Synopses & Reviews
Since the show's debut in 2007, Mad Men has invited viewers to immerse themselves in the lush period settings, ruthless Madison Avenue advertising culture, and arresting characters at the center of its 1960s fictional world. Mad Men, Mad World is a comprehensive analysis of this groundbreaking TV series. Scholars from across the humanities consider the AMC drama from a fascinating array of perspectives, including fashion, history, architecture, civil rights, feminism, consumerism, art, cinema, and the serial format, as well as through theoretical frames such as critical race theory, gender, queer theory, global studies, and psychoanalysis.
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In the introduction, the editors explore the show's popularity; its controversial representations of race, class and gender; its powerful influence on aesthetics and style; and its unique use of period historicism and advertising as a way of speaking to our neoliberal moment. Mad Men, Mad World includes an interview with Phil Abraham, an award-winning Mad Men director and cinematographer. Taken together, the essays demonstrate that understanding Mad Men means engaging the show not only as a reflection of the 1960s but also as a commentary on the present day.
Review
andquot;I read this collection with enormous pleasure. The essays are smart, creative, and original. Writing on matters from TV technology to the history of advertising, and from the early civil rights movement to analogies between Jews and nineteenth-century dandies, the contributors illuminate what turns out to be a very rich and charismatic cultural object. I think that Mad Men, Mad World will make a real splash.andquot;
Review
andquot;The essays assembled in this collection pay careful, astute analytical attention to one of American televisionand#39;s most significant contemporary series. Deepening its approach far beyond that of standard appreciations of and#39;quality TV,and#39; this book illuminates Mad Menandrsquo;s complex, powerful engagement with capitalism, national identity, race, and gender at a time when these categories are so evidently in flux.andquot;
Review
"What a treat for me to delve into this work with so much academic and intellectual rigor—I love it!" Phil Abraham, director, Mad Men
Review
andldquo;Throughout the book are intelligent discussions dissecting the central themes addressed in the show, such as masculinity and feminism, identity, and race relations and representations. . . . [It] accomplishes the admirable feat of offering considerable critique and examination from a standpoint of admiration and fandom.andrdquo;
Review
“An interesting conversation.” Candace Opper, Bitch
Review
andldquo;Mad Men, Mad World's brilliance is that it analyzes storylines and characters from completely unexpected angles. . . . These are deeply considered pieces that truly spark intellectual discussion. It's a mad world, indeed, but this book helps to bring some order to the chaos.andrdquo;
Review
“The varying perspectives presented make this work useful supplemental reading for television critics, scholars, and researchers interested in deeper analysis of the show’s portrayal of 1960s culture.” Kimberley Bugg, Library Journal
Review
andldquo;There is much else in the book that I found interesting and useful in thinking about Mad Men, and I think it will be stimulating to readers outside the ranks of aca fandom.andrdquo;
Review
“Every essay contained in the book provides an analysis of salient diegetic features as it establishes a direct dialogue with other opinions consigned to the Anglo-American press and Web.” - Enrica Picarelli, International Journal of Communication
Review
“These authors go deeper to find the origins of postmodernism or neoliberalism within the show’s text and much more. These essays show students how a drama can subtly reflect a historical period and engage public memory . . . . It will delight more advanced academic fans of the show.” - R. W. Morrow, Choice
Review
andldquo;Just as Mad Men charms its viewers by using sex, drugs, snappy banter, and pretty people to make heavy topics (sexism, racism, dreams diffused) palatable, the editors of Mad Men, Mad World trust that some TV glamour will get readers interested in digesting academic theories. Itand#39;s not wrong. Full of dense, fascinating writing, Mad Men, Mad World, from Duke University Press, takes stock of andlsquo;sex, politics, style and the 1960sandrsquo; in a series of essays by academics, theorizing about Mad Men.andrdquo;
Review
andquot;What a treat for me to delve into this work with so much academic and intellectual rigorandmdash;I love it!andquot;
Review
andldquo;An interesting conversation.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;A lot is packed into this volume, and nobody is likely to reach the end feeling shortchanged. . . . This is no giddy fanzine, to be sure, but for folks who take their Mad Men seriously it opens worthwhile paths of inquiry.andrdquo;
Synopsis
In this comprehensive analysis of the TV series Mad Men, scholars explore the groundbreaking drama in relation to fashion, history, architecture, civil rights, feminism, consumerism, art, cinema, and the serial format.
About the Author
Lauren M. E. Goodlad is University Scholar, Associate Professor of English, and Director of the Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She is the author of The Victorian Geopolitical Aesthetic: Realism, Sovereignty, and Transnational Experience (forthcoming) and a coeditor of Goth: Undead Subculture, also published by Duke University Press.
Lilya Kaganovsky is Associate Professor of Slavic, Comparative Literature, and Media and Cinema Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She is the author of How the Soviet Man Was Unmade.
Robert A. Rushing is Associate Professor of Italian and Comparative Literature at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He is the author of Resisting Arrest: Detective Fiction and Popular Culture.