- Laura Mulvey is a 71 year old British feminist film theorist.
- She is a professor of film and media at Berkbeck 'University of London'.
What is the 'male gaze'?
The male gaze is when the audience is put into the perspective of a heterosexual man. It is the way that the camera is used to look at women in film. The camera lingers on the curves of the female body, sexualising females. Mulvey argues that in mainstream cinema, the male gaze typically takes precedence over the female gaze. A women is lusted over or seen as less dominant to the man.
Example: Love Actually
In the film Love Actually we see a man writing a novel, while the woman is bringing him a cup of tea, she realises he has an empty cup, but as she takes the cup off the table all the pages of his book are blown into the lake. Seeing this the woman then tries to retrieve the paper and proceeds to jump into the lake, before this however the woman takes her clothes off in slow motion and the camera lingers on her legs, bottom and breasts. The man looking at her lustfully then decides he should help but as he takes his clothes off it is done in a comical way and he ends up falling into the lake trying to take his jumper off.
Example: Alex Gaudino - Destination Unknown
In the music video for Destination Unknown it is clear to see that it is being aimed at men. The women in the video are wearing short skirts to show off their bottoms and tops that show there stomachs. They are all playing instruments in the video, some more suggestively than others by rubbing it up and down. They also concentrate on the women's lips, they are plump and glossy red and the women lick their lips quite a lot. The camera lingers on the bodies of the women and the way they pronounce certain words.
Why is this important when studying media?
It is important to study this as it just one of the many ways to look at how females are portrayed in media. Laura Mulvey’s work is important as it is everywhere and one of the predominate features in the media today. Feminism is important when analysing a film as there is a way to manipulate people into thinking that women should only do certain things and be lusted after and that, that is the norm for women. Laura Mulvey's work helps us realise that the media have a certain set of rules for women and a completely different set of rules for men when it comes to showing sexuality.
It is important to study this as it just one of the many ways to look at how females are portrayed in media. Laura Mulvey’s work is important as it is everywhere and one of the predominate features in the media today. Feminism is important when analysing a film as there is a way to manipulate people into thinking that women should only do certain things and be lusted after and that, that is the norm for women. Laura Mulvey's work helps us realise that the media have a certain set of rules for women and a completely different set of rules for men when it comes to showing sexuality.
How this could be applied to my own work
In my music video the main theme is love between a teenage boy and girl, therefore it would inappropriate to show the teenage boy looking lustful towards the girl as that isn't what the story is about. To make sure I do not encounter this problem I will have both the girls point of view and the boys to make it even and therefore should eliminate the chances of there being any type of sexual gaze thrust upon the characters.
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