美劇Mad Men(廣告狂人)觀看中的點滴

我想我真算得上是孤陋寡聞。這部大劇獲得了好些Emmys(艾美)獎，而我是在網友的博客裏看到推薦，近日才開始看的，我真不是個追星或追劇之人。或許也沒有人像我，才看了不到一半，或是1/3， 就急得寫感受和評論的。因為主要是在周末看的，總有這事那事，有時候並不能安心坐下來看，看得斷斷續續的，跳躍式的，然而這並不阻礙我對該劇的喜歡。 今日就想隨便寫下來，哪怕隻言片語，哪怕不全麵，不成熟。

這是一個從2007年開始拍攝至2015結束的90集連續劇，分七季。它以二十世紀六十年代為背景，描述紐約Madison大街(mad men裏的mad是Madison Avenue的縮寫)一家廣告公司裏麵的職員和他們各自的故事。此片貫穿曆史(有肯尼迪遇刺，女權運動，同性戀等)，折射時代，借曆史寓今天，耐人尋味，非常精彩，得獎是實至名歸。

片中的男主角Don Draper是個有著不幸童年的廣告奇才，他憑著自己的努力平步青雲地踏上公司高層。然而他的身世，和他極力想掩蓋隔斷的出生家庭，卻像陰影揮之不去而折磨著他。他那表麵看似幸福的家庭危機四伏，搖搖欲墜。有人說他是美國社會的代表。這是個刻畫得很豐富的人物，愛妻子，愛孩子，極力想給孩子幸福的家，幸福的童年，可有時不得不生活在謊言中。他雖然在外沾花惹草，但是實際上是個有情有義的男子。

本人還喜歡裏麵的一個叫Joan的女子，一個看上去水性楊花，時常扭著婀娜腰身在辦公室晃來晃去的女子。她雖然看似文化不高，卻高情商，重情義，有著大智慧，將工作和生活的方方麵麵打點地恰到好處，是值得我學習的。

看到至今，片中精彩的一集是，當Don和高層幾個得知公司被秘密收購，員工即將麵臨任人宰割的困境時，他們團結一致，鬥智鬥勇，掏空舊公司，成立新公司的那一幕，讓人觸景生情。想起自己近日也為公司準備被人收購而加班加點，感慨多多。是不是有點“有一天被人賣了，還替人數錢”的味道？

雖然我來美快二十年了，但因為生活在美國社會的邊緣，其實對主流社會，真正白人的生活知之甚少。看劇是了解的途徑之一，雖然是虛構的，卻一定是以真實生活做素材的。裏麵的男人女人雖然生活方式很隨意，時不時地在外麵吃葷沾腥，卻都是帶著真感情的，纏綿又果斷。他們的道德觀、婚姻觀比我們鬆懈，然而卻是有底線的。他們對家庭的責任，對孩子的愛從某種角度上看，絕不亞於我們，有著人相通的共性。

以下摘錄裏麵幾句常用的英文表達。片中提到，“Chinese saying "The faintest ink is better than the best memory", 就是我們常說的，“好記性不如爛筆頭”

 

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.