Ann W. Duncan - The Universe Is Indifferent

Ann W. Duncan and Jacob L. Goodson

T he AMC television series, Mad Men , takes its viewers on an emotional, psychological, and sociological roller coaster ride in the setting of New York City. The years depicted span March 1960 through either the autumn 1970 or winter 1971 depending upon ones interpretation of the Coca-Cola advertisement, an ad that first aired on radio on February , 1971 . Created by Matthew Weiner, Mad Men develops and follows the lives of Donald Draper/Dick Whitman, Peggy Olson, Joan Holloway/Harris, Roger Sterling, Pete Campbell, Megan Calvet/Draper, Betty Draper/Francis, and Sally Draper as they negotiate careers, love and marriage, and dramatic social and political change. This collection helps readers navigate the exciting roller coaster ride that is Mad Men , through exploring unknown depths of its characters and storylines. After enjoying the ride of watching all seven seasons of Mad Men , we hope that you take pleasure in the ride of reading The Universe Is Indifferent: Theology, Philosophy, and Mad Men.

The Universe Is Indifferent?

In Season , Don receives a bonus check in the amount of $, and brings it to his mistresss apartment with the hopes of inviting her to join him on a trip to Paris. He finds her relaxing with a group of marijuana-smoking friends markedly different from his colleagues on Madison Avenue. These friends engage with Don about the vices of his work and conclude, You make the lie. You invent want. Youre for them, not us. Don responds with an equal amount of clarity: I hate to break it to you, but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent. His mistress rises and comes to Don, and he again invites her to Paris. She claims that she cannot go with him; he signs his bonus check, puts it in her brassiere, and tells her to buy a car. Don turns to leave, but one of her friends gives Don a warning: There are cops. You cant go out there. Don responds without hesitation, No, you cant.

These beatniks remain critical toward power and society but not nihilistic about potential change within the world. Don claims that their criticism has no object: how does one bring the man down when the man does not exist? Their protests remain directed toward a ghost, a phantom. For them, Don is the face of this ghostthis phantom. But that becomes too easy of a target. Don cannot be the face of the man because there is no man for them to bring down and critique. The claim, the universe is indifferent, is not only an existentialist claimbecause it means that we must create meaning for ourselvesbut also a nihilistic claim in the sense that nothingness has as much power and sway as the meaning we make.

According to the German philosopher, Martin Heidegger, we can distinguish between two forms of nihilism: (a) Incomplete nihilism does indeed replace the former values with others, but it still posits the latter always in the old position of authority that is, as it were, gratuitously maintained as the ideal realm of the suprasensory; (b) Complete nihilism, however, must in addition do away even with the place of value itself, with the suprasensory as a realm, and accordingly must posit and revalue values differently. Which version of nihilism fits the world of Mad Men better remains up to the judgment of the viewer, but we certainly hope that this collection informs the question in helpful and interesting ways.

Chapter Previews

This book contains seventeen chapters divided into three sections. While the subject matters of the chapters have a decidedly socio-historical focus, the authors use basic topics as starting points for philosophical, religious, and theological reflections. Mad Men reveals deep truths concerning the social trends of the 1960 s and early 1970 s in American life. Because of this, Mad Men deserves a significant amount of reflection from philosophical, religious, and theological perspectives. Some of the chapters go beyond mere reflection and make deeper inquiries into what these trends say about American cultural habits, the business world within Western capitalism, and the rapid social changes (gender, race, and sexuality) during this period. In what follows, we provide brief previews of each chapter.

Part is ordered from general-to-particular-topics, with its bookends as two different perspectives on identity and work. In Its the Real Thing: Identity and Sincerity in Mad Men, Howard Pickett addresses both ethical and unethical business practices found in Mad Men . Pickett claims that the series, itself, represents what he calls a narrative ethic: a storyline, plot twists, and character development. All of these elements allow businesses in the real world to assess their own ethical approaches. Throughout Mad Men , we find a close connection between advertising, deception, and lying. Surprisingly, Don Draper refuses the temptation to lie in relation to his client, Lucky Strikes. The ambiguity of Dons character comes into play in the sense that while he is a liar (he consistently lies to those closest to him: Betty, Megan, and his children), Mad Men raises philosophical questions concerning authenticity, sincerity, and truthespecially in relation to Dons identity. Additionally, Pickett observes that Mad Men connects sex to selling, religion to retail. These connections play out in multiple advertisements produced throughout the series. Pickett claims that we need to maintain distinctions between public and private sincerity in order to establish healthy and moral business practices within the real world.