Evaluation of an Agent Carter Extract

Not too long ago, I watched an extract of the show "Agent Carter" in class and was told to make an essay describing the technical elements of the clip and how they developed meaning. This is my final draft after making a few edits:

My Thoughts on the Extract

 In the extract, "Agent Carter," the producers utilize elements such as shots, mise-en-scene, editing and sound to emphasize societal issues such as sexism during the 1900s as well as the theme of losing a loved one.

The producers then utilize a master shot of all the workers, including Peggy, within an office. In the shot, we see that all the workers there are men and Peggy is the only female in the workplace. This is meant to be a subtle hint towards the looming sexism within the office. This can be also reinforced by the previous establishing shot that demonstrates a large city as well as the costumes utilized by the characters in the scene. Peggy is wearing very formal attire that seems to be very similar to her male counterparts except she is using a skirt. This difference in attire aims to show how societal expectations in which women are supposed to be feminine, even in the workplace. There are also many props that suggest that the time period is some time inside of the 1900s. This was a time period that sexism was a very prevalent issue and women were treated as lesser than.

More clear and obvious remarks of sexism can be found in the dialogue between Peggy and agent Flynn. The producers utilize an over-the-shoulder shot showing the face of the character being spoken to in order to capture their reactions. A reverse shot is also used to help capture the reactions of both characters while they speak to each other. In this scene, Peggy confronts agent Flynn and asks why she is yet to have been assigned on her first mission. He responds with "Peggy the war is over, we'll handle the rough stuff." This suggests sexist ideas as she is immediately dismissed and made out to be incapable of handling the "rough stuff" that the men can. After that dialogue, the camera zooms in for a close shot, emphasizing the uncomfortableness oozing from the dialogue that just occurred. 

Agent Flynn and Peggy also had an interaction in which the shot demonstrated his hand on top of Peggy's shoulder. The way the hand was centered into the foreground of the shot utilizing the rule of thirds was meant to emphasize the creepiness of his action. Peggy is visibly discomforted by it and a two-shot demonstrates her turning around and getting up to leave the situation. A tracking shot is then used, the camera going backwards while displaying Peggy's awkwardness. This scene perfectly encapsulates the weird actions that occur within workplaces that make woman feel compromised and uneasy at their own job.

 Later, there is a scene in which a male coworker tells Peggy that he needs the analysis of some codes "by tomorrow." The camera then zooms into the stack of papers with codes on them and the protagonist gives it to him while saying "try by yesterday." An over-the-shoulder shot is implemented to show that  the coworker, instead of appreciating the gesture, gives a slightly annoyed look and scoffs. This also adds to the discrimination against her simply because of her sex and not demonstrating respect for her because she's a woman.

The utilization of these shots and mise-en-scene elements work together in the revealing of the societal issue at that time, sexism. Seeing woman as lesser than within the workplace and forcing them to play certain roles despite their capability to be able to do the same as their male counterparts as shown in the clip itself.