The Aura of Mad Men
Over the past four years, there has been an overwhelming revival of ‘vintage’ style. Cocktail parties are back, as are men’s dress hats and 60’s ‘up-dos.’ However, unlike most seemingly inexplicable pop culture trends, this one appears to have a specific origin - AMC’s hit television series, Mad Men. Not only has Mad Men been the catalyst for a return to styles of generations past, but since its premier in 2007, the cable-television drama has received thirteen Emmy awards, four Golden Globes and has been written up by almost every major publication in the country. As with most cultural phenomena, it is difficult to pinpoint why Mad Men has been so influential. Yet, I attribute the show’s popularity to what Walter Benjamin would call its “aura.” While one school of thought on Benjamin’s theories claims that television cannot possibly produce "aura", I believe that Mad Men offers a specific example of why this is not true.
Walter Benjamin explains his concept of "aura” in his article entitled The Work of Art In the Age of Its Technological Reproduction. Benjamin’s discussion is divided in to many segments, his first segment questions authenticity in the face of reproduction. Benjamin defines authenticity as “the quintessence of all that is transmissible in it from its origin on, ranging from its physical duration to the historical testimony relating to it (62).” Using this definition, Benjamin approaches the role of authenticity in the production of "aura" in two different ways. On one hand, he believes that authenticity relies heavily on the ‘physical duration’ of an object and that reproduction of this object eliminates the role of ‘physical duration’ and therefore eliminates part of its ‘aura.’ On the other hand, he believes that by reproducing an authentic object, we “[permit] the reproduction to reach the recipient in his or her own situation, [and] it actualizes that which is reproduced. (62)” In other words, the reproduction and distribution of an ‘authentic’ object creates a new reality or authenticity that has its own "aura."
The next concept Benjamin uses to illustrate the definition of “aura” is perception. He begins this discussion by saying that “Just as the entire mode of existence of human collectives changes over long historical periods, so too does their mode of perception. The way in which human perception is organized-the medium in which it occurs- is conditioned not only by nature but history. (62)” With this statement, Benjamin explains that new forms of aura are constantly being created as the modes of human perception change based on their ‘mediums’. In this instance various ‘mediums’ represent technology. Furthermore, as our modes of perception change, so do our realities. These new realities can create "aura" as well. In terms of perception, Benjamin describes "aura" as “the unique apparition of a distance, however near it may be.” As perception changes and time goes on, so does our “apparition of a distance” within human history and nature. This is how nostalgia is created- our distance is only apparent as time passes and it is the distance that gives our object of nostalgia its meaning and "aura". This definition further suggests that the aura of an object is always progressing and changing from its original form.
Benjamin continues this theme of aura as a transient concept when he discusses his view that art’s beauty is historically linked to its ritual or tradition. He explains that works of art have continually been embedded in religious worship and tradition. However, in continuity with depicting "aura" as a transient concept, Benjamin goes on to say, “tradition is alive and extremely changeable (63).” He explains that, as tradition changes, so does the form of worship. Even if all religious cult value is removed, there is still the secular “cult of beauty,” that worships art simply for its aesthetics and not for its “social function (64)” as a ritual object. Benjamin sees this separation of beauty, or "aura," from ritual as a good thing. Benjamin says that, with this separation, art is freed from its ‘parasitic subservience to ritual and its exhibition value becomes its most important attribute.
This is the point in Benjamin’s article where technology and reproduction begin to appear as their own form of "aura." Benjamin mentions that film has a "unique ability to use natural means to give incomparably convincing expression to the fairylike, the marvelous, the supernatural (66).” Earlier in his article, Benjamin says that an object’s uniqueness is a determining factor of its "aura." Therefore, Benjamin recognizes that, simply by providing a ‘unique’ perspective, film provides a method of producing "aura." This perspective comes from the film’s technology, which creates a new form of viewing. “The audience is put in to the position of the camera (68)” and is therefore allowed to view an alternate reality from a first hand perspective. In this same vein, film “preserves the magic of the personality (68)” of the characters the viewers are presented with. In this way, the characters in film gain their own exigency and aura that is separate from that of the actor that plays them by offering viewers the opportunity to be “part of the work of art (68).” By creating such a believable reality, Benjamin says, “film creates immediate, intimate fusion of pleasure and experience (70).” All of these factors combine to create an aura that is uniquely composed by the technology and reproduction that defines film and cinema.
By analyzing the various aspects of Mad Men that make it a successful cultural product, we can see that it produces “aura” in accordance with Benjamin’s theories and definitions. One aspect of the show that receives a great deal of critical acclaim is its “authenticity.” From the outfits to the prices printed on receipts to the racial slurs and excessive drinking, the makers of Mad Men want to present the viewers with the exact world they would have seen in early 1960’s Manhattan. Mad Men is clearly a television show and therefore inherently a reproduction of reality that cannot meet Benjamin’s definition of authenticity in the sense of ‘physical duration’ (i.e we no longer live in the 60s, this culture does not still exist). Yet, because its depiction is widely agreed upon to be historically authentic, it appears that Mad Men meets Benjamin’s criteria as a “legitimate form of historical testimony.” Thus, part of Mad Men’s aura is created through what Benjamin describes as “permitting the reproduction to reach the recipient in his or her own situation (62).” By juxtaposing the historical testimony of Mad Men with 21st century American culture, a whole new "aura" is created. The majority of Americans are too young to have any (adult) knowledge of what the year 1960 was like but we do all know what a ‘Mac Book’ is. Our ‘modes of perception’ have changed when confronted by items such as type-writers and ‘Hi-Fi machines’. Therefore, these items hold a different "aura" in today’s society than they would in their most original form and time period. Thus, by creating an authentic 1960’s reality for a 21st century audience, the world of Mad Men ‘actualizes’ itself to its viewers and creates a new reality with its own unique aura.
Another way that Mad Men produces "aura," as Benjamin describes, is its ability to portray “a unique apparition of distance, however near it may be. (63)” This distance comes in the form of the five decades that separate the world of Mad Men from current society. It seems pertinent to reiterate here that, unless one is older than 70 years old, it would be very difficult to have an adult recollection of life in 1960 on Madison Avenue. Therefore, much of the aura of Mad Men comes through in the distance between the two societies. The world of Mad Men consists of perpetual drinking of hard liquor and smoking indoors. The office is a place filled with good scotch, racism and blatant sexual harassment. Meanwhile the housewives stay at home and drink martinis before going for their ultrasound. Our 21st century values of political correctness and equal-rights-for-all should make us cringe at this display. Yet, the unfamiliar level of indulgence that these characters are allowed, combined with their glamorous and risqué lifestyles, draws the audience in. It is the apparent distance of these two worlds that helps Mad Men produce its "aura." However, the other half of this definition of "aura" remains true as well - Mad Men creates a “unique apparition of distance, however near it may be.” Mad Men offers its audience a sort of cultural fun house mirror and every once and a while the nearness of it all shows itself. For example, the modern office is still rife with sexism - its just less blatant and lawsuits can be filed. This ability to make the world of Mad Men seem so distant yet demonstrate that it might actually be closer than we think produces "aura" in Mad Men as defined in Benjamin’s Article.
Finally, it seems that Mad Men owes not only its success or "aura" to the technology of film and mass reproduction but its entire existence. Mad Men would not work as a play or a painting because its success is derived from providing its audience with, not only a first person look inside of an alternate reality, but with acquaintances as well. The show’s main characters, Don Draper and Peggy Olson, might as well be real people with the amount of ‘celebrity’ attention they get in today’s pop culture. Mad Men’s existence on film, as opposed to a stage production by actors, “preserves the magic of the personality (68)” and provides Mad Men’s characters with their own “aura” that is separate from that of the actors who play them. In Benjamin’s words, film provides us with a ‘unique ability to use natural means to give incomparably convincing expression to the fairylike, the marvelous, the supernatural. (66)” While the world of Mad Men is certainly not fairylike or supernatural, it does thrive on providing an ‘incomparably convincing’ depiction of a what it was to be ‘marvelous’ in 1960. But, beyond depiction, Benjamin explains that the film "offers everyone the chance to be a part of the work of art (68)." It is this inclusion of the audience into the world of Mad Men that has driven its success. The Mad Men fans associate seeing with experiencing (70) and their turn toward the vintage styles, liquor preferences, and social gatherings is an extension of their ‘experiences’ from watching the show. Much of Mad Men’s “aura” is produced by the fact that it is a filmed television show that allows its audience to be included in the world it represents.
While the shimmer of whiskey in crystal decanters and the swirling of "Lucky Strike" cigarette smoke in the air is no longer a typical presence at lunchtime meetings in the board rooms of Madison Avenue ad firms, for one hour every Sunday night it seems as though perhaps it should be. The Mad Men mania that has swept the nation in the past several years has romanticized the 1960's in a way that can only be explained through the dialect of Walter Benjamin's theory of "aura." Mad Men's historical authenticity, ability to create a nostalgic distance between the political correctness of the 21st century and the glamor and glitz of the 1960s, and its technological capacity to place the viewer amongst the characters on the screen drive its success. As the black silhouette of the Mad Men introduction cascades past the ads of Madison avenue and toward the Manhattan streets, so too does the viewer.Mad Men fans follow this mysterious stranger into the "aura" filled world of a 1960s Manhattan where martinis are served for breakfast and pearls are a necessary addition to any outfit.
