PC: Laura Mulvey, Male Gaze and the Feminist Film Theory- Literary Theory and Criticism
The article “Visual
Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” by Laura Mulvey talks about the unconscious way
of demonstrating the patriarchal society has on structured film form using
psychoanalysis. For Mulvey, patriarchy and phallocentrism in all of its
manifestations rely on the image of the "castrated woman" to give
order and purpose to their universe. The man's possession of a phallus, as well
as the power and position it provides, is given meaning by the woman's absence
of one. In the film, this process is demonstrated and reinforced.
She speaks about ‘male gaze’ which includes questions like- ‘what the camera focuses on?’, ‘what the audience sees’ and ‘how the characters interact with each other?’. Male Gaze basically is how women are shown by the media and how men see them as objects of desires. She questions the need for a musical song- and-dance numbers to break the flow of the script, the role of the woman here works against the development of a storyline and its purpose is to have actions of erotic contemplations. According to Mulvey, cinema provides two types of pleasure: scopophilia, the erotic or pleasure derived by watching an object or person, voyeuristic pleasure of subjecting others to a controlling and curious gaze, ‘which is associated with libido, and narcissistic pleasure of identification ‘with the male protagonist (or the camera's point of view), which Mulvey associates with the mirror phase ‘of Jaques Lacan's psychoanalysis. Phallocentrism is when the phallus or the male sexual organ is the center of an organization in the social world is another concept she speaks about. She believes that women are in fact “the bearer of meaning and not the maker of meaning,” which suggests that women are not placed in a role where they can take control of a scene, instead they are objectified to please the male audience (passive female and active male roles). “In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness. Woman are displayed as sexual object”. Even for the female audience, Mulvey's identification is always with the male point of view, and female characters are constantly subject to the dominating male gaze. Female characters and spectators are active, while male protagonists and viewers are passive. Pleasure must be abolished since it is only associated with patriarchal dominance. Mulvey considers pleasure destruction to be a "radical weapon” - she wants to break down the idea that women are objects of desire.
She speaks about ‘male gaze’ which includes questions like- ‘what the camera focuses on?’, ‘what the audience sees’ and ‘how the characters interact with each other?’. Male Gaze basically is how women are shown by the media and how men see them as objects of desires. She questions the need for a musical song- and-dance numbers to break the flow of the script, the role of the woman here works against the development of a storyline and its purpose is to have actions of erotic contemplations. According to Mulvey, cinema provides two types of pleasure: scopophilia, the erotic or pleasure derived by watching an object or person, voyeuristic pleasure of subjecting others to a controlling and curious gaze, ‘which is associated with libido, and narcissistic pleasure of identification ‘with the male protagonist (or the camera's point of view), which Mulvey associates with the mirror phase ‘of Jaques Lacan's psychoanalysis. Phallocentrism is when the phallus or the male sexual organ is the center of an organization in the social world is another concept she speaks about. She believes that women are in fact “the bearer of meaning and not the maker of meaning,” which suggests that women are not placed in a role where they can take control of a scene, instead they are objectified to please the male audience (passive female and active male roles). “In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness. Woman are displayed as sexual object”. Even for the female audience, Mulvey's identification is always with the male point of view, and female characters are constantly subject to the dominating male gaze. Female characters and spectators are active, while male protagonists and viewers are passive. Pleasure must be abolished since it is only associated with patriarchal dominance. Mulvey considers pleasure destruction to be a "radical weapon” - she wants to break down the idea that women are objects of desire.
There is no consideration
of the context in which films are viewed, except from the darkness of the
cinema, which Mulvey obviously associates with voyeurism, and the fixed seeing,
which she regards as a "repression" contributing to identification
with the screen picture. Psychodynamic processes involved in seeing a movie at
a theatre isn’t the same as those engaged in watching a DVD at home in a more
relaxed setting. In any event, audiences are rarely repressed: witness the
movie audience's applause, jeers, and laughs. The aspect of ‘Female gaze’ hasn’t
been mentioned. Although female gaze is not exactly similar to male gaze, there
is no direct female equivalent to male gaze. Female viewers are positioned to
identify with a heroine who is desired by the male lead. This can lead to a lot
of insecurities among male and female viewers. The aspect of ‘toxic
masculinity’ comes into the picture. She does speak about the pressure common
women face due to the idealistic body standards set by the female leads in
cinema but ignore the pressure that men face due to the male lead in a film.
Being ‘tall, dark and handsome’ to get a woman who looks like the desired
female lead can be problematic. She believed that the castration anxiety in
women for not having a penis causes a man to be scared of the ability of a
women to give life. Hence, they are believed to control lives of women, and
this forms the basis of the patriarchal society we all live in.
The article that Laura Mulvey has written in the 1975s is still relevant in today’s cinematic world. Her feminist perspective of proving that women are mere objects of desire just to be looked at and men do the looking is still prevalent in many film forms. She emphasizes on how problematic objectification of women in media can affect the unconscious mind of the viewer. Most of the traditional films focus on pleases the male audience and completely ignore the female spectators.
Reference
“Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” by Laura Mulvey
The article that Laura Mulvey has written in the 1975s is still relevant in today’s cinematic world. Her feminist perspective of proving that women are mere objects of desire just to be looked at and men do the looking is still prevalent in many film forms. She emphasizes on how problematic objectification of women in media can affect the unconscious mind of the viewer. Most of the traditional films focus on pleases the male audience and completely ignore the female spectators.
Reference
“Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” by Laura Mulvey
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