The document provides a detailed analysis of the opening sequence of Mad Men Season 1 Episode 1. It examines the use of camera techniques like pans, tracks, and point-of-view shots to establish the setting and characters. Gender representation is also analyzed, showing businessmen in a bar without women, and Don being welcomed at a woman's apartment late at night, subverting stereotypes. At the office the next day, various shots depict interactions and a power dynamic between men and women employees.

1. AS Media: Assessment 2: MAP 1.
Katy Marwood
In this essay, I will be discussing the elements of camera, mise en scene and
gender representation used in the opening sequence of Mad Men [Season 1:
Episode 1] ‘’Smoke Gets in Your Eyes’’, directed by Alan Taylor.
After the opening credits, we are introduced to one of the main characters in a
bar. The camera uses a pan shot this shows us more of the bar and the people
that are in the bar. In terms of gender representation, this shows us typical,
middle-aged businessmen enjoying a cigarette and a drink after finishing work
for the evening. As far as we are shown, there are no women present in the bar
this adds to the stereotype and shows us that the females are either at home or
still working or just don’t enjoy spending their time there . A tracking shot is also
used in this scene, which establishes the location even further and shows Don sat
alone which infers that he is a regular. It also infers that Don may not be very
social, as the pan shot previously shown us all of the people chatting away,
whereas Don has his own table and is making conversation with a server (who is
black and has just had a telling off from his manager as he thought that he was
bothering Don) other than people in his class group and on his level. At the end
of the scene, a point of view shot is used. This makes it feel as if the viewer is in
the bar and also shows more of the people who are spending their time there.
After Don leaves the bar, it’s undoubtedly late at night and he makes his way to a
female’s apartment. There’s a use of a pull focus in this scene. This means that it
is focused on the female opening the door and letting Don enter. This adds to a
representation of gender, as it makes Don come across as a flirt and a bit of a
player who can just show up at anybody’s apartment at any time of the day and
be let in. So far we know that he works for some sort of Tobacco Company (as he
had a conversation with a server in the bar about cigarettes and seemed annoyed
when he found out the man didn’t smoke a certain type of cigare tte, which he
may promote) and is a regular in a bar, he is possibly an already married man
and now he is going to spend the rest of the evening with an unknown female.
The pair is clearly close as there’s a lot of flirtation going on for the rest of the
scene. The next morning, Don wakes up with the unidentified female. The
lighting is very blue and dull. This suggests to us that he shouldn’t be there and
it’s not the right place or time. Gender representation is then used again, as Don
is the one getting ‘’kicked out’’ of the bed when it’s stereotypically the female.
This shows that the female is the dominant character in this scene and has a lot
of control over Don. Don suggests that they should get married, but she
completely rejects his offer and begins to stress that she ‘’doesn’t cook breakfast’’
and that she’d make a ‘’good ex wife.’’ We get to know a lot more of her character
and persona from that explanation; it adds to the already known fact that she is
dominant but also shows to us that she’s not a typical female. She doesn’t have a
typical office job; she’s an artist and has her own company (which Don finds
impressive.) It’s also stressed that she doesn’t want to get married, like a female
typically would in the 50’s and doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life pleasing
a male.

2. After Don leaves, a birds eye view is shown from the top of a skyscraper building.
This shows us that the company is a big operation. In terms of gender
representation, it shows various men and women in a rush on their way to their
presumable office jobs in the city. A close up is used when a character is on the
phone to his fiancée; it shows his friend/colleague holding up a card or invitation
to a strip club. In terms of gender representation, this adds to the business male
stereotype that they cannot be trusted and are cheating on their significant
other. Many over the shoulder shots are used when a woman who has evidently
been working the job for a long time, is showing the new girl around the office.
As this woman passes a man she met in the lift, eye level contact is used. This
shows flirtation between the opposite sexes in the office. More over the shoulder
shots are used in the scene whilst the woman is being shown around. This shows
that the more experienced worker is a dominant character in the show. This
character comes across as she is just working to satisfy the men and not for her
own good, she makes this clear when telling the girl what to do. A high angle shot
is used when she is unveiling the typewriter, she tells the other female that it
may be ‘’too advanced’’ but it’s made so a female can use it alongside a male.
In the final scene of the opening sequence, a high angle shot is used to show Don
opening a drawer in his office. This high angle shows the contents, which is
simply just several white shirts and nothing else, not the usual types of items
that would be found in the desk of a drawer. The use of this links back to one of
the first scenes of the show. He spent the night with an unknown female and now
needs a clean shirt whilst he is now at work, this makes it evident and known
that this is a frequent occurrence for Don and should be expected throughout the
rest of the series.