You might be curious to learn more about the male gaze whenever you hear someone discuss it. And hence, let us discuss it in detail.
The theory of the male gaze was developed by feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey in 1975. She is best known for her essay on ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.’ Her views draw from thinkers like Sigmund Freud and Jacques while also including feminism and psychoanalysis in her writings. Mulvey is well known for her theory – more frequently referred to as “The Male Gaze” theory, which is about the sexual objectification of women in the media.
The theory examines how three different views, or looks, are merged in film. The first one is the perspective of the camera, or the original inclusion, exclusion, and framing of scenes, people, and other visual components onto film as selected by a director or camera person; roles predominately played by men in the film industry.
The next one is the audience’s point of view, or how viewers experience the finished film. The viewing of the film was done in dark theatres that encouraged spectators to not interact with each other to lose themselves in the story and take on the perspective of the camera.
The last one is the point of view of the characters and their encounters in the movie that enable them to interact, get knowledge, and develop insights that are later made accessible to the spectator. Frequently, the camera mirrors a particular character’s point of view, thus letting the spectator see through their eyes.
As per the theory, heterosexual men observe women in the media through their eyes and portray them as passive objects of their desire. Regardless of whether the characters in these films are heterosexual men or heterosexual women, audiences are compelled to see women from the perspective of a heterosexual man. Since people are seated in the darkness of the auditorium and are apart from the characters on the screen, Mulvey stressed how spectators are voyeuristic. The male gaze is thus clearly visible from the beginning of the creative process to how the audience perceives the content.
According to Mulvey’s article, men have influenced what they wanted to see in visual art and what they did not want to see because it was primarily created by them. Men dominate the creative process and make decisions that reflect their values and interests, which results in women being objectified by the camera in films.
The concept is that in movies, a woman’s physical beauty is what counts most to an engaged audience member, who is frequently presumed to be a man, and she must appear exceptionally enticing and sexually available for him. They usually have a male protagonist who saves the world and saves the heroine in their stories. The projects are approved by the studio executives, who are also men, and male producers are hired to deliver the movie. Each scene’s design and camera placement are decided by the directors and cinematographers. They are men, of course. Simply put, men determine how women are represented in the stages of production.
Let us see some examples of the camera techniques used in films. The medium-close-up shots of women taken from behind a man’s shoulder, the pans and fixes that focus on a woman’s body, and recurring images of a man watching a woman passively are all common examples of the male gaze. Transformers, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Vertigo, Gone With The Wind, Breakfast At Tiffany’s, Rear Window etc. are some examples of male gaze used in films.
However, some researchers have also stressed that there is a female gaze in which media text is directed towards female audiences and presented from a female perspective, reflecting the views and values of women. These films have a female lead who actively contributes to the plot rather than being a passive character.
In the end, we can say that no matter how dissimilar people may appear on the surface, all genders are entitled to respect, decency, and space as well as the freedom to express themselves in whatever they choose. We need to change the culture so that women are recognised as complete individuals rather than as objects of desire. For that, women need more than simply acknowledgement. They need time and space to share their stories without worrying about being misunderstood or rejected by society at large.