The male gaze theory- Laura Mulvey

The male gaze theory has been developed by Laura Mulvey. This theory describes the way that the viewer or audience has been portrayed for the view of a male. What a male usually wants to see the camera shows this theory. Laura Mulvey explains how the camera makes the women look like the objects in the film rather than the possessors. The women are just there to look at and to enjoy the view but are not there to take charge or just be 'normal'. Most women in films have had parts of their body enlarged or exposed so that it pleases the male audience. Most films apply to this, because nowadays that is how you attract the audience. Same applies to a women seeing a male; but that can still make the women as the audience the objects. The women are either the over sexual in the film/music video or the audience watching the film. Here are two images from two different films which show how the male gaze theory applies.

Above are two images of actors which have both been apart of PG and 15 rated films. It has almost become the norm to have women who don't have many clothes on and who have parts of the body accentuated on show. The image on the right is from the film Transformers; the actor is Megan Fox. Megan Fox is known for her great body and being attractive. This is what makes most people watch the films because of the actor in it. If the audience are going to watch the film mainly because of this women then the director is going to make sure that the audience finds this film appealing. What keeps most of the audience interested is seeing the women will a small amount of clothes on.

From these images above, I asked the year 12 Media group on their opinions of this. The group is mixed so it gives me a varied response. The women in the group had opinions of the lady being unrealistic, weird and creepy. They wouldn't want to look like that and they thought that the breasts looked too fake and balloon like. Someone else said it was all in your face and there was nothing hidden. The male audience liked this; they said that they liked the fact that the features were emphasised and that thy wouldn't complain if their girlfriend did look like that. When asked what they liked in a girl, the response was Cheryl Cole. As you can see form this image below the male gaze theory again applies.

From the image you can see again where Cheryl is the object; she is dressed in a tight skirt and doesn't have much covered up on top. This again emphasises parts of the body that appeals to the male eye: The boobs and butt! The way that Cheryl is standing also elongates her and shows off her stomach which also attracts the male audience. 

                                                  

I agree with the theory of the Male Gaze; as much as there will be films out there that this doesn't apply to; the newer and more recent films are beginning to use women more and more as an object rather that having an importance at all. In films you may have a women in charge, but she will be extremely beautiful, a great figure and is great at everything. This will then appeal again to the theory that the films and music video's nowadays are just there to please the male audience, because apparently having a women showing her body is more important that having a good music video and film all because of the editing/idea.

As much as they appeal; the women are also changed to appeal more the male audience. If there were magazine covers or a DVD cover the women will be on the front and will be wearing something appealing. The actor Julia Roberts is perfectly showing the result of the male gaze theory. The women is dressed in knee high leather boots, which automatically gives you the opinion that she is quite open, adventurous, flirty. Leather is known as being apart of many sexual scenes films. It doesn't help when she is dressed up in a very tight skirt and a together short crop top. Black gives the audience a clue on what happens in this film and tells us that these two actors on the front have a lot of chemistry at the end. You can see that the women thinks that she is in charge but from the way she dresses and the way he dresses you can see who is the possessor and who the object is. Unfortunately again it is the women.

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