Mad Men

I don't watch television during school. I never figured out what channels are what when I moved to Grand Rapids and never bothered, because I have theology and Dostoevsky to read. But in my experience on the Art of Manliness

I started hearing about this show called Mad Men on AMC. Now I love classic movies and so I trusted that the show was equally loveable (I mean it was mentioned on the Art of Manliness after all). Over break, between waking at 1pm and lounging in my slippers, I started watching full episodes

of Mad Men and am enjoying it.

The show is set in the 1950's and centers around these guys who work in an advertising firm. The center character is Don Draper, pictured above, who has a wife kids and a good job in the advertising industry. He also has a mistress. Nobody's perfect, and that's the whole point of the show.

Now if you're a feminist, watching a series about 1950's androcentic society probably is not the top thing on your list, but even you gals should check it out. The guys in this show are both scoundrels and gentlemen. It offers you a glimpse at what a different culture it was back then. Housewives being nervous wrecks, men thinking that every "doll" they saw was at their disposal, disconnection and affection between parents and children was sporadic, not to mention the whole business of women drinking and smoking while they were pregnant (The Surgeon General wasn't so big back then).

It offers a moving portrait of a flawed time. Hopefully we can look back and resurrect the classy and chilvalrous elements from this period, while also casting off the utilitarian sexuality and general stoicism. Watching the show I'm interested in seeing how these intricately flawed characters are able to bring themselves together again, because Lord knows we all have tendencies that impede our journey towards order, unity, and communion. They're flawed characters: they're human characters.

I also loved the fact that you can Mad Men Yourself

, whether you're a lady or a gentleman. Give it a shot, they can be pretty spot on . . .

Tübingen Wörter
Wort: das Geheimnnis: mystery
Verb: reden (redete, geredet): to discourse