Sample Exam Question 1

As can be seen from the costume the setting can be inferred to be in the 50’s or 40’s. This is a time of common sexism within the workplace with woman commonly being used in secretary roles. This is what the clip presented in “Agent Carter” is trying to represent. This is shown through not just how Agent Carter is treated but how the film elements show her and her male colleagues.  

The positioning and the type of shots and angles used help express an outcasted person. This is first seen in the wide shot after the character that can be assumed to be the boss gets the telephone call. This wide shot shows the protagonist in the back away from the action, further confirmed when she isn’t called on for the mission. This allows the audience to infer on Agent Carter’s situation and how she is likely put “out of sight, out of mind," due to being a woman. There is also a mid-shot that is used in the scene where the protagonist is sitting and a man touches her shoulder while she is working. This makes the audience feel uncomfortabl due to the face of the man not being shown with the mid shot only showing the torso of the man due to Carter sitting down.  

In the beginning of the scene there is a use of high-key lighting, this is used when Carter is in control, alone, and in the action. This is in contrast to the lowkey lighting of the rest of the clip. In this we see Carter is not in control or not even being allowed to get in the action. This contrast in lighting makes the audience feel trapped, which is likely what the protagonist is feeling in the scene. It can also be inferred that the lighting and its focus carries a sense of power. Such as the scene where the group of men are standing and the boss is the focus of the lighting with the men standing around him being in the shadow. This can make the audience feel intimidated, which many women in the workplace would feel in this time period.  

The way the editing is used in this scene also helps show the problem of isolation that the protagonist is facing. After being left in the dark there is a longshot of Carter followed by a cut going further from her, followed by another cut even further. This shows the protagonist alone in the room with no one to offer support to her. This provides the audience with a sense of hopelessness. This further illustrates the feeling of women during this time period in the workplace.  

Through these various elements, this clip from Agent Carter explores the discrimination received in the workplace. This is created through a sense of isolation, intimidation, and hopelessness.