Mad Men: Stillbirth of the American Dream Summary

In Mad Men: Stillbirth of the American Dream, Heather Havrilesky examines the discontent of the American public due to our insatiable desire for the next best thing created by the advertising industry. She uses the television show Mad Men and its characters as an example, claiming that it “captures this ultra-mediated, postmodern moment, underscoring the disconnect between the American dream and reality by distilling our deep-seated frustrations as a nation into painfully palpable vignettes” (171).  Havrilesky gives the audience a brief description of each character, their personalities, actions, etc. to set up her analysis and draw parallels between them and the American public. Their determined, yet disordered pursuit of the dream is what makes them relatable and a perfect illustration of this problem in America.  The show itself is an advertisement, just like the ads they create on the show for that time period with “Bourbon [glistening] among ice cubes in immaculate glasses, fire engine red lipstick [framing] heartbreakingly white teeth, fingers [tapping] perkily on typewriters as young men amble by, their slumped shoulders hidden behind the heroic cut of their tailored suits” (174).  Havrilesky closes with the idea that the birth of advertising created a dream for Americans and essentially force-fed it to them until they lost any idea of what they actually want.