The document analyzes how camera shots and lighting are used in Mad Men to represent gender roles and power dynamics in 1950s America. Several scenes showcase how men are portrayed as dominant through their suits and by surrounding women. Medium close-ups of Don Draper in a suit establish him as wealthy and powerful compared to more casually dressed women. A scene in an elevator shows men crowding around a woman, establishing their dominance through positioning and comments. Don Draper's relationship with Midge is more equal, shown through their clothing and body language in two shots that reverse traditional stereotypes.

1. Mad Men Gender Analysis
In the opening sequence of Mad Men many different camera shot are used to
represent gender in the 1950s. One of these shots is this over the shoulder shot
and a medium close up shot of the main character, Don Draper, the medium close
up shot allows us to get a look at the characters costume and this shows him as
being in a suit, this makes him look quite wealthy and therefore shows us the
difference between the males and females in the film as the females dress much
more casual which shows us that they aren’t as wealthy which shows some
power in the men over the women. The over the shoulder shot also sets who the
main character is and the environment he is in and shows off how he is dressed.
A pan shot is also then used in the same scene which shows off the men smoking
and being smartly dressed which also shows that they are much more wealthy
and powerful than the women and the low key lighting also shows us the
smokiness of the room and the dominance of the men in the scene as there are
far more men in this scene than women and sets up the stereotype that men
were the ones who would go out each night to bars whereas women would be at
home looking after the children or doing housework.
In the elevator scene the film also zooms in on the characters in the elevator,
which shows us the men surrounding the women to again show that they are
dominant and have more power, the comments made by the 3 men also show us
this dominance and the lack of respect that men had for women back then. The
scene also has high key lighting to show us that this is an important message that
it is trying to show about respect for women, the crampness of the elevator also
shows that the female is uncomfortable when being surrounded by men and a
close up shot of the woman’s face also shows this from her awkward facial
expressions.
When Don Draper is visiting Midge there is also use of a long shot and two shot
when the characters are talking, this then shows us the environment they are in
and the type of clothes they are wearing, Midge who looks like she is wearing
Don Draper’s clothing also shows us that these two characters have a
relationship with each other and this two shot also shows that these two
characters have a relationship through their body expressions, this relationship
also then shows that these male and female characters are more equal and
respect each other a lot more than the other female-male character relationships
in the rest of the film. In the next scene we also then see a reverse of stereotypes
when Don Draper is leaning on Midge in bed when we would expect it to the be
the other way around as we would see the man as the one having the most room
and instead shows the female with more dominance.