Elements Of Modernism In Mad Men

“MAD MEN” AND THE WASTE LAND AS MODERNIST TEXTS
The twentieth century is characterized by the significant changes in the society, which has affected all the domains of the people’s lives, including the world of art. It was the time when the modernist movement became the first topic of discussions by many critics. Modernism tended to break the usual patterns of the ways of thinking, offering new approaches to the regular subjects and demonstrated the rapid pace of the social transformation. This movement affected all the art forms, including literature and film industry. Even though the time when people unequivocally resorted to modernism has already passed, the contemporary artworks still refer to its technics when it comes to the depiction

For instance, Tudor (2012) believes that “Mad Men” is more likely to be the example of postmodernism and neoliberalism than modernism. The justification of this argument, according to Tudor is a postmodernist approach to the depiction of the historical events and views on the gender and race issues and the emphasis on the consumer society of the twentieth century (Tudor, 2012). This approach can be automatically applied to Eliot’s poem since some modernist themes, such as the isolation, are shared in the film and poetry, and Tudor (2012) refers them to postmodernism and neoliberalism. Thus, a fine line between the movements can create confusion in the classification of the artworks. However, the fact that the two works share modernist features allows to refer them to the modernist rather than to other movements.
Ultimately, “Mad Men” series and The Waste Land by Eliot are compelling examples of the modernist artworks. Although somebody can refer them to the other movements, such as postmodernism according to Tudor, they both contain very obvious modernist themes. “Mad Men” and The Waste Land use the topics of isolation, fragmentation reflected through the disjointed structure, and shattered illusions on a par with the stream of consciousness. These features make them striking examples of modernist

It was made in 2013. The main settings of the film are the village of West Egg, East Egg, and New York in the first half of the twentieth century. The main characters are Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, and Tom Buchanan. The protagonist is Jay, a business magnate. The antagonist is Tom, Daisy’s husband. The essence of the central conflict is the struggle between these two men for one woman. The attitudes and perspectives on life from that period are presented in the movie as the observation of the theme of the social division in classes. The story is helped by camera angles because the concentration on facial expressions allows observing the feelings of the characters. For example, in the episode when Jay and Daisy meet for the first time, the camera angles help to demonstrate their real emotions. The story is supported by music because it reflects the atmosphere. For example, the melodies played during the party bring the atmosphere of twentieth-century America. The costumes provide the opportunity to focus on the social status of the characters. For instance, Daisy’s dresses demonstrate that she belongs to the upper class. The overarching theme is the theme of love because it motivates the actions of the characters. The movie is modernist because it attempts to reveal the problematic truth rather than merely illustrate the reality. All the production choices contribute to the understanding that the film is modernist. It is mostly