mad men

In madmen, series 1 episode 1 there are many camera shots and ‘mise en scene’ which links to the representation of gender.

The camera uses pan in the office work place to reflect that that is where all the girls work, and that the males are secluded in to their own offices showing they are more important to the business. They have the power and privacy that the females don’t which shows that they are typical businessmen and are dominating it.

Another shot used is a medium close up, this occurs in the bar whilst don draper Is drinking whiskey and this scene is generally showing us he spends a lot of time at the bar after work. He avoids going home to his family and results to alcohol instead, also this drink can be considered a ‘typical mans drink’ so it shows him sticking to the stereotypes men are represented with.

A medium long shot is used in the scene with the 3 men in the elevator, one on the furthest left is smoking which could imply manliness. Also they are crowding around the new girl, and talking about not wanting to be tied down to a girl which could insult the girl and show dominance as they are more powerful than her.

A birds eye shot  is used from the top of the building, showing people walking below. This angle can show how successful don draper is because the shot is from high up, and usually when somebody is high up at work, it means they are high up in their fields. It also can imply how small the people below look compared to the business world, and how irrelevant they are.

A long shot is used also, to show stance and what their wearing. This scene is between don draper, and a girl when he goes into her apartment. Typically, he would go for sex but after having problems at work he wants to chat. in this case the girl is the one hoping for sex, by the way she implies it when laying on the bed and taking off her shirt. This isn’t stereotypical and is usually the other way round so the representation of gender has switched. Also the way they are dressed has swapped around meanings, for instance she is wearing one of his shirts and his trousers, this isn’t a lady like outfit and we get the impression the roles have been ditched for this scene, unlike the other scenes.

The female here is also drinking a un-stereotypical drink as they are usually portrayed as drinking wine and such, but in this case she is drinking scotch.

The Women look up at the men in the company as if they are taller, in the scene in the business work place use eye line match to show the dominance. The scene contains the 2 women, one being the new girl who was previously in the work place. These eye line shot is a way to show dominance to the men, and not the women who look up to them as if they are a higher figure and don’t lie on the same level as people.