Laura Mulvey - The Male Gaze

Laura Mulvey - The Male Gaze

Issues with the theory

- Critisms of Mulvey's theory is that some women enjoy being 'looked' at and they want to be seen as sexual objects. They feel liberated and dominated. The gaze can also be directed towards members of the same gender for several reasons, not all of which are sexual but audiences may view these women as liberating and role models. For example Lady Gaga in her music video Born This Way.

The Theory

- The male gaze occurs when the audience is put into the perspective of a hetrosexual man. A scene may focus on the curves of a woman's body putting you, as the viewer, in the eyes of a male.

-However it is only the male gaze theory if the curves are highlighted with specific conventions such as slow motion, deliberate camera movement and cut-aways.

- This theory suggests that the male gaze denies women human identity relegating them to the status of objects to be admired for physical appearance. This 'masculinizes' the audience.This theory suggests women can, more often than not, only watch a film/video from a mans perspective

- . Often a female charatcer has no real importance herself , it is how she makes the male feel or act that is the importance. The woman only exists in relation to the male.

Miley Cyrus

The Theory

How men look at women

- Miley Cyrus started out as a young innocent untry singer who played the role of Hannah in the popular Disney show Hannah Montanna. However as Miley became more exposedd to the media she decided to change her ideologies and her identity in order to gain a new reaction from her audience. Her little clothing and outlandish designs can be interpreted as her way of mocking the theory. She expresses herself in a way as to show that she still wants to be desired however she is happy to express herself in a way that others wont.

What is the gaze?

- The concept of the gaze is one that deals with how an audeince views the people presented.

- For feminists is can be thought of in three ways...

1) How men look at women

2) How women look at themselves

3) How women look at other women

- her theories focus on 'visual pleasure and narrative cinema'. Her studioes are based on how women are viewed as sexual objects initially in Hollywood films.

- This concept of women as sexual objects is also evident in media texts today, includig music videos and films. Mulvey's research focuses on women as sexual objects and how they are placed within media texts to be enjoyed by men and objectified (to be seen, not heard).

- men focus on the sexual features of a woman and see her as a oject. Men focus on the curves and other parts of their bodies and do not always value them as a valid role. They see women as sexual objects.

How women look at themselves

How women look at other women

- Women are made to feel negative about themselves when viewing other women. They pick faults with their own appearances and give themselves low self esteem. Women look themselves as comparisons and feel inferior to the women in media products. They do not take into consideration post-production and compare themselves to an unrelaistic role model.

- Women look at other women to shape their identits. They take elements of what they like from other women they see and try and construct an indentity they deem fit and desirable for society. Women look at other women and compare themselves to them to create an ideal versin of themselves.