Laura Mulvey believes that the audience have to view the characters through the perspective of the heterosexual male. There are many features that you will see when showing the Male Gaze on film such as the camera focusing on the women's curves. The Male Gaze is suggesting to the audience that males are dominant and superior to women. Suggesting that women are their to be looked at for male pleasure and to look pretty.
The Male Gaze theory suggests that women should enjoy the attention of attracting the dominant mal and they they should put themselves in positions to be looked at. When on camera the audience are positioned where the main focus is on the women. They do this by panning the women's bodies before zooming into their faces; suggesting to the audience this is how women should be viewed.
There are 3 parts of the male gaze-
Men looking at women-
Men tend to look at women's curves, this is the idea that men tend to look at other parts of a women's bodies and not their eyes. Which is why the camera in films also focus on other parts of the women's bodies.
Women looking at themselves-
Women are made to look at themselves in a negative way, thinking that personality does not matter and that its all about how they look and their appearances. It triggers women's self esteem and leads to women aspiring to be like women in the media such as Katie Price.
Women looking at women-
Women generally compare themselves to other women, which is why women are perceived in such a bad way in the media. In particular models, who are giving off the impression to women that they need to be 6ft tall and really skinny.
Official music video. Scouting for Girls- She's so lovely
There is a good use of a two shot in this video when the band member and an extra are looking at the women. They both look mesmerised by this older women and by the use of their facial expressions and actions it connotes that the band member is attracted to the women in the video.
One of the characters who is with the women in the video is degrading women which also supports the theory of the Male Gaze. In the video he kisses the older women whilst staring at the band members and also slapping her on the bum. This is suggesting to the audience that the women is inferior to the male character and that she is simply there to look pretty and that she is simply letting the man disrespect her. In the video there is also a good use of a close up shot when the man is chatting up another women right in front of the women he was just kissing, this is suggesting to the audience that the man can do what he wants and does not treat the women with respect or is worried about her feelings from his actions.
The women is wearing red heels. The colour red connotes, passion, sex, love and perhaps temptation. Throughout the video there is a lot of close ups used of the women's body focussing on her curves, this is showing the women to the audience, making her the main focus in the video. Which also supports the theory of the Male Gaze.
This is a great example of the Male Gaze and how it is used in the Music Industry. The camera angles and movements are used purely to draw the audiences attention to the female character in the music video. The audiences attention will be solely on the women and will therefore hardly notice the male characters in the music video. Focusing on the 'perfect' women that is being portrayed.
In our music video we are going to support the male gaze theory as part of our narrative. We are going to have the girls boyfriend (bass guitarist) flirting with another girl. We are going to have him flirting with a blonde girl, wearing red lipstick. This is making her look very seductive, suggesting to the audience that the boy is giving in to temptation by flirting with the girl. This will automatically draw the audiences attention to the blonde girl who is wearing red.
By Amy Thrush
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