Interesting analysis of what women like from a male non-fan who clearly isn’t observing the ironies of the show. How many women did you consult before proclaiming this theory?
How many of the women who love Mad Men do you think really share your nostalgia for a pre-feminist society? Do you watch war movies because you literally want to be in the middle of a war? Or is it to see glimpses of familiar inner conflicts rendered archetypally large?
Do you think the women who love Mad Men would describe all of the characters as “despicable?” That they watch it only to judge themselves better, or to fantasize about being bad, or to consider themselves heroicized for being so?
Literary writing isn’t made of such black and white moral shading; nor is a loyal, educated fanbase. If these characters’ lives and conflicts were already resolved in our minds, there would be nothing to watch.
