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METRO DETROIT — A documentary film made by some Michigan locals promises to give viewers insight into Mad Magazine’s history and its impact on the culture through its satirical influences.
The idea for this “When We Went MAD!” documentary came from its director, Alan Bernstein, from Pleasant Ridge, who has been a fan of Mad Magazine since he was 7 years old. Bernstein said he was waiting for someone to make this film but decided to take on this challenge himself when no one else did.
“I’ve been interested in this since I was a kid and I’d have loved to write for MAD or make movies and I chose film making,” Bernstein said.
Mad Magazine is an American humor magazine that was started by Harvey Kurtzman and William Gaines in 1952. Much of its comedic content comes from poking fun at different aspects of pop culture and politics, and it would reach 2.5 million issue sales in the 1970s.
“For generations, MAD Magazine shaped and warped its readers’ senses of humor and their very outlook on the world around them. From the McCarthy hearings and the Cold War to Taylor Swift and social media, MAD Magazine was there to poke fun at all of it,” said a press release from the “When We Went MAD!” team.
In 2019, the magazine would cease to publish new content, though previous editions can be mailed to subscribers or found at comic book shops.
For this film, Bernstein, documentary editor Erich Wiemer and cinematographer Scott West have been working with former magazine staff members and celebrity guests for around 16 years to tell a compelling story about Mad Magazine’s history and impact. Through a Kickstarter, the filmmakers were able to raise $40,000-$50,000 for the project.
“We’re not trying to make a History channel piece,” said Wiemer, who is from Troy. “We want to look at Mad from a satirical standpoint of how the culture feels about presidents and hippies, and make sure people know about the cultural impact that led to its demise by making (‘Saturday Night Live’) or ‘The Simpsons.’”
The film initially started with interviews from the Mad staff. Through the connections of production company Chassy Media, the film was able to include interviews with well-known names like Quentin Tarantino, Judd Apatow, Bryan Cranston, Gilbert Gottfried, Howie Mandel, and Weird Al Yankovic.
“We interviewed Weird Al at the Cherry Festival in Traverse City before his performance,” Wiemer said. “We were brought into the makeup trailer and hung out for 45 minutes to an hour. We’re all Weird Al fans.”
The film had its world premiere in New York in October and recently held a Midwest premiere at the Redford Theatre in Detroit in November. “When We Went MAD” will likely have another premiere in Los Angeles in the near future, and the filmmakers are currently exploring streaming service options with Amazon Prime and Apple.
“We hope to expand to other screenings,” Bernstein said. “We’re looking at film festivals and figuring out what our distributor will let us do.”
For more information, visit the “When We Went MAD” Facebook page or www.whenwewentmad.com.
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