[glitchc]

You know, watching Mad Men, it seems to be that work culture hasn't changed since the 50s. The same fake smiles, the same small talk, the same boss's favorite getting the credit. What's really changed since then?

Let's not assume bygone days ever were what we think they were.

[agenticfish]

Mad Men isn’t a documentary. Contemporary work culture influenced its creators, so you’re likely seeing a reflection of that when you watch the show.

[everdrive]

A very good observation, and true of nearly any contemporary fiction set in the past. People just seem unable to avoid this flaw.

[xnorswap]

"contemporary fiction set in the past"

Nitpick, but this is a contradiction.

Contemporary fiction doesn't mean "current" (or least it didn't used to) it means "set in the time it was written".

I guess the word contemporary has been misused to the point of just meaning current or modern and I shouldn't nitpick it!

[mekoka]

> I guess the word contemporary has been misused to the point of just meaning current or modern and I shouldn't nitpick it!

According to at least a few references, it very clearly applies to the two meanings. I couldn't find a single dictionary that excludes or seems to favor one over the other.

[everdrive]

Ah, thanks -- I was just trying to capture the weirdness that happens when a work is set in the past, and then that work itself becomes old. For instance, if you watch Braveheart right now you're getting two views of the past: you're getting a (not-very-realistic) view of medieval England, and then in addition you're getting a view into how people in the 90s felt about history and social issues.

[forbiddenvoid]

In the long run, this makes for very interesting rhetorical analysis of the work.

Your example of Braveheart, for instance, involves two views of the past through the lens of the _present_. So even in that context, both of those views are tinted by the experience and environment of the observer.

[dghlsakjg]

"contemporary fiction" is an industry/academic term for a genre of literature, but not widely used in the TV world. I think they meant "contemporary fiction" in the sense of the production of the fiction is contemporary. As in the TV show is contemporary in its creation, but the setting is historical. I don't think that redefines contemporary outside of... contemporary usage and definition.

It makes the most sense in context, and the discussion is about a TV show and not literature.

Different nitpick: Mad Men first aired in 2007. Is an 18 year old show that stopped production more than a decade ago contemporary?

[forbiddenvoid]

I would consider it more of a necessary evil than a flaw. Both the writer and the audience need to be able to connect with the story, and you're just going to have a better connection if it feels more familiar to you.

[lotsofpulp]

Most so called documentaries contain a lot of fiction too.

[linhns]

Yep, considering they need actors also for those flashback scenes.

[JBlue42]

> Contemporary work culture influenced its creators, so you’re likely seeing a reflection of that when you watch the show.

Many of the writers on the show have only ever worked in show businesses, which is its own mutation of work culture. Not many have actual worked in stereotypical corporate work situations.

Mike Judge (Office Space, Silicon Valley, etc) probably comes closest having started in corporate life and made a transition.

[ostacke]

I’m sure you’re right, at least to some extent, but let’s not forget that Mad Men is fictional, and from the 21st century, and might not accurately reflect the 1950’s.

[goostavos]

Fictional, but it captures something about work and life in that unique way that art is supposed to.

One of my favorite scenes:

Peggy: "You never say thank you!" Don: "That's what the money is for!"

It captures a lot of the mismatch in perspective between employer/employee boss/subordinate. You're there to do something for someone who is paying you to do it. That's as far as it goes (despite the constant human pull to perceive it as more).

[_vqpz]

Let's also not assume anything about the past based on Hollywood TV shows made 50 years later...

[georgeecollins]

Or more recently Train Dreams. It's a real shame we had to spend time to bury those three men who were hit by a falling tree, but the company can't afford for us to take a day off. So back to work.

[venturecruelty]

>What's really changed since then?

Everything has gotten about a million times more expensive.

[drivebyhooting]

You do realize Mad Men is a TV show made for our modern sensibilities right?