Analysis of TV Drama- Gender representation in Mad Men
Mad Men is a 1960s based drama following the business life in New York City. The episode begins with an ariel shot (birds-eye view) of the office establishment and the hustle and bustle of cars and people in New York. This is used to introduce the scene and atmosphere of the era. A tracking shot is also used inside the office to show movement of the two female characters as they move to a desk, following the conversation with highlighted emphasis on their dialogue despite characters being in front of them. This is used to show the main characters as other backing characters are placed in shallow focus and are simply there to mimic the atmosphere of a working environment.
Continuity editing is used throughout the clip to keep the story flowing. This allows the audience to follow the plot with few difficulties. Shot-reverse shot editing is also used to show speech between characters bouncing back and fourth as they participate in dialogue. By using this we also witness the gender inequality, as women are pushed aside during some dialogue, for instance when the secretary questions the men entering her presumed bosses office, they simply state that he is never expecting something, showing clear sarcasm and disregard of her position.
The sound in this extract is mostly diegetic sound with speech and footsteps that the characters in the clip can hear themselves. There is use of non-digetic sound at the beginning with the theme tune consisting of typical 1960s music. Synchronous sound is also used in instances such as the typewriting noise and elevator noises which are typical of the scene and expected.
The mise-en-scene of this clip portrays a strong 1960s-esque theme. The clothing is very colourful with yellows and greens, especially seen in the women. The men on the other hand are in typical business attire, showing formality and professionalism. The technology also portrays the era with the old typewriters being introduced as 'modern technology that have been designed so us women can understand' [loosely quoted].
A modern audience watching this 1960 style clip would immediately see the sexism, objectification and materialistic views which are all common to the era. The gender inequality is really highlighted as the men are in the high positions of power whereas the women are simple secretaries. As an audience we may expect this as we are aware of the differences and beliefs of that time compared to our own, so we are aware that the director did this to portray the time period.
Men are evidentially superior to the women and are consistently portrayed to be a prize of piece of meat to view and lust. This is reinforced in the clip when one of the men is talking about his wife after he has been on the phone to her, describing her as a marvel and amazing, then one of his colleagues or friends state that 'her old mans rich as well' showing that the men can marry into fortune and status easily.
Continuity editing is used throughout the clip to keep the story flowing. This allows the audience to follow the plot with few difficulties. Shot-reverse shot editing is also used to show speech between characters bouncing back and fourth as they participate in dialogue. By using this we also witness the gender inequality, as women are pushed aside during some dialogue, for instance when the secretary questions the men entering her presumed bosses office, they simply state that he is never expecting something, showing clear sarcasm and disregard of her position.
The sound in this extract is mostly diegetic sound with speech and footsteps that the characters in the clip can hear themselves. There is use of non-digetic sound at the beginning with the theme tune consisting of typical 1960s music. Synchronous sound is also used in instances such as the typewriting noise and elevator noises which are typical of the scene and expected.
The mise-en-scene of this clip portrays a strong 1960s-esque theme. The clothing is very colourful with yellows and greens, especially seen in the women. The men on the other hand are in typical business attire, showing formality and professionalism. The technology also portrays the era with the old typewriters being introduced as 'modern technology that have been designed so us women can understand' [loosely quoted].
A modern audience watching this 1960 style clip would immediately see the sexism, objectification and materialistic views which are all common to the era. The gender inequality is really highlighted as the men are in the high positions of power whereas the women are simple secretaries. As an audience we may expect this as we are aware of the differences and beliefs of that time compared to our own, so we are aware that the director did this to portray the time period.
Men are evidentially superior to the women and are consistently portrayed to be a prize of piece of meat to view and lust. This is reinforced in the clip when one of the men is talking about his wife after he has been on the phone to her, describing her as a marvel and amazing, then one of his colleagues or friends state that 'her old mans rich as well' showing that the men can marry into fortune and status easily.
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