One of the main appeals of MadMen is its attention to detail. To begin the use of retrophilla is always represented from the date it is set in. Being set in the 1960's, audiences who remember that time will recognise the attitudes and views of the time. An obvious one is the attitudes towards women. Women in MadMen are represented as if they are lesser than men, and his is clearly shown in the workplace as the mens attitude towards them is always quite perverted and sexualised with no serious attitude. Another one is what they all wear. They dress in a very classy way with men in suits and women in dresses which is a strong representation of the time. These conventions will bring nostalgia to the audience provide entertainment through that. To build on this, racism is also shown. Although this is very subtle it is still a underlying current throughout. Looking at the work place and the workers it is noticeable that there are no other ethnicity's show apart from white American males and females. The segregation, the fact that one of them says "Get a coloured person in, they don't mind being told what to do" and the fact that that nobody challenges those comments saying that its racist gives us a clear portrayal of how people of that time regard a multi ethnic workplace and society. With these subtle features its is easy to say that MadMen is aimed at an active audience as these little features included will only be noticeable with an active viewing.
New york magazine Matt Zoller Seitz says: "The shows main draw is behaviour, observed with such detail that one can imagine the that the shows being transposed to the forties and eighties, with different clothes and slang but still delivering the same basic satisfactions." This quote describes further how people in the audience may feel nostalgic and feel a sense of personal identification through watching this.
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