Research: Mulvey’s Male Gaze

Mulvey's Male Gaze

Introduction:

Laura Mulvey is a British feminist film critic. In 1975 she came up with the theory of The Male Gaze - film viewers view characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male. Cameras linger on the curves of the female body, specifically breasts and bottom, this demeans women to the status of objects, almost viewing them as props.

There are three ways in which feminists see this theory:

1) How men look at women
2) How women look at themselves
3) How women look at other women



Mulvey's Male Gaze:

There are many features of Mulvey's male gaze theory, it revolves around the idea that what we see on screen is from a heterosexual male's perspective. This is because the camera lingers on female's body parts and are presented largely in the context of a man's reaction to these events. The male gaze suggests that women should look sexually appealing, as shown through various mid shots and close ups. This can also be linked to a patriarchal society as masculine individuals or organisations exert their power to determine what is"natural" - which eventually creates levels of inferiority.

Examples:

Artist drake presented as a wealthy dominant male, with stereotypes of males drinking being shown as he is surrounded by empty champagne glasses. He is wearing jewellery and is presumably in an expensive home. His gaze is straight at the camera which asserts dominance as he wants to be the focal point of the situation.

Rihanna is presented wearing less clothing as her shoulders are exposed. Unlike most male artists she is not looking directly at the camera, she is looking away; almost as if she is exposed or vulnerable.

In this video there are multiple women wearing very minimal clothing. This video when it was released caused a lot of controversy due to the lyrics. However, this video can be interpreted differently by different people. Some might argue that the women in the video are being objectified, almost seen as props for the video as they are near nude and the men are fully clothed from top to bottom. Others may argue that the women are taking control as they are comfortable in their bodies and are therefore empowering themselves, the men are shown to be brushing their hair while they dance around and the females directly look at the camera at some points, asserting their dominance over the male actors.

In the video for "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus she is presented as naked for the majority of the video, although this may be interpreted as an empowering position for a young woman, as she is not being objectified by males which could be considered as the unfortunate norm in the music video industry.

In French Montana's "Pop That" the majority of women are all wearing minimal clothing, walking around and dancing with bikinis. This is contrasted to the males who are fully clothed. Mulvey's gaze can be applied to this as there is focus on the women's breasts and buttocks. The males are portrayed as having ultimate control as the women are seen as props and the women are simply there just to please the males. 

Criticisms:

Mulvey suggests that the characters we see are through the perspective of a heterosexual male. This does not include the view of bisexual male or homosexual female audiences who may also enjoy watching female assets.

Does not consider all women, as all women are different. Not every woman is promiscuous and objectified, the theory considers these women as lacking respect for themselves. The women in music videos are usually models or other artists.

Mulvey's theory only takes into consideration the gazing of women's assets but not males. Despite it being rarely identified, male's assets can also be gazed upon.

The theory does not consider people's own opinions whether they enjoy being looked at or not. Some females may be proud of their bodies and see it rather as a compliment than objectification when being gazed upon. If women in music videos were uncomfortable by the way they were being portrayed in the video,

Mulvey's theory of the male gaze is a significant theory in the modern age, especially due to the feminism movement. It is obvious that there are women that are being seen as sex objects and this being promoted highly by the rap and hip hop genre, and this can be centered around Mulvey's theory of male gaze. As well as this, the genre of rap and hip hop is constantly growing and there is an increase in the number of videos that contain women wearing less clothing and revealing assets. Despite this, some women may see this as empowering rather than seeing themselves as being objectified.

In conclusion, due to how relevant Muley's theory of the male gaze is today and as I will be making a video based on the Rap/Hip-hop genre, I will be implementing the theory in my music video. I will not be asking female actresses to appear in my music video but if they are, they will be fully clothed and my camera shots will not linger on their assets. I see this as a shift from the stereotypical norm of a rap or hip hop music video, thereby making my video appeal to niche audiences but still have the general pleasure of a rap or hiphop music video.