Something to do with struggling with the expectations of Society, specifically in gender roles, maturity and 'appropriate behavior'.
The Main character embodies the ideal male as was expected in 1950s and early '60s America, with his career in advertising acting as a loudspeaker for these subtle themes - the idea of 'ideal male' is being brought back in the 2000s, as per Society's tendency to romanticize everything in about 30yr gaps. From fashion, to music to Societal norms.
I was specifically fascinated with Mad Men because I believed I could never stay in character, being the mature alfa male that is smooth and just knows how to act in various situations.
Probably the same reason I find classic actor, Cary Grant so interesting.
But this leads me to examine what exactly constitutes being mature. At what age do we stop being silly guys and girls and transition into Men and women? And what defines that? Is there a list? Or just a societal feeling about who is and who isn't mature?
One notable aspect I accept tends to be a confidence and seeming lack of self awareness my 30yr old self has compared to early 20 year old Yaw, who would have been ever conscious of (or imagined) the entire world staring at him every waking moment. I remember getting up in church or in some packed auditorium and making my way down the isles, past what felt like a million eyes boring holes into the side of my face, right outside my peripheral vision? Well, that was mostly all in my mind, but could I honestly convince myself of this? Did it make me any less conscious of every crease in my clothes, twitch in my face or bead of sweat on my brow? Nope. I was still a relatively new mass of nerve endings and every inch of me was alight with feedback, real or imagined.
I used to wonder about that? Why I suddently stopped being this self conscious puddle of insecurities and realized (more than decided) by some point that I couldn't give two shits about what people thought about my mannerisms, my interests or much else.
Don't get me wrong. I still care - a lot. But it feels like a large chunk of my brain went numb at some point, and I simply decided to operate with less focus on the constant reference to societal expectations. Something I'm guessing many people start doing from their late teens, right after their hormones start leveling off.
Again, late bloomer here.
More interesting to me however, is the many things I wasn't expecting. Why I became more of a creature of habit than was the case in the past, for instance. I used to struggle with daily routine. Just the fact that Tuesday looked anything like Monday was depressing. Now, I find comfort in it.
I've notice my mates have swung from being either undeclared in Faith, having a 'personal relationship' with their maker (Which usually means 'None of anyone elses goddamn business') or being Charismatic Christians to becoming either clear agnostics, Non-denominational Christians or atheists in less than a decade, and chances they will remain what they are for a good while, if not for life. What's interesting about this is how unpredictable some of these swings are. Like the number of them who were once so mischievous in primary or high school hits 26, 27 and are now thanking God for everything on Facebook, Twitter and in person. Simple Choice and Free will? Hypocrisy? Or a simplification of their otherwise unpredictable path.
I'm inclined to think the latter.
I'm inclined to think the latter.
I was told once that it had to do with realizing that such things don't matter, and experience teaching us to focus on what's important.
I'm not sure about all that; 'Experience'. Sounds like self-importance and ageism frankly. And it doesn't properly explain why older people tend to be more stuck in their ways and have difficulty changing their habits.
So here's my theory.
It's one that came to me because I like to draw parallels between human beings and computers.
Imagine the processor was a brain, and certain advanced computer processors (Core i7 for instance) have a failsafe where, when a few transistors on them are burned or damaged, they switch into a more efficient mode that allows them to operate with fewer parts working. They focus on key processes. They slow down. They adapt to become more efficient as a means of surviving what is in actuality a handicap.
Perhaps the same is true for human beings. What we consider 'experience' and 'maturity' is in actuality, our biological processor merely becoming more efficient as we wear out our mental faculties.
It's not that we consciously WANT to be mature, or care less about things, but we simply get numb, more focused, more likely to consider when, how and if we need to expend brain energy before doing so.
Which is why at 30, I am less likely to come up with brand new theories about everything and stick to theories I already developed or that already exist. It's not because I have become wiser and so I've begun going with what works, but because my mind simply can't churn out abstact concepts at my say so.
Our brain is already begining to forget the pigment of one in about a million hairs being sprouted on our heads. Is it unreasonable to assume that a complex self-preserving system with 200 million years of evolved history simply adapts to what in essence is gradual brain damge? And that, perhaps we tried to explain this phenomenon, conveniently, in favor of the 'wise old men' making sense of everything.
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