Analyzing Storytelling and Social Themes in Modern Adaptations

Today I'm Having a GAS™ with Rob Henderson, talking all things Don Draper, Mad Men and specifically what his character teaches us about masculinity throughout the twentieth century right up to 2023!

Rob Henderson recently earned his PhD at Cambridge University specialising in human behaviour.

If you're interested to hear more from Rob, follow him at https://robkhenderson.substack.com/

Having a GAS™ is the podcast that talks to the great and the good of the creative industries, and in particular finds out what makes great music for film, for TV, for advertising; for dancing to, for cooking to, f*cking to, and more...

GAS™ Music is a music production agency in Manchester, UK.

We compose and produce original music, create awe inspiring sound design and have a fully integrated audio post-production studio. We also have a great record collection, and welcome any additions, recommendations or criticisms.

http://www.gasismusic.co.uk​​​

According to Wikipedia...

Donald Francis Draper, born Richard “Dick” Whitman, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the AMC television series Mad Men (2007–2015), portrayed by Jon Hamm. Up to the Season 3 finale, Draper was creative director of fictional Manhattan advertising firm Sterling Cooper.

He then became a founding partner at a new firm, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, after he and his superiors left their previous agency in advance of an unwanted acquisition.

The agency later merged with a rival firm, Cutler Gleason & Chaough, to become Sterling Cooper & Partners while pursuing a contract from Chevrolet. The character of Don Draper is partially inspired by Draper Daniels, a creative director at Leo Burnett advertising agency in Chicago in the 1950s, who worked on the Marlboro Man campaign; and by Bill Backer, an advertising executive at McCann Erickson who created the "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" ad in 1971.

Mad Men is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its fictional time frame runs from March 1960 to November 1970.

Mad Men begins at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, and continues at the new firm of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (later named Sterling Cooper & Partners) near the Time-Life Building at 1271 Sixth Avenue. According to the pilot episode, the phrase "Mad men" was a slang term coined in the 1950s by advertisers working on Madison Avenue to refer to themselves, "Mad" being short for "Madison" (in reality, the only documented use of the phrase from that time may have been in the late-1950s writings of James Kelly, an advertising executive and writer). The series's main character is the charismatic advertising executive Don Draper (played by Jon Hamm), who is initially the talented creative director at Sterling Cooper.

He is erratic and mysterious but is widely regarded throughout the advertising world as a genius; some of the most famous advertisement campaigns in history are shown to be his creations. Later, Don becomes a founding partner at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce but begins a struggle as his highly calculated identity falls into a period of decline.

The plot of the show tracks the people in his personal and professional lives. As the series progresses, it depicts the changing moods and social mores of the United States throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. Mad Men received widespread critical acclaim for its writing, acting, directing, visual style and historical authenticity; it won many awards, including 16 Emmys and five Golden Globes.

The show was also the first basic cable series to receive the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, winning the award each year of its first four seasons (2008–2011).

It is widely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time and as part of the early 21st century Golden Age of Television

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