Nixon vs. Kennedy (Mad Men)

"Nixon vs. Kennedy" is the twelfth episode of the first season of American television series Mad Men. The episode was originally broadcast on AMC on October 11, 2007, in the United States.

Sterling Cooper employees party after hours, promotions occur within Sterling Cooper, and the audience gains more insight into Don Draper's past.

Plot[]

The episode opens with a television presentation of voters waiting in line to cast their ballot for the 1960 United States presidential election.

After Sterling Cooper’s partners leave the office for the night, the staff commence a viewing party for the election, with Kennedy in the lead over Nixon. The party is dominated by widespread drinking and debauchery, with little attention given to the election. The party takes a more comical turn when the staff discover a screenplay written by Paul. Several staff members act out the play, concluding with Sal and Joan sharing a kiss. Additionally, Harry has a drunken affair with Pete’s secretary, during which his glasses are broken. The following morning, the office is in disarray, and the hungover staff sheepishly attempt to continue their work.

Before the party, Pete attempts to convince Don to hire him over the more ideal Duck Phillips, but Don remains unwilling to consider Pete for promotion. At home that night, Pete digs through Don’s box of childhood memories, contemplating using the contents of the box as leverage. The following day, Pete approaches Don with the box. At first Pete simply returns the box to Don, claiming it was accidentally sent to Pete’s office. However, after Don again refuses to consider Pete for the head of accounts position, Pete reveals his awareness of Don’s past, and threatens to use this information to ensure Don is fired. After a difficult conversation with Peggy about fairness and accountability, Don hires Duck as the new head of accounts and pressures Pete to reveal Don’s secrets to Bert Cooper. Bert acts uninterested, noting Don’s dedication and value to the company. After kicking Pete out, Bert gives Don permission to fire Pete from the company.

Upon opening the box and examining its contents, Don has a flashback to his time in the Korean War. Dick, Don’s past self, meets the actual Donald Draper, an engineer and Dick’s sole companion at a new encampment. The flashback is cut short, and the distress caused by the flashback leads Don to run to Rachel. Don attempts to convince Rachel to run away with him, but Rachel realizes that Don is cowardly avoiding his personal problems, and promptly ends their affair. After Don and Pete’s confrontation with Bert, Don has another flashback to Korea. Dick and Donald are attacked by offscreen Koreans, but they survive by hiding in their trench. During the attack, Dick pisses his pants, which causes Donald to laugh following the attack. In his confused state, Dick drops his lighter onto an oil spill, and the resulting explosion kills Donald. Before being rescued, Dick switches his dog tags with Donald, allowing Dick to later take over Donald’s identity. Donald’s body, assumed to be Dick, is returned to Dick’s family as the actual Dick watches on from a train car. Adam spots Dick in the train, but is unable to convince his parents that Dick is still alive before Dick slips away.

The episode ends with Don entering his living room to watch Nixon’s concession of the presidential election.

Cultural references[]

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"Nixon vs. Kennedy" as a whole is set during the 1960 United States presidential election, opening with voters casting their ballots and closing with Nixon’s concession speech. The candidates of the election, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, were the Presidential candidates for the 1960 election. The election as a whole serves as an allegory for the workplace power struggle between Don and Pete. Furthermore, Harry mentions his plans to watch Can-Can with his wife after work. Can-Can was a popular musical/comedy that was released in 1960, directed by Walter Lang and starring Frank Sinatra. In the midst of Peggy reprimanding Sal, Ken and Paul, Paul notes a "striking resemblance to Broderick Crawford". Broderick Crawford was the lead actor in Highway Patrol, a Police Action/Drama that premiered October 3, 1955. Reflecting on the election, Bert states, “when they got Frank Sinatra, I knew they would close the gap". Bert is referencing the Frank Sinatra song “High Hopes”. A supporter of John F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra wrote an alternate version of the song which was used to promote the Kennedy campaign.

Production[]

“Nixon vs. Kennedy" was written by Lisa Albert, Andre Jacquemetton, and Maria Jacquemetton, and directed by Alan Taylor. Additionally, the episode was shot in Los Angeles, California, and its production budget ranged between 2-2.5 million dollars.^[1]

Director Alan Taylor noted that the office party reflected the celebration of the show being greenlit and the pilot actors returning as full-time cast members. The production staff had the show's actors “hanging out” in the background when they lacked lines to make the party feel more authentic.^[2] Taylor also notes the comparisons between the workplace power struggle and the election. and Nixon and Kennedy. When Don tells Pete off in Pete’s office, Kennedy is on the television in the background. This was done intentionally, as Don’s remarks about Pete reflect “what Nixon would say about Kennedy”.^[2] Additionally, Jon Hamm broke his hand during the rehearsal for the Korean War explosion scene. Because this was one of the first scenes filmed for the episode, his right hand is not in view for most of his subsequent scenes.^[3]

Featured Soundtracks[]

A Beautiful Mine by Aceyalone, Moonglow by Benny Goodman, and The End Of The World by Skeeter Davis.

Reception[]

The AV Club regarded the episode as one of the “finest hours” of the first season, delivering particular praise for the scene wherein Pete reveals Don’s secret to Bert Cooper.^[4] Vulture lauded the episode for being “fully loaded”, highlighting the episode’s comparison of Don and Pete’s power struggle to the presidential election. Vulture additionally praised the episode for serving as a strong companion to the season finale, stating that both episodes “feel like halves of the same novella or movie”.^[5]

Accolades[]

"Nixon vs. Kennedy" received a nomination for Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or Special at the 2008 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.^[6]

References[]

External links[]

• "Nixon vs. Kennedy" at IMDb