美剧Mad Men(广告狂人)观看中的点滴

我想我真算得上是孤陋寡闻。这部大剧获得了好些Emmys(艾美)奖，而我是在网友的博客里看到推荐，近日才开始看的，我真不是个追星或追剧之人。或许也没有人像我，才看了不到一半，或是1/3， 就急得写感受和评论的。因为主要是在周末看的，总有这事那事，有时候并不能安心坐下来看，看得断断续续的，跳跃式的，然而这并不阻碍我对该剧的喜欢。 今日就想随便写下来，哪怕只言片语，哪怕不全面，不成熟。

这是一个从2007年开始拍摄至2015结束的90集连续剧，分七季。它以二十世纪六十年代为背景，描述纽约Madison大街(mad men里的mad是Madison Avenue的缩写)一家广告公司里面的职员和他们各自的故事。此片贯穿历史(有肯尼迪遇刺，女权运动，同性恋等)，折射时代，借历史寓今天，耐人寻味，非常精彩，得奖是实至名归。

片中的男主角Don Draper是个有着不幸童年的广告奇才，他凭着自己的努力平步青云地踏上公司高层。然而他的身世，和他极力想掩盖隔断的出生家庭，却像阴影挥之不去而折磨着他。他那表面看似幸福的家庭危机四伏，摇摇欲坠。有人说他是美国社会的代表。这是个刻画得很丰富的人物，爱妻子，爱孩子，极力想给孩子幸福的家，幸福的童年，可有时不得不生活在谎言中。他虽然在外沾花惹草，但是实际上是个有情有义的男子。

本人还喜欢里面的一个叫Joan的女子，一个看上去水性杨花，时常扭着婀娜腰身在办公室晃来晃去的女子。她虽然看似文化不高，却高情商，重情义，有着大智慧，将工作和生活的方方面面打点地恰到好处，是值得我学习的。

看到至今，片中精彩的一集是，当Don和高层几个得知公司被秘密收购，员工即将面临任人宰割的困境时，他们团结一致，斗智斗勇，掏空旧公司，成立新公司的那一幕，让人触景生情。想起自己近日也为公司准备被人收购而加班加点，感慨多多。是不是有点“有一天被人卖了，还替人数钱”的味道？

虽然我来美快二十年了，但因为生活在美国社会的边缘，其实对主流社会，真正白人的生活知之甚少。看剧是了解的途径之一，虽然是虚构的，却一定是以真实生活做素材的。里面的男人女人虽然生活方式很随意，时不时地在外面吃荤沾腥，却都是带着真感情的，缠绵又果断。他们的道德观、婚姻观比我们松懈，然而却是有底线的。他们对家庭的责任，对孩子的爱从某种角度上看，绝不亚于我们，有着人相通的共性。

以下摘录里面几句常用的英文表达。片中提到，“Chinese saying "The faintest ink is better than the best memory", 就是我们常说的，“好记性不如烂笔头”

 

Loose lips sink the ships

I never expect him to be any other way than what he is.

Pennies make pounds, and pounds make profits.

I am being punished for making my job look easy.

If you search your heart, you should know that I can make you happy.

I am not sure if you have stomach for reality.

My mom will be over the moon.

With it without, I am moving on.

(English version)

Shot in Seven seasons from 2007-2015, this TV series has 90 episodes. It won many Emmys awards, and after watching only 1/3 of them, I concur that it really deserves any award.

The word Mad in Mad Men is short for Madison Avenue, which is the center of advertising business in New York in 1960s. Against this background, the TV series provides a wealth of cultural history, transporting us back to the age when John F. Kennedy ran for presidency, and later got shot. At the time, men can smoke and drink freely in the office and in public places; rich wife stays at home, taking care of kids, and women who work get lower pay. Like any successful work, this TV series is also love stories. Couples, young or old, their marriage life, and their inner world and feelings are all depicted in the story.

Don Draper, the main hero in the TV series, is a “representation of American society”, who is haunted by his past, as a child, and a youth in the army, when he switched his identity with the dead soldier. As his career peaks, he tries all his means to detach himself from the past, but to no avail. He has a beautiful wife and three kids, but his past put his family at stake and to the test.

Living in the U.S. for almost 20 years, I actually don’t have many chances to get to know how Main Street American life is like. This TV series however unfolds before us, a perspective of their life. It is not just a story of the past. It is related to our life today, as history repeats itself, and love or hatred is an eternal topic.