Johnson, Race, and Mad Men

Group Attendance: Charlie DeWitt, Marshall Kerns, Lauren Solomon, Candace Barbour, Catherine Muller, Clay Prietsch
Episode Watched: Season 1, Episode 12: "Nixon vs. Kennedy"

Johnson, Race, and Mad Men
By Lauren Solomon

Johnson explains the idea of representation in the article “Keeping Race in Place.” He notes that representation functions as an edited “re-issue” or “repeated version of the real thing.” He emphasizes the fact that the object of representation highlights some features and diminishes others in order to intentionally alter what is being represented. In this aspect, representations can either adhere to ideology or operate outside of ideology depending on who is constructing the image. Johnson is concerned specifically with the representation of race in advertisements, and how they depict minority races (blacks, Asians) in narrow roles while allowing the hegemonic representation of whites to persist.

In “Nixon vs. Kennedy”, the entire Sterling Cooper agency is following the presidential debate hoping that their client, Nixon, will come out on top. Ironically enough, the debate is framed in the same way that it has been historically framed in the minds of Americans. The episode begins by representing Nixon as the clear-cut forerunner in the race, and then as the plot unwinds, the characters realize that the race is a lot tighter than anticipated. The producers inserted clips of the televised debates and state-by-state victories in order to capture the “reality” of the historical event. The television becomes the center of the plot, as characters gather around waiting to hear the news from the small, black-white screen. The symbol of television also resonates with the audience who recognizes the historical significance of the epic televised debate, which supposedly resulted in Nixon’s loss. The depiction of the Nixon vs. Kennedy election in the episode shows the power of representation to capture some moments in history, while excluding others. For example, when Draper enters Mr. Cooper’s office to speak about the race, Sterling focuses on the fact that the race is so close. He says that “Kennedy might be willing to buy an election and that there might need to be a recount.” This reference to the fairness of the race and the need for a recount reminds the audience of the more recent 2000 election between Bush and Gore. The producers’ intentional inclusion of these snapshots in history is used to bridge the gap between the past and present.

The other representation that is shown in this episode is of the Korean War. Don Draper enters a dark tent and speaks to his supervisor, who asks him a series of questions. “What are you doing here?” “What misconception made you want to travel here?” “A movie?” This idea of Don Draper, another young, inexperienced soldier coming over to fight in a pointless war ties in with conceptions about the Korean War, Vietnam War, and more recently the Iraqi War. The producers’ deliberate decision to include certain features of war while excluding others reflects the power of representation in creating, perpetuating, or challenging ideology.