Madmen essay

Discuss Madmen Opening sequence. How would you label it as post modern text?

9/11

The reference of 9-11 in the opening sequence of Madmen is the silhouetted man falling down the side of a skyscraper. Matthew Weiner, the director of Madmen, took a lot of criticism for choosing to include this in his opening sequence as the image of people who jumped out of a buildings at the time of the world trade centre attack still were very sensitive about it.

Intertextual references

The director of Madmen, Matthew Weiner said that the opening sequence of Madmen was heavily influenced by the film North by Northwest, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Weiner wanted to portray 1960s America (New York) in the opening sequence by the use of skyscrapers as this is a view seen by many people who picture New York.

Another example is when the creators of the Simpsons decided to pastiche their own version of the Madmen opening sequence. It was a fun light hearted version of the Madmen opening which was quite humourous. 

Representation

Gender

The first feeling of representation towards men in the opening sequence is seen only two seconds in. We have a silhouetted figure of a man with his back towards the viewer. This would give the impression that men are mysterious, which can be related to how Don Draper acts towards women. 

Smoking

Smoking is also represented in Madmen. In the opening sequence the silhouetted man is sitting with his back towards the viewer with a cigarette in his hand. The theme of smoking in the show is very popular towards men as they all seem to smoke, even inside buildings, where as today its been made more aware of its dangers, cancer etc.

Office Building

Lights

The lights on the ceiling in the first few seconds of the sequence also play importance to Madmen. The formation they’re in gives a suggestion of what time period this film would be set in, as they are in single file and in rows. This can also reflect how women are treated throughout the show as they are forced to work independently. These lights also represent the metaphorical ceiling women struggle to break through.

As the silhouetted man is falling down the building we can see pictures of women, family, wedding rings and alcohol. You can say these are most of the issues Don Draper tackles through many of the episodes in the series. Marriage is another issue which can be related, the slogan ‘’It’s the gift that never fails’’ and then two hands with rings on both fingers could suggest an issue which all the men who work in the office are dealing with, as many of them cheat on their wives.