High school AP classes may be churning out theories about the green light at the end of Daisy's pier or Andy Warhol's tomato soup cans, but the most popularly deconstructed symbol in and of American culture these days is "Mad Men's" falling guy.
As AMC's first scripted drama heads toward its May 17 finale, critics, bloggers and fans have been hotly debating the meaning and relevance of its opening credits, in which a black silhouette of a man slowly falls through an ad-laden cityscape. When the series premiered in 2007, some expressed concern over the possible evocation of 9/11; now many wonder if it foreshadows Don Draper's (Jon Hamm) suicide by defenestration. Or is it evocative of a more spiritual/emotional descent, a suggestion of despair, enlightened surrender or the inability to control one's own life?
"Mad Men" has most certainly been about reinvention on a personal and cultural level. But will it turn out that all has been in vain? Has Don simply been falling through the years and all the changes they have wrought? Have we all?
If you think this is a bit much, a bit fevered and fraught for a television show, especially one that many feel is currently not quite up to the (extremely high) standards of earlier seasons, then you haven't been paying much attention — to "Mad Men" or to television in general.
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