Mad Women.

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Mad Men is an American dramatic television series. Currently encore episodes are airing Sunday evenings on AMC with the season five premiere delayed until early 2012. Mad Men is set in the 1960s, depicting the roles of men and women at the fictional Sterling Cooper [later Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce] advertising agency on MADison Avenue. The focal point of the series is Don Draper, creative director at Sterling Cooper and a founding partner at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, as well as those in his life, both in and out of the agency. As such, it regularly & rather accurately depicts the changing moods and social mores of 1960s America.

Daisy turned me onto this a few weeks ago & I’ve been immersed in it for the same. Using a BitTorrent. I’ve acquired the past four seasons, each of which consists of 13 episodes. The hour long drama, barring one or two commercials, averages about 52 minutes each. Did the math, it equates to 45 hours of television. I’ve spent days from sun up to sun up watching. There is an unmistakably dreamy, inspired, and sensitive side to me that may explain why I Am … drawn to this series acclaimed for its historical authenticity and visual style.

Not so random observations …

The series explores the true human nature beneath the façade of 1960s traditional family values. Initially I believed the women in the show presented a quiet strength, one that allowed them to be vocal, one that provided them an innate power over the men in their lives.

Far from the truth …

Women faced a plethora of issues; control of pregnancy [& abortion], equal pay, equal opportunities, domestic violence and rape. We also see struggles of parenting and an emphasis on real equality rather than 'formal equality'.

The more things change, the more they stay the same …

Women are at the helm of major corporations and in roles equal to men, but the expectation is that they maintain careers and also still be homemakers. Did the math, it has been over fifty years but the issues women faced then are still part of their struggle now.

I Am …