Laura Mulvey’s theory of “The Male Gaze”

Laura Mulvey was a theorist who argued that we live in a society where men dictate the rules and construct a representation of an ideal world, a world where males have dominance over women. This is also known as a “Patriarchal Society”. 

“The Male Gaze” is the theory she believed that audiences have to view characters from the perspective of a male. This theory consists of the idea that within a film, the camera will linger on the curves of the female character which are highlighted with specific editing conventions such as slow-motion deliberately causing the audience to focus their attentions on the female’s curves. And events which occur to women are presented in context of a man’s reaction to the event.

The theory proves that film relegates women to the status of objects.

Female viewer must experience the narrative in the 2nd person due to the nature of the narrative is that of a male. Despite that women in film/text tend to have no importance in regards to the story, however they play a toll on how the male character acts or feels which is important.

Visual Pleasure

Mulvey theorised that the role of a female character in a film; them within the narrative had two functions…

• To be an erotic object for the characters within the narrative to view.
• As an erotic object for the audience to view.

A perfect embodiment of this statement is within the James Bond franchise were women are objectified and forced by the audience to gaze upon their physical features. However, today this theory of “The Male Gaze” has only been frequently used within advertising rather than film due to the nature of our society now attempting to reduce the spectacles of women seen through man’s perception within film/television by portraying a far more factual representation of a female character; whom may cause the male protagonist to strive to be a better individual. (TO BE CONTINUED)