Page 175 #1-4

1. Her main insight about Mad Men is like she states in the first paragraph: it captures the essence of the American dream as it becomes less and less attainable. Throughout the piece she describes characters and how each and every one of them describe an aspect of this idea, and though I didn't understand all of it due to sleep deprivation, I still got the idea. This is well shown again just before and in the conclusion itself. She claims "This is the genius of Mad Men, its dramatic reenactment of the disconnect between the dream of dashing heroes and their beautiful wives, living in style among..." (page 174 paragraph 4) and "The American dream itself is a carefully packages, soulless affair." (page 175 paragraph 1).

2. She establishes authority on the topic by knowing much about it and being able to cite specific evidence to not only prove her claim, but back up her credibility as well. From talking about "last season", a term used when you've watched content, to noting character development as the seasons progressed.

3. From the very beginning she is using pathos to hook the reader in until she can back up her point with evidence. She writes on page 171 paragraph 1 that "we're always falling short, no matter what our resources," and it is something that is true among most people. Most people feel that they are not good enough and the life they are living is not good enough. Later in the passage on page 174, paragraph 4 (on page 175) that Americans constantly compare their lives to the show and ask what's missing from their life, what more they want and sparking their desires. Everyone understands that their harshest critic is themselves, and knowing that makes this realization that much more painful when the reader understands people make you judge yourself so that the people can fill the "void" that the reader created, whether it's makeup, the iPhone 6S, or even getting a dog.

4. I have never seen Mad Men and from how she has described it, I don't really want to watch it. From what I gathered the show has a way of revealing the bad side of the American dream, which I think about far too often as is. Every time I see an advertisement I think of how easy my mind has been manipulated to believe so many lies, and I don't need to watch a TV show that would reinforce that.