Case Study - Laura Mulvey

Laura Mulvey - The Male Gaze

- Laura Mulvey is a British feminist film theorist
- She is a professor of film and media at Berkbeck
- Age 70

I did this so that I could have another person view on how people and especially women are represented in texts. I have also done this to see if her theory is true and if I can use it in my text.

What is the male gaze?

In film, the male gaze occurs when the audience is put into the perspective of a heterosexual man. A scene may linger on the curves of a woman's body, for instance. Mulvey argues that in mainstream cinema, the male gaze typically takes precedence over the female gaze. The women is then lusted over or seen as less dominant to men in a patriarchal way. It is the way that the camera is used to look at women in film.

Example – Love Actually Film

Man is writing a book woman brings him tea and then the book flies off when she removes the other cup. She runs down to get it and then takes off her clothes and dives in to get the pages of the book. Then the man goes in afterwards. The woman as she is taking off her clothes and it is put in slow motion and the camera pans up and down her body and lingers on her bum and other assets. Also, she does a graceful dive into the lake and the camera does a full body shot. This is sexualized and makes the women seen as more of an object.

Example - Music Video Rhianna Rude Boy

Thought out this whole music video it is evident that the male gaze is being used. we can see this from the outfits the artist is wearing e.g. skin tight and very sexy outfits. As well as this the camera is always focusing on parts of her body such as bum and breasts as she is dancing around. The camera angles used and the camera shots are very much seen through heterosexual male eyes and are the male gaze.

This shows the artist (female) wearing a very small outfit that shows off her bum and by standing with her back to the camera it shows her bum. By having the image of her like this 5 times it makes the camera angle and the way the camera is panning slightly in and out shows how the male gaze is in action.

 This shows a close up on the artist mouth the way she is growing would suggest to the man that she wants him. The desire and animal like way she has her mouth and the CU really gets the feeling of the man looking at her with desire.

 This showing a mid/close up of the artist doing act which is considered sexual by having her finger in her mouth and the lack of clothes this is throw the eyes of a heterosexual male would more see her as an object of lust. 

This is the best example I could find in the video of the male gaze it shows simple the artist breasts a CU, this is not even a sutal way in which the male gaze is used and shows what the gaze is and what parts of the body the male gaze will focus on in particular.



Why is this important in studying media?

It is important to look at this while studying media is that there are lots of different ways in looking at a text not just through feminism. However, Laura Mulvey’s work is quite important as it is everywhere and one of the predominate features in the media. Feminism is important today as in films there is a way to manipulate people into thinking a certain thing for women is the norm and this is done though films and the media as a whole.

How will this help me and will I use it in my text?

This will come in useful as I can look at her theory and choose if I want to use her theory to my advantage to represent the woman in a certain way to the audience. By looking at her theory I will be able to use it or make sure that I don’t use it to manipulate the audience to make them feel a certain way about a character or put across the genre. I think that I will use this in my own text as I have a single girl in my music video, who is very attractive I will not use it in the sexual appeal but more the beautiful way e.g. focusing the camera on her facial features and how pretty she is.

I have not used this in my music video as I think the meaning of the song 'Skinny Love' and the story that I have told within it there is no need for the male gaze as the female character in it is confronting her feelings on the divorce of her parents (a very serious matter and if the male gaze were to occur, it would seem wrong and not in keeping with the serious tone of the song and video content.

This has helped me in understanding how different people and different genders are represented to the audiences in media texts. In addition, it has made me see that the way the camera is used is key to manipulate the audience into feeling certain ways or be appealed to the text.

In addition, this has also made it clear to me that I am not using this in my film, yes I do have an attractive young female with camera shots of her walking and the back of her and close ups of her face but the song and the message within does not require the male gaze and I don't think at any point in my video I have used it.