Is Laura Mulvey's theory of 'the male gaze' relevant in todays Hollywood?

Is Laura Mulvey's theory os 'the male gaze' relevant in todays Hollywood?

Item 16-The Resident Trailer

The Resident is a film made in 2011 starring Hilary Swank, Jeffery Dean Morgan and Christopher Lee. Today I will be looking at Laura Mulvey’s male gaze theory from her work ‘Visual Pleasures and Narrative Cinema’ and will be studying three films, The Resident, Peeping Tom and Disturbia to determine if Laura Mulvey’s male gaze theory is relevant in today’s Hollywood.

I must first point out that I strongly believe that the male gaze theory is extremely relevant in today’s Hollywood. Laura Mulvey said, “The cinema offers a number of possible pleasures. One is scopophilia. There are circumstances in which looking itself is a source of pleasure, just as, in the reverse formation, there is pleasure in being looked at” (Item 10). Taking this quote in mind you can clearly see when watching films made recently that there is a sense of male gaze that runs throughout them. There will be at least a small element of the male gaze in every film however it may not be as noticeable as others.

Item 2- Opening scene of Peeping Tom, 4 minuets

Peeping Tom was released in 1962-over 50 years ago. The opening scene is a great example of where the male gaze and scopophilia is clearly shown.  We see the killer-Mark Lewis- using a video camera to film a woman he is approaching. The use of a close up shot looking up and down the woman’s body along with her reaction to the male attention suggests that she is used to getting attention from men. Her neutral facial expression links to Mulvey’s point of gaining pleasure from being looked at as she doesn’t show a clear disapproval of the attention however doesn’t seem to be overly happy about it either.

The male gaze will appear at some point in every film, whether it’s as obvious as showing James Bond (Item 6) staring at woman as they walk out of the water or a little more subtle in a romance where it is considered sweet and loving.

Disturbia, a film made in 2009(Item 3), also demonstrates scopophilia however is used more subtly than in Peeping Tom as Disturbia takes a while to show it and also it isn’t as focused on showing it, for example in one scene kale is looking around his neighbourhood with binoculars and then happens to see into his new neighbours window.

Peeping Tom(Item 2) not only shows that the male has been in film for a very long time but also shows some of the changes the male gaze has gone through in the last 50 years. In my view it hasn’t changed much and the only change in my eyes would be that scopophilia applies to women as well as men nowadays, an example of this ‘female gaze’ would be Cameron Diaz’s character in In Her Shoes when she ogles over the attractive men.

There are some similarities between the ways the male gaze was portrayed in the 1960’s and how it is now as all three films I am examining have very similar scenes. There are at least one scene in Peeping Tom, Disturbia and The Resident which shows the male lead watching a female while she is in a private moment for example, Kale watches the Neighbour getting undressed in Disturbia, Lewis watches the prostitute get undressed in Peeping Tom. This supports Mulvey’s view of there being pleasure in being looked at as well as the women purposely grab the men’s attention. Kale’s neighbour goes for a swim in her pool and notices that he is watching her out of the window yet continues to show off her body when she gets out of the water.

The camera clearly controls women in films, especially in the film Disturbia, as Kale watches the neighbour through her window and goes into a close-up of her body and as men can control the camera it means they have a control over the women. This reinforces that Mulvey’s male gaze theory is relevant in today’s Hollywood. The use of extreme close-up shots of parts of women’s bodies shows that the women are merely objects with the men having the advantage. Freud associated scopophilia with “taking other people as objects, subjecting them to a controlling and curious gaze.”  This is shown in Peeping Tom as well as described earlier about Lewis looking the prostitute up and down at a close range with his camera. The Resident may be filmed differently however the camera still controls the female through the camera angles.

Item 1- 1.40 minutes from Caught in the Act scene

The point-of-view camera shot along with the use of the hole-in-the-wall in the Mise-en-scene also creates the sense of control as it is as if the woman is trapped in the small space just as in Disturbia (Item 3) and Peeping Tom (Item 2) she is trapped in the small confined space of the camera lens. Mulvey would say this is an example of “Mise-en-scene reflecting the dominant ideological concept of the cinema” (Item 10).

(Item 10)”In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked 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. Women displayed as sexual object is the leis-motif of erotic spectacles: from pinups to striptease, from Ziegfeld to Busby Berkeley, she holds the look, plays to and signifies male desire”. The idea of this is shown in Peeping Tom when Lewis walks into the local shop and notices pictures of naked women on the door of the shop and when a man walks into the shop and asks to see the ‘views’-referring to the pictures of the pin-up girls. Lewis also gets asked “Which magazine sells the most copies?” and he replies “Those with girls on the front cover and no front cover on the girls” once again showing that women are merely objects to fulfil males desires.

“Traditionally, the woman displayed has functioned on two levels: as erotic object for the characters within the screen story and as erotic object for the spectator within the auditorium, with a shifting tension between the looks on either side of the screen” (Item 10). The way that the male gaze is shown in the film industry influences real life as men in the audience look at the men in the films and admire how they have control over the woman, therefore, look to act the same. Similarly the women in the audience admire the women in the films as they attract male attention and like to please the men as well. This relates to Mulvey’s view that women have two character types (Item 6)-sexually active female and powerless female as the women are portrayed as sexually active.

Laura Mulvey’s theory links well with Disturbia, The Resident and Peeping Tom as the two character types are shown in each film. We see the young attractive next door neighbour in Disturbia who always shows her body off knowing Kale is watching. We also see the powerless female when Kale is watching the house across the street and zooms in on a frantic woman who’s been kidnapped. We see this in Peeping Tom when Lewis is taking photographs of women for his boss to sell. A pretty woman is standing off to the side in profile and is there as a sexual object, yet when she turns to face them she reveals a facial deformity and says “ you don’t have to photograph my face”, which presents a powerless female as she has no power over her fate and body. The powerless and sexually active female in The Resident (Item 1) is both portrayed by Juliet who is shown as sexually active as when she is lying in the bath she is masturbating while her landlord watches. However she is also powerless, in an emotional sense, as she is suffering from a break up from her cheating fiancé yet is so in love with him that she gives in and they start dating again.

Item 2- Scene 3 of Peeping Tom, 3 minutes

These scantily dressed women striking poses for the camera to draw attention to their physical attractiveness. The contrived acts detract from their natural beauty. This supports Laura Mulvey’s view that “It is said that analysing pleasure, or beauty, destroys it”. (Item 10)

To conclude, Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze is relevant in today’s Hollywood and will always be within the film industry. The male gaze is just as strong as it has always been and the growth of the female gaze will also continue to keep this element in Hollywood.

Reflective Analysis-React

Aims and Context-React

• Short experimental film 
• I aim to produce a short experimental film around 3-5 minutes long
• Avant-garde visuals (high contrast low key lighting, black and white)
• Elements of surrealism (non-narrative form, dream logic)
• Target audience will be more art-house/exhibition/gallery as opposed to mainstream cinema complex

Main Influences

• Simon Pummell's 'Body Song'- Documentary like shots exploring an aspect of society
• Chris Cunningham 'Rubber Johnny'-Use of Abstract lighting and sound in Rubber Johnny.
• Stan Brakhage 'Stella'- Use of dark lighting yet abstract with colour and idea of something you imagine

Reflective Analysis 

I created a short experimental film titled React, which was influenced by Simon Pummell, Chris Cunningham and Stan Brakhage. React is also loosely based around the philosophy of John Stuart Mill’s theory of Utilitarianism ‘the greatest good for the greatest number’ as React explores an aspect of society that aren’t always acceptable and good for the majority of people. Experimental films such as this one are aimed at art house audiences so would be shown in a gallery or art exhibition. Experimental films are described, as an artistic practice so would be better suited in an art gallery than in mainstream cinemas. 

Simon Pummell had a large influence on the making of React as the use of photomontage in Bodysong inspired me to use the same technique, as React is about aspects of society from the moment of conception to death. Bodysong influenced the majority of how I structured and filmed React, as I too was exploring an aspect of society. The techniques that Pummell used such as real clips from different parts of society and the photomontage gave my film a documentary-like feel. I re-created the photomontage that Pummell used by taking my own images of blurred lighting at nighttime and when played one after another at a quick pace gives the feeling of the world tumbling around you. The images also meant I could incorporate avant-garde into React, as they are. I wanted to almost capture the images children see when they rub their eyes to see ‘fireworks’ and flashes of light. I wanted to incorporate avant-garde in to my film as the aspect of society that React is focused on is one that believes in having freedom from the restrictions of the bourgeoisie society just as Pummell showed in Bodysong with the chapter of adolescence.

Stan Brakhage’s film Stellar influenced how I presented avant-garde in my film as Brakhage used dark lighting yet abstract bold colours to express emotions that cannot be narrated or explained by words. This enabled me to create documentary-like shots yet show the non-narrative form and the use of avant-garde. I would have liked to not have any music over the images of blurred light, as like Brakhage intended, I wanted the images to be a piece of art in itself and speak for itself however with the way my images and clips were put together it meant that not having music on the light images but having music everywhere else meant it didn’t fit well together. Pummell’s Bodysong, at the point where he shows the part of life of adolescence, influenced the music for React, as it is very calming and suggests there is still innocence in teenagers and young adults.
 I felt the music was very fitting as a strong theme of my film was to show that this type of violence is how young people express themselves and that they need something in their lives to give them freedom. I also relied on the use of my music and lack of narrative to push the audience creating a different spectatorship that experimental film requires and create their own meaning for the just as Godfrey Reggio's 'Koyaanisqatsi'. The music used in experimental film suggests a certain direction for the spectator to go in however leaves most of the thinking in their hands and this is the exact technique I wanted to create.

While producing React, I found that Andy Warhol’s screen tests were also an inspiration for my film. This enabled me to use the technique of low-key lighting with black and white shots. Even though Warhol’s simplistic 4 minute close up shots of subjects facing a stationary camera hadn’t any emotion this gave me an idea to recreate them however showing deep emotion as this too would show true emotions that cant be defined by words. Andy Warhol’s screen tests inspired me to use a similar approach when directing the actors, as I didn’t want them to over act or emphasis facial expression. I wanted the actors to act natural and just image they were in the same situation as people at a gig, which they found easier as they can relate to personal experiences. This creates a more subtle experimental film that doesn’t try to create emotions but lets them naturally be portrayed.

Many experimental films are very difficult to understand the meaning and sometimes don’t even have a meaning. In the process of making React I have found that expressing emotion through artistic practices like experimental film has a large effect on audiences as they can relate to feeling a certain way when seeing specific images. Mainstream films portray emotions through narrative which I believe aren’t as powerful and personal as experimental films such as Stan Brakhage’s Stellar.

I originally planned to create a stop-motion film influenced by the Quay Brothers work however I found it extremely difficult to create the stills the way I wanted them, for example, I wanted extremely low key lighting and to be dark and unnerving as the Quay Brothers do in their films such as The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer. I also struggled to create shots that would flow together as I had used soft bears with don’t stay in the same position when you more them so when I put the images into a film they looked jumpy and didn’t run smoothly.

While filming my screen tests, I had planned to use a strobe-lighting effect just as the lighting in the gig had used however it was difficult to create this effect without using a camera flash several time. As I was filming my friend also took photos to create the flash on the film. When I had first looked at the shots I wasn’t going to include them because they flashing weren’t fast paced and weren’t regular however when producing my film I decided to slow the shots down to create a sense of the world going in slow-motion and so the audience can experience more emotion in my film. The use of the flashes also gave my film a sense of being in a dream-like state when reality and dreaming are linked and give a sense that the audience are experiencing lucid dreams.  The flashes help my audience remember that they are still in reality.

To conclude, I believe it is clear that my influences have helped me to produce a film that fits its target audience, genre and aims. However I feel that my film could have used more influences and different techniques such as including shots showing surrealism to give it a clear focus and understanding. I am happy with the final project and I believe it is a successful experimental film. (1043 words)