AS MEDIA: Assessment 2: MAP 1

1. AS MEDIA: Assessment 2: MAP 1
I am going to be discussing camera angles, mise en scene and the representation of gender
in the opening sequence of Mad Men [season 1: episode 1] “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”
Directed by Alan Taylor.
The first camera shot is a track shot. This is used in the opening scene to set the scene of the
bar, it shows the main character with his own table; this suggests that he is a regular at the
bar and is well respected there. Most men were well respected back in the late 1950’s,
especially businessmen.
There is then a medium close up which shows the main character, it focuses on him to let us
know that he is the main character, we can also see men in suits in a mirror behind the main
character. This reiterates the suggestion that the men are businessmen and dress in suits,
eve when they go to a bar.
There is a point of view shot from the main character, we see that he is writing notes; this
gives us an indication of what he does for a living and it shows that men were hard workers
back in the 1950’s and they would work constantly even when they are in a bar.
The camera pans along the bar showing the audience both men and women, the men are in
suits and smoking, however the women aren’t. This again shows that men were smartly
dressed; it also shows that a lot of men smoked in the 1950’s but women did not. This is
because they read magazines, and this episode is set around the time when all of the health
facts started to be found out about smoking and the bad effects it has on your body.
There is a pull focus shot when the main character knocks on someone’s door. When the
woman opens the door she is also focused, this brings her into the scene and shows that
they are both involved with each other. It shows us that men would just turn up and at a
woman’s apartment without asking and they would be let inside.
We then see a long shot of the apartment; this shows the full apartment and also the
woman’s full costume. There is a lot of design-based equipment and we find out she draws
for a living. This shows us that she is a strong woman because she owns her own business,
but also because she doesn’t wear what other women do.
There is an over the shoulder, medium shot when the woman is lying on the bed. When she
undoes her top it tells us what is going to happen next. This goes against what women were
usually like in the 1950’s, they were more reserved but she is coming onto the man and is
inviting him in.
A two-shot close up shows the man lying in the woman’s arms; this also disagrees with the
belief that the man cuddles the woman. It shows that the woman wears the pants in this
relationship. The white sheets have connotations of innocence, but the grey scale colours in
this scene portray anything but innocence. It shows that what they just did was wrong.
There is a bird’s eye view shot facing the ground, outside of a tall building. This shows that
the characters work in a big corporation and business. It also shows men in suits walking
along the street, which links in with what we have seen in previous scenes and camera
shots.

2. There is a deep focus shot, which focuses on three male characters in the elevator. They are
talking about their friend getting married. They are talking about it in a bad way and this
shows that back in the 1950’s men didn’t view marriage as a good thing. One of the men is
also talking about a woman in front of him in a provocative way, this shows the way men
viewed women in the 1950’s.
There is a track shot in the workplace, during this track shot we can say that women are
mainly typing and there are no men actually working. This tells us that back in the 50’s men
had their own offices and women would be reserved to jobs like typing and secretaries, they
wouldn’t get their own office, they worked for the men.
Over the shoulder, low angle shot during a conversation between two women. The way that
the camera is positioned shows that the ginger woman is more experienced than the other
woman. The conversation tells us that women offer themselves to men and suggests that
sexual favours are the best way to get on their good side.
Finally, there is a shallow focus shot on a leaflet, which tells us where the bachelor party is
taking place. This tells us that men didn’t appreciate their wives back in the 1950’s and often
lied to them.