Sample Exam based on Agent Carter Clip

 When viewing the media text (Agent Carter), we can see themes of heroism and underestimation/discrimination based on gender. These themes underlie the entire media text and provide a basis for understanding how each of the characters tick and how the scenes play out.

The media text has very many clear and obscure examples of  how it constructs meaning through the theme of heroism. The first example we see is at the start of the movie, where we see a dire scene where we see a close up of Peggy showing her sullen face as she watches her love sacrifice himself for a likely great cause. This acts as sort of a background, making her actions further in the story make sense. Not to mention, the score of this scene elevates the tension and emotion of Steve's sacrifice showing his heroism. In the end of this scene, before Steve's plane crashes, the camera cuts to an insert of a picture of Peggy showing his love for her and how he is willing to sacrifice himself for her. 

An example of the theme of discrimination/underestimation comes in the scene after, where Peggy gets tired of waiting and being put off by her boss so she takes the initiative when an opportunity comes up to prove herself. Her boss received a zodiac case which is indicated by a diegetic sound of an alarm blaring, a wide shot of all Peggy's colleagues standing in a serious manner, and a close up of the file . This lets us know that these zodiac cases are nothing to scoff at and makes it more painful for Peggy when her boss chooses two other people to take the mission instead of her. This is relevant as we hear in her conversation with her boss that she hasn't been on a mission since she joined the agency. Later on in a shoulder shot showing a conversation between Peggy and her boss, the theme of discrimination is evident due to him saying something along the lines of, "The war is over, leave all the heavy lifting to us darling". Since this media text was staged for back in the day the slight misogyny is common for the time as back then they felt woman were fragile, delicate. That isn't the only example of discrimination present as we see the boss and the other men go to the bar while Peggy is left to do their dirty work.

The representations of the characters and scenes through the use of camera techniques and mise en scene helps amplify the themes of heroism and discrimination as well as being rooted in those themes. The personality of the boss, being a slightly misogynistic male is shown through the close ups of him assigning only the men the missions as well as shoulder shots of him speaking to Peggy. His personality heavily differs from Steve's personality, since Steve is shown to be heroic and in love with Peggy do to the heartfelt cinematography such as the score created just for this scene and the constant close ups showing Peggy and Steve's final conversation. The last noteworthy character is Peggy who is a very ambitious character shown by her dissatisfaction of her being underestimated. We see a clear example of her ambition and heroism when she is tempted to take the zodiac case when her boss and colleagues are out. The nondiegetic background sound of this scene amplifies the mysteriousness and cautiousness of the situation for us and Peggy as well as showing Peggy's temptation. This is then abruptly stopped and replaced with a more action driven score as she crosses out the '3 to 5 people' that is recommended for the case. This reveals to the audience that Peggy is confident in herself and her abilities and her bravery for taking such a serious case. Finally we see her capability as she takes out 2 guys shown by an over-the shoulder shot and overlayed with a contrapuntal sound. Now looking at specific scenes/locations such as the scene at the start of the media text where at first glance it looks like a dangerous place based on the establishing shot, which is amplified by the sad score showing that Steve will likely not make it out of that plane alive. Another location is the office Peggy works at where at first it looks like a normal office building shown by a wide shot, but the moment the zodiac case is revealed the lights turn red and start flashing and everyone gets serious. 

The camera shots, angles, and overall mise en scene of this piece of work elevate the overall themes of heroism and underestimation/discrimination creating construction of meaning which is used to thrust the story forward and expaining future events. These elements also influence how the audience sees the characters and the environment where this media text plays out.