Mad Men textual analysis Page 175

1. Havrilesky understands that the American dream is just that, a dream.  She talks about how what is advertised and what is expected to be the perfect life, it is the opposite.  It is a sad lifestyle to constantly be thinking that you need the next upgrade to be happy and not be content with the life you create for yourself.  An unrealistic view of life where nobody is really who they want to be and everyone is striving to be the same type of person with the perfect house, the perfect spouse perfect kids and perfect homey-high class life style, otherwise you are not succeeding.  Her very last sentence says "The birth of of the advertising age coincides with the directly with the birth of our discontent as a nation and what got lost in the hustle was our souls".  She also states in her opening that we are constantly in search of upgrades that it is a sickness that is infused into our blood.  Those alone are strong statements about what her opinions of this lifestyle means. 
2. She is a television critic at Salon.com, a journalism website.  That background asserts her authority on this subject and any other subject related to the analysis of television shows and their meaning.  She adds a lot of detail about the show and background on the characters.  This offers the reader confidence in the writers knowledge of the show and and what she is writing about. 
3. She uses great detail in statements like "the divine beauty and grace of everyday existence-the glimmer of sunshine on the grass, the blessing of a cool breeze on a summer day" these statements help us picture and appreciate those things when they come to mind.  She talks about childhood expectations and fairy tales which gives the reader the chance to think about our own lives and evaluate what we value and find important in our lives. 
4. I was not familiar with this show.  She gave a lot of detail about the show and each of the characters.  To me, it sounds like a lot of drama.  Which what draws a lot of people into choosing a show to watch. However, I do not enjoy shows like that. Her writing definitely gave me a good view of what the show is about.  I am sure that people enjoy the show because it depicts what the writer was talking about, the "American Dream" and that is what the show may help them feel connected to that dream by watching it played out by actors, it creates a small amount of reality for a bit.