13. The Lipstick Experiment
Belle Jolie is a client of Sterling Cooper, and in episode 1x06, the account execs (all frat-house-worthy males) have the female secretaries try on various shades of lipstick and collect their thoughts, for marketing purposes. The gentlemen sit behind a one-way mirror, affording them front-row tickets to female maintenance and cosmetology. Tasteless humor ensues. Harry gets up close and personal, mocking the girl on the other side, calling her his "little blowfish" from the way she puffs up her lips. Pete asks when they should start running electricity through the chairs. Paul proposes that he take off his pants. Yadayadayada. What's rather un-ironic about this scene is that it's reflective of workplace dynamics in the show, only they're magnified because of the one-way awareness of surroundings. The women go about their business, working menial jobs, primping, maintaining their cosmetic appearance - while the men watch, lust after, make passes at and take advantage of for their own gain and pursuit of sexual power. Mise-en-scene that functions on a couple different levels? Nailed it.