The devil is in the details

shesthunderstorms:

Not too long ago for school, I had the opportunity to write about anything I wanted within literature and the above question was what I made it into. I’ve always enjoyed reading, and talking about Donna Tartt’s works, and I figured writing about it would be just as enjoyable despite it being within an academic setting. Below the cut is the essay, and I hope you like it.

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shesthunderstorms:

I find that Mad Men can be summed up by the words of Tom and Lorenzo the best: "Mad Men is a show about how people can’t change the fundamental natures of themselves and that the best they can do is figure out their own limitations and patterns of behavior and learn to work within those paradigms.“

Throughout all the seasons, we have observed Don constantly try to change himself, and fool himself into thinking that he could cultivate and live in the idea of happiness he created himself in advertising, only to find himself unable to function within these reserves at a greater multitude each time. For Don to come to terms with himself, or to rather find balance, he had to go through a process of revoking all his material belongings, and shedding his facade. In all other words, the process of going back to his Dick Whitman self. Throughout the process we see in the latter half of the season, he meets two men that share a kinship with him: the hustler boy named Andy, and Leonard, who gave a monologue about feeling unwanted and unneeded by anyone. They shared a common ground with Don, the struggles that defined him, and showed ultimately to Don that he is not alone. People are all, more or less the same. 

The last shot of Don we observe, he is only wearing a white shirt, and khaki pants, and as the camera zooms to his face, he smiles, indicating peace and tranquility. He is actively engaged with the rest of the group in meditating; completely uncharacteristic of the “Don” we know, who would go against the tide, or rather refuse to partake in communal activities. He is the same as everyone else in the shot. Thus, this is where the Coca-Cola advertisement we see in the end becomes integral to the understanding of the finale. 

Don cannot change himself, but he has learned to live with himself, so he goes back to what he does best: advertising. Much of this is foreshadowed, and can be traced back to “The Milk and Honey Route” episode, when he is asked to fix the coke machine. He tells to Peggy on the phone, “I’ll see you soon,” and Stan comforts Peggy saying “He always does this, and he always comes back. He’s a survivor, he’s going to be okay.” Don goes back to McCann, and creates an iconic image for Coca-Cola, that was universal and included many ethnicities with a tagline of “I’d Like To Buy the World a Coke.” The advertisement is essentially a summation of what Don has learned. 

Mad Men has only ever used real life advertising twice, in the first episode with Lucky Strike’s “It’s Toasted.” and now with the last episode using Coca-Cola. It is a parallel, and going full circle. There is definitely more to be discussed on the finale, and more that could be written, but the finale was beautiful storytelling that stayed true to the show itself.