Identity: what defines it, and how do people construct it in themselves and project it into the world. This is the theme at the heart of the American Movie Classic (AMC) channel's award-winning dramatic series Mad Men. In the first part of this article, the two lead characters, the married couple Don and Betty Draper (Jon Hamm and January Jones) were discussed as representations of this theme. This companion piece continues the discussion with an analysis of three other characters from the show: up and coming copywriter Peggy Olson (Elizabeth Moss); closeted homosexual Salvatore "Sal" Romano (Bryan Batt); and openly-gay ad man Kurt (Edin Gali).
Peggy Olson
Just as Betty can be seen to act as a feminine mirror of Don in the social sphere of Mad Men, so to is Peggy Olson a surrogate for Don in the professional world of Sterling Cooper. Both are saddled with an enormous secret—Peggy had a child out of wedlock with a soon-to-be-married colleague and gave it up for adoption—that they must repress in order to accomplish their professional goals. This common bond that ties Don and Peggy together is most fully voiced at the beginning of season II, when Don visits Peggy in the hospital after she gives birth. His advice: to move on completely; repress any emotions she may have about the situation; and pretend like it didn't even happen. As Don states, Peggy will "be shocked by how much it didn't happen." He advises her to do as he has done: to project a reality and then convince herself it's as true as any other possibility.
Homosexuality at Sterling Cooper
Beyond a traditional exploration of gender and identify, Mad Men also explores the issue of homosexuality; again, the milieu of early 1960's New York City is the perfect backdrop for this exploration. Just as the roles and potential of women were being redefined, so was the openness with which gay men could conduct their lives. Bryan Batt's characterization of deeply closeted homosexual Sal Romano is heartbreaking in its particulars; in order to achieve his goals in the world, he feels the need—just as Don, Betty, and Peggy do—to project an image that doesn't match his internal reality. In this case, it's the image of the happily married middle-class American male. The quiet despair with which he and his wife conduct their lives is indicative of this conflict.
Contrast Salvatore with Kurt, the European ad man played by Edin Gali; Kurt doesn't feel the need to mask his homosexuality to advance in the professional world; indeed, he doesn't even go out of his way to hide it. For him—as well as for his young contemporaries—it is a non-issue. His openness about his sexuality marks an enormous gap between his and Sal's generations, and serves to further accentuate the chasm between Sal's internal reality and one he has constructed and projected externally.
Future Explorations
As the AMC dramatic series Mad Men continues its ruminations on the theme of identity, the conclusion it reaches again and again is that, although reality is a construction that each person projects into the world, the wider the gap between one's internal reality and the external projection, the deeper the despair the person will experience. At the end of season II, Don briefly returns to his life as Dick Whitman and has never been happier; Betty gives in to her deep dissatisfaction, has an affair in a public bathroom, and is empowered by the experience; Kurt, open about his sexual preference, comes off as far more assured than Sal. As plots become more intricate and characters more richly realized, it is safe to assume this question of identity will remain the thematic center of Mad Men.
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