Don Draper wants to know: what is happiness? “It’s a moment before you need more happiness." These are the poetic words of the main character of the hit television show Mad Men as he tries to understand what people think will bring them happiness against what actually does. The time-frame at which Mad Men is set in is the cultural and historical explosion of the 1960s, which saw numerous events such as the Vietnam War, the assassination of JFK, MLK Jr, and the civil rights movement. Mad Men manages to tie in historical references into every episode with pinpoint accuracy. In juxtaposition to these historical changes, there was a huge cultural shift in the United States. The AMC series discusses the failed idea of the American Dream in Donald Draper; he's rich, confident, handsome, etc. but a mess that is filled with lies on the inside. All of these events are viewed through his life and those around him at home or at his work, the giant Advertising Company known as Sterling Cooper and Partners. The show's creator, Matthew Weiner, subtly ties in political commentary and witty comedy without compromising the integrity of the show.  At it's core, Mad Men is a television show set in the 1960s that portrays the historical and cultural changes of American history through and around it's main character Don Draper, an "Ad Man" who ultimately proves that he can sell the idealistic, 1950s view of the American Dream but not live it.  
  	Though Mad Men is largely seen as a commercial success, not every critic will agree. Some people may claim that Mad Men is a show that encourages drinking, sexism, racism, adultery, greed, and drug use. And while all of these topics are seen on screen, they are merely tools that the show uses to portray how America was in the 1960s. Jerry Della Femima, an actual Ad Man from the era, sees Mad Man as an accurate portrayal of the business world of the 1960s.  He concluded that “ ‘Mad Men’ accurately reflects what went on. The smoking, the prejudice and the bigotry. I interviewed at J. Walter Thompson for the Ford account and was told, ‘We don’t want your kind’ ”. Just as how the movie Saving Private Ryan used extreme violence to replicate the horrifying events of World War II, Mad Men is no different in the depiction of the most popular vices of the times. 	 
	 Mad Men chronicles the rise, fall, and possible rebuilding of the character Don Draper, just as Americans saw a dramatic change in the way of life in America. Through flashbacks on his life, we understand that Don Draper has been a crooked man far before his advertising days; his real name is Dick Whitman, and he stole the identity of his dead superior in the Korean War. From that point on, Dick (now known as Don Draper) reinvents himself into the perfect red-blooded, patriotic, American man, finally becoming a partner/Creative Director at one of the biggest ad firms in New York. This draws a parallel to the United States, where the country had “began an economic boom that brought unparalleled prosperity to a majority of its citizens and raised Americans expectations”. At SC&P, Draper masterfully sells a number of goods to top companies, the biggest one being himself.  Eventually,  Don's web of lies catch up with him. His wife uncovers all of his secrets and divorces him. The audience begins to see the persona of Don Draper drink excessively and crack under pressure. Jon Hamm, the actor that portrays Don, compares his character to a house with a bad foundation. He states that “we learn a lot about why that foundation's so cracked. We see a little more about why he is so off, why Don does what he does”.  The commentary here from Weiner is that the people, like Don, were misled by the American Dream and were unhappy because of it. Don Draper was a poor kid born in a whorehouse, and had a chance to become whoever he wanted. He became rich and successful, but found that he was lonely and unfulfilled inside. Michael Bader, a psychologist, describes the 50s as “barren suburban yards dotted with recently planted saplings, fathers with a drink in their hands and the beginnings of a paunch, dowdy mothers with cats eye glasses, everyone smoking, boys with crew cuts and girls with pig tails -- but most of all, I see the strained frivolity and veneer of success barely concealing the strangled anxieties of people who are supposed to be happy but aren't”. Americans in the fifties and sixties felt the same way with Don; people found that the American Dream was delusive, and ultimately gave up on it.
