Some Thoughts on Mad Men and The Sopranos

I also want to emphasize that I don’t think Mad Men is any way derivative of The Sopranos, but that it has inherited and further adapted a range of narrative and stylistic appeals that emerged fromThe Sopranos, went through HBO’s Six Feet Under, Carnivale andRome, and ended up on AMC via a few diversions into prestige Showtime dramas and probably a few others I’ve forgotten. That is, dramas driven by serialized family/professional conflicts, reflexive psychological melodrama, memory and dreams, aligned with painterly composition, restricted camera movement and ironic, multi-layered soundtracking. Anyway, here’s a few rough observations from the first episode of Mad Men‘s second season, ‘For Those Who Think Young.’ The episode was directed by Tim Hunter, written by Weiner, and shot by Chris Manley.

In the sequence this screenshot is taken from, the track ‘Let’s Twist Again’ is sequenced over a montage of characters adjusting themselves in front of a mirror at the beginning of their work-days. Seen in this image, fades and superimpositions are used between scenes alongside a continuity of dialogue and camera position. This can be compared to opening montages from The Sopranos Season Two and Six Part One, whereby the cast is reintroduced through an ironic juxtaposition of music and in the case of the latter, a voiceover speech from William Burroughs. Playing with depth of space and editing, as well as using an allusive pop song for pathos was one of the key devices of The Sopranos, and while perhaps toned down and used more within the contemporary period setting of Mad Men, reflects a key adaptation in editing terms.

Another shot, taken from the mid-point of the episode, as Sterling Cooper consider an advertising campaign for an airline. Characteristic of POV shots in both series, the camera often fixes on media, providing a POV shot that allows the viewer access to a significant depth of static imagery, creating room for allusion. The other variation on this technique comes with characters watching television, as seen here:

With Don and Betty watching a television set in their hotel room on Valentine’s night, they participate in a cross-character experience of Jackie Bouvier showing reporters around the White House. In keeping with the careful continuity editing of the opening montage, the real-time broadcast is synced to characters in various positions, while allowing Weiner to comment obliquely on the distance between the New Frontier idealism on show and the usual simmering emotions of the characters. This effect was also routine to The Sopranos, from Tony watching The History Channel and Carmela’s DVD nights. Again, POV shots often frame the television and the physical space of the image, maintaining psychological, rather than detached prespective, as well as depth of imagery in relation to the overall period design.

Although rich mise-en-scene and lighting are perhaps the most dominant visual echo between the two series, this example from ‘Young at Heart,’ showing Betty broken down in the woods, reflects the most frequent use of the style for exteriors. This image isn’t great, but the painterly use of light, with rich blacks, and the patterning of blues and greens creates a texture dominated by impressionistic colour. Again, this is only an isolated example, but across both series the opportunity for detailed composition has been progressively enhanced by extended shooting schedules and digital to High Definition conversion for the network feed.

And finally, a shot of Don Draper reading ‘Meditations in an Emergency.’ One of Mad Men‘s key links with The Sopranos comes in its sometimes offbeat and ironic use of philosophy and psychoanalysis, often displaced into a suburban, or ‘everyday’ context. Although there’s nothing particularly unique about the shot, it ties into the psychological complexity of the series, in terms of its use of static, contemplative imagery and the use of secondary texts for intensifying perspective. He does look like he’s fallen asleep though in this shot. The above is a bit disjointed, and there’s a lot more to be said about the influence of The Sopranos on Mad Men, or rather how they’ve both mined similar stylistic and thematic areas, with the latter building on and adapting from David Chase’s groundbreaking effort.