heart all drawings carry somehow lack the emotional or dramatic resonance of a frame from reality such as a live action film. It’s really a nonsensical dispute because if we are going with that logic than live action movies would be out of the running already with regards to actuality because the documentary film will always top them in that regard. The same applies to the misguided debates made against commercials, for there is in fact an actual art and science to how these works relate to us on a personal, mental, and spiritual level. Like all of the arts commercials make us sympathize with or turn against a character, feel happy or sad, support or protest an idea, vote for a candidate, come up with theories or answers to a question, and lastly simply go out to the store to buy a product of our choosing. All these forms can have a symbolism, a subtle suggestion, or specific imagery that engages the viewer in way that is similar to how a film or television show can grab the person’s attention through its story. The artwork itself can leave an influential imprint on the audience by being drawn in a realistic or stylized nature alongside the characters' movements in full fluidity, limited motion, or reactions through extreme poses. They manipulate us in one way or another because that is a major part of the story's connection to the audience. As for what kind of manipulation should be applied on these works will always be a matter of artistic and philosophical debate because there are different ways to go about it that can be effective or not. Those kinds of debates are had throughout the production of these works from the concept to the pitching process and finally the completed ad. This is no different from the production of a cartoon where the story is conceived in the blue sky phase to the storyboard process and finally the completed colorized animation. It is not limited to the screen as it makes its way onto the third dimension through sponsored theme park attractions with animators, imagineers, and graphic designers working at hand to promote an idea through an entertaining, technical, and artistic way.

There are many things I am going to miss about the show now that it is no longer on air. Gone are the Monday mornings of reading posts on the episodes from the likes of Tim Goodman’s detailed and deep deconstructions of the show through the lens of the New School, Maureen Ryan's podcasts and "What the Flick" episodes on Youtube. I won’t be able to make jokes about how similar Mad Men and Dowtown Abbey are to each other since the former is now off the air for good as will the latter one day. I will miss laughing at those supposed "promos" or whenever I looked up the synopsis of the episodes every week on the satellite only to roll my eyes over what Matt Weiner considers to be a "spoiler". There will be no more times where I become frustrated by some of the show’s certain tendencies and habits. And I will most miss the moments where I was in awe over its deepness, grace, flourishes into the mundane events in our lives that we often take for granted but are allowed to reflect upon on with ease. It was not long after Mad Men went off the air did it really hit me that I would no longer have an outlet to travel back to the 1960’s every Sunday night. It was both a surreal and sad moment for me because it just seemed soo odd that after all these years that there would be no more of Mad Men. The series may be over...but it will always be there to watch through reruns, DVDs, and Netflix. I would have to rely now more than ever on my Beach Boys’ playlist comprising of Today - Pets Sounds - Smile while animating to bring me back to that now bygone era of history. When you get that emotional feeling you know a show or film has left an impact on you in some special way. It is that type of warmth that will always be there long after the story has ended or when one is finished viewing an artwork. The series certainly has earned a place on my shelf amongst the shows that have influenced as an artist. So here's one final toast to a show that leaves into the quiet night as among the all-time greats.

On one final note, when I wrote these three pieces I had in my mind the title of the collection as "Of Mice & Mad Men" for three of the following reasons. First, it is a reference to one of my favorite stories, Of Mice & Men, by John Steinbeck. The tragic story dealt with humanistic themes in ways similar to how Mad Men studied them. The second pays homage to the awesome animation history book Of Mice & Magic by the Film Historian Leonard Maltin and the Animation Historian Jerry Beck. The book covered the history of the art form from its origins to the present day in its current form. And third, I just like the ring of the name. When you put those two titles together the title becomes Of Mice & Mad Men, which I hope was able to deconstruct the series through an animation perspective in the art form's observation of the human condition. Well, what do you know. It looks like the paragraphs here are gradually get smaller and smaller. I will take that as a sign that we have finally reached the end of our journey through the animated deconstruction of Sterling Cooper. I believe that is all I have to say about the series alongside animation as I have finally solved my own brain teaser. So what better way to end this trilogy of posts than with what I consider to be one of the best episodes from The Simpsons in the eloquently titled, "Lisa the Simpson”.