Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze Theory

Laura Mulvey is a very successful feminist as well as the professor of film and media studies Birkbeck, University of London. She like others aims to live in a world where women stand at equals to men.

Mulvey looked at the imbalance between men and women in society and media. She looked at how men see women; women see themselves and how women see other women. She claimed audience look at women represented in media through the eyes of a heterosexual male. In an essay Mulvey wrote in 1973, ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ she stated men see women as objects. This theory applies not only in film and music videos but also in advertisements where women are used as selling point for products not even related to women (e.g. a men’s deodorant ad where it may have an attractive female who is dressed in a seducing manner). She stated the female audience only gets to experience the media secondarily; as the camera is controlled by the views man has of women.

Mulvey was later questioned by other film theorists why women would watch such media if Mulvey’s theory about the male gaze was true. She then wrote a follow up article ‘After thoughts on Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ which was included in the ‘Visual and Other Pleasures’ collection. The Male Gaze theory says when men watch an advertisement of a product with an attractive woman featured next to it they have the assumption they can get a women like that by buying the product. While if a woman watched it she would be the assumption she had to buy the product to be attractive to men or if a woman watches a music video where a women is represented in such a way that the male gaze theory holds true the woman watching would supposedly think she had to look like that woman in the music video for men to find her attractive.

Mulvey suggests audience consume media in two ways; voyeuristically or fetishistically. Women may be looked at as attractive and desirable or may be considered to be simple and have no self respect.

In the narrative part of my music video I have used a lot of close up and extreme close up shots of the female actress in way to highlight her beauty. There are a few point of view shots which are filmed through the point of view of the boyfriend; we litereally see through the point of view of the man which relates to the theory in subtle manner. The point of view shot was also filmed to make the audience feel more involved, as if they were there watching her.

The lead singer has a lot of close ups and is framed centerally. She shown to go against this theory as she dresses to express her individuality and shows her dominant character. She doesnt want to be seen how men want, but inspire other women that they too can be who they want to be (a