{"id":23853,"date":"2015-05-19T04:49:12","date_gmt":"2015-05-19T10:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=23853"},"modified":"2015-05-19T04:49:12","modified_gmt":"2015-05-19T10:49:12","slug":"why-mad-men-was-one-of-tvs-most-deeply-jewish-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/why-mad-men-was-one-of-tvs-most-deeply-jewish-shows\/","title":{"rendered":"Why \u2018Mad Men\u2019 was one of TV\u2019s most deeply Jewish shows"},"content":{"rendered":"

By GABE FRIEDMAN<\/p>\n

(JTA) \u2014\u00a0AMC\u2019s ad campaign for the second half of the final\u00a0season of \u201cMad Men\u201d centered on the phrase \u201cThe End of an Era.\u201d The clever double meaning of the phrase was that this was not only the end of an era within the show, as the plot spilled into the 1970 and left the \u201960s\u00a0behind \u2013 it might also be the end of an era (albeit a relatively brief one) of sublime television largely ushered into existence by the success of \u201cMad Men.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the revered show aired its final episode on Sunday night, most viewers were likely more concerned with these poignant endings \u2013 and not the fact that television was losing one of its most unexpectedly Jewish shows.<\/p>\n

Apart from \u201cMad Men,\u201d this recent\u00a0so-called<\/a>\u00a0\u201cGolden Age of Television\u201d (which is more accurately the Second Golden Age, after the first golden epoch of the \u201950s) has not been very Jewish.<\/p>\n

Take any of the dramas commonly associated with television\u2019s comeback in quality \u2013 \u201cThe Wire,\u201d \u201cBreaking Bad,\u201d \u201cGame of Thrones,\u201d \u201cTrue Detective,\u201d \u201cOrange is the New Black,\u201d \u201cThe Walking Dead\u201d \u2013 and nothing significantly Jewish comes to mind, even though many of the writers and producers are Jewish. (Comedies like \u201cWeeds\u201d and \u201cCurb Your Enthusiasm\u201d have had considerable Jewish content, but it\u2019s debatable whether they make the \u201cGolden Age\u201d cut.)\u00a0Sure, there are two standout characters named Saul in the mix \u2013 Mandy Patinkin\u2019s Saul Berenson on \u201cHomeland\u201d and Bob Odenkirk\u2019s faux-Jewish Saul Goodman on \u201cBreaking Bad\u201d (and for what it\u2019s worth, \u201cHomeland\u201d is a remake of the Israeli series \u201cPrisoners of War\u201d). But while these shows may tackle big questions in the same graceful ways as \u201cMad Men,\u201d none feature consistent, standout Jewish themes.<\/p>\n

However, longtime fans of \u201cMad Men\u201d (and those who have binge-watched all seven seasons in the past months to catch up) should have no trouble recalling all of the show\u2019s memorable Jewish moments, themes and characters. Who could forget Rachel Menken, the confident department store company heiress who chats with Don about Israel and asks him in mocking disbelief if she\u2019s the only Jew he knows in New York? Or Abe Drexler, Peggy\u2019s passionate journalist boyfriend who covers race riots and evokes the ire of Peggy\u2019s staunchly Catholic mother? And of course, no true fan will ever forget the lovable yet insane copywriter Michael Ginsberg who loses his mind in the\u00a0most unfortunate way<\/a>\u00a0on screen.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, take a step back and it becomes clear that the show\u2019s Jewishness runs much deeper than isolated scenes and characters. In fact, creator and show-runner Matthew Weiner (who, unsurprisingly, is Jewish and has\u00a0talked<\/a>\u00a0at length about the subtle anti-Semitism of his native \u201960s and \u201970s Los Angeles) has said so himself throughout the months of the series\u2019 last half-season of episodes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like sweeping generalizations about the show, but if you want to say it\u2019s the story of how we all feel like outsiders, absolutely,\u201d Weiner\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0at an interview event at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in late March. \u201cThat [assimilated Jewish] identity is the same story as Don\u2019s identity \u2014 how do we become white, how do I get my kid to go to Wesleyan [Weiner is a Wesleyan grad] so he can be in that line, what\u2019s it going to take?\u201d<\/p>\n

Specifics and winding story lines aside, \u201cMad Men\u201d is at its heart a complex metaphor for Jewish life in 20th-century America. The show\u2019s core story \u2014\u00a0of Don Draper\u2019s second identity, forged out a tragedy, and his struggles to live a fulfilling life \u2013 is really a\u00a0Jewish<\/em>\u00a0story.<\/p>\n

The Washington Post\u2019s Lisa Lednicer\u00a0put it<\/a>\u00a0succinctly last week:<\/p>\n

[\u201cMad Men\u201d is] about the rise of meritocracy in the workplace and the decline of the WASP establishment. It\u2019s about outsiders seeking a way in, grasping for a gauzy version of the American Dream while blotting out their grimy pasts \u2026 In other words, it\u2019s a story about the Jewish American experience\u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So without “Mad Men,” television will not only mourn the loss of one of history\u2019s most acclaimed series \u2014 it will also be a lot less Jewish.<\/p>\n

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