The Male Gaze Theory was proposed by the film theorist and renowned feminist Laura Mulvey. It is a critical theory that can be applied to film, and other media in society. Mulvey criticises the prevalence of female sexual objectification in film, observing that it exists to please the male portion of an audience through sexual gratification while alienating females in the audience as the media only seems to value them as sex objects (Sampson, 2015). Films guilty of this will include revealing shots of conventionally attractive women, who will in many cases has little other purpose in the film (Sampson, 2015).
An example of this in a mainstream film is the scene (below) from Fast Five (2011) where a female character must use her body sexually to fulfil the aims of other male characters, while also allowing the audience to see much of her body (Leonard, 2021).
Bibliography:
- Sampson, R., 2015. Film Theory 101 – Laura Mulvey: The Male Gaze Theory. [online] filminquiry.com. Available at: <https://www.filminquiry.com/film-theory-basics-laura-mulvey-male-gaze-theory/> [Accessed 4 February 2022].
- Leonard, K., 2021. How Does the 'Male Gaze’ Work and How Is It Subverted?. [online] StudioBinder. Available at: <https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-the-male-gaze-definition/> [Accessed 4 February 2022].
- Fast Five. 2011. Directed by J. Lin. United States: Universal Pictures.
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