By Courtney M.
While Mad Men largely centers around the character of Don Draper and his ad executive colleagues as they navigate the social and political upheavals of history's most pivotal decade (the 1960s), there are many, many different ways to approach an episode or even an entire season. Between the central characters and their subsequent story arcs, the pretext and historical context of major plot points, and critical issues circling identity and gender roles, there's a lot to unpack here. The duality of Dick Whitman and Don Draper, alone, is more than enough material to ruminate on for the next one hundred pages. And while each major player contains—at the very least—a magnitude of historical relevance and representation, what makes Mad Men so good is that nothing seems force-fed or heavy-handed; especially not its characters, which is difficult to pull off given this particular period piece. Everything is seamless, natural and (whether it's a good thing or not) relatable. Because once you clear the smoke and strip away the seduction and glamor, viewers quickly realize that not much has changed since the 1960s.
Especially not for women.
