Agent Carter - Extract

    This week my class analyzed and wrote an essay on an extract from Agent Carter. 

 In this extract from Agent Carter Mis en Scene is heavily used to imply that this movie takes place directly post World War I, mainly through the use of costumes and props. Additionally, the representation of women helps to reestablish the time period. Throughout the extract we see the main character, Peggy, constantly being diminished and underestimated in contrast to her male counterparts. 

     For example, in a conversation between Peggy and her boss, she expresses that though she is good at data analysis and code breaking, her expertise is in the field. Instead of listening her boss dismisses her feelings. This conversation is a two-shot that is filmed in deep focus to suggest that the director wants the audience to focus on the actions of both Peggy and her boss. Peggy, being in the forefront of the shot may represent her eagerness to be in the field and her seriousness about her career while her boss, being in the background of the shot may represent that he is not focused on what she has to say and refuses to take her serious because she is a woman.

     In the next scene, the idea of Peggy being seen as inferior to her male coworkers is reinforced when she is asked to stay late at the office while everyone else goes for drinks. However, when the scene jump-cuts to Peggy cleaning around the office, an alarm goes off, catching her attention. The red flashing and diegetic sound of the alarm symbolizes danger and urgency. When Peggy attends to the alarm, she finds out vital information about the criminal that the police force is tracking. The camera zooms into her face and cuts to her crossing out information that she noted about the case. Another jump-cut reveals her walking into a mission alone. Lowkey lighting in this scene may be used to make the audience feel suspenseful. 

     All of this information combined leads to a deeper meaning that reveals the character's own internal conflict of her desire to prove herself. When the camera zooms into Peggy's face as she takes the call and then cuts to her crossing out whatever she wrote down, it shows her determination to engage and work in the field despite her boss' orders against it. The scene simultaneously explores the "Man vs. Society" conflict; as Peggy ignores her boss' orders and walks into a mission, she challenges social norms that were pushed onto her by her work environment, motivated by the chance to disprove her boss' and male colleagues' assumptions about her ability to perform the same tasks as they do. 

    The extract also explores Barthes theory that film can have multiple, layered meanings based on a viewers background, contrasting literal meanings - denotation - with associated meanings - connotation. For example, in the two-shot mentioned previously where Peggy is in the forefront and her boss is in the back, we can denotate that the director wants the audience to focus on Peggy's face, however, using Barthes' theory, we can connotate that the scene is meant to represent a deeper meaning and reveal the feelings of the characters. 

     The extract as a whole uses a combination of  Mis en Scene, camera movements, shots, lighting, and editing to represent the societal struggles and underestimation of women post World War I.  Throughout the extract, we see Peggy being treated as less than in her workplace and we watch as her eagerness to be seen as more than her gender role manifests. This is what drives her to take action in proving herself, refusing to conform to the societal norms of the world around her.