Nostalgia – it’s delicate, but potent. . . . ‘Nostalgia’ literally means ‘the pain from an old wound.’ It’s a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone. This device isn’t a spaceship; it’s a time machine. It goes backwards, forwards. It takes us to a place where we ache to go again. It’s not called the wheel; it’s called the carousel. It let’s us travel the way a child travels – around and around, and back home again, to a place where we know we are loved.
The reason Mad Men is my favorite TV series is mainly because the show is filled with scenes that really stand out; I guess it would be more accurate to call them moments. These moments usually come from nowhere and can make a good episode great in just a few seconds. One pattern that has emerged however as the show has progressed is that every season finale to date has featured one or more of these true Mad Men moments.
"The Wheel" as the season one finale episode is called is still to this date my favorite episode from the show, largely thanks to the scene above. The first season is really special because everything was still new and mysterious, but what I think really set it apart was the sense that the writers were unsure whatever or not they would be coming back for another season, so it really felt like they weren't holding back at all when it came to the story.
So I guess it's natural that season one has many of my favorite episodes from the show and is literally filled with great scenes and moments. None of them are equal to the scene above, in which our protagonist Don Draper pitches a campaign to Kodak for their new line of "wheel projectors" - the projectors ended up being renamed "Kodak Carousel Slide Projectors" and this scene speculates how that could have happened.
Instead of focusing on reinventing "the wheel" in a modern way as Kodak higher-ups suggested, Don decides on a nostalgic pitch where the projector becomes more than just another new piece of modern technology and instead becomes "a time machine". A carousel of memories that takes us on a ride to the different places and moments in our lives. This whole scene is made even more powerful because Don uses his own personal family photos to pitch his campaign to the executives.
Don's blatant longing for his family and the clear ache of separation / isolation that he feels towards them really is heartbreaking and sealed Mad Men as the best drama series on television for me. However this scene is especially poignant to me personally, because now years later I still watch the scene from time to time and I actually feel the emotion that Don Draper must be feeling in it. I've lost some important people in my life these last couple of years and I can feel myself aching to go back again, to that place / time where I knew I was loved.
I have recently noticed this shift in perspective that I have experienced as I've followed the show, more and more I am relating to Don Draper rather than Pete Campbell when I'm watching new as well as old episodes. My life has been turning for the better in these past few years, despite the sad things, and my success actually seems feasible and almost certain at this point. However at the same time I have the distinct feeling that a lot of what was originally me had to be sacrificed to get to this point.
I just hope there is more redemption in my life, compared to the life of Don Draper.
2 comments:
The beauty of the ptich/script writing in this scene is that its such simply stated truth that everyone can relate to it. There is no melodrama or blatant attempts to pull emotions from the viewer. Let's just hope Mad Men ends before they start going down in quality.
Well written post, as usual. <3
Yeah, I agree, I've seen a lot of movies and shows by now and I'm really getting sick of how many times I end up feeling manipulated to feel sad about a scene or situation. It usually goes something like sad music playing while everyone looks absolutely heartbroken crying in a combination that has no subtlety.
The reason Mad Men takes a piss on any other drama on TV is because of scenes like this, the music is there but it's in the background, the focus is not on Don crying his eyes out but on what the viewer can only perceive as some deep emotions of alienation, sadness and love - all at the same time. The complexity of the characters on Mad Men and the delivery in acting, as well as the solid writing is what really makes the show amazing.
And like you say, I hope they end it before it becomes stupid. However so far, season four already has some of the best episodes on the show and we're still not at the finale which usually tends to have the strongest episodes.
<3
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