‘Am I supposed to say how shocked I was?’ Audience responses to Mad Men

Abstract

This essay is the result of an audience research study of the US television series Mad Men. Based on the assumption that there is a postfeminist sensibility embedded within the show, the study uses data drawn from focus groups and email questionnaires with US, UK and Spanish viewers of Mad Men, to determine to what extent this sensibility is felt and shared – if at all – by different viewers. The essay concludes that the postfeminist sensibility might be an entrance gate to the show, but later engagement with the series differs, especially with regard to gender. Although the postfeminist spirit might have feminist consequences in female viewers’ interpretations, male viewers tend to read the show in more unproblematic ways. On the other hand, national distinctions have turned out to be very slight.