The document discusses Laura Mulvey's "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" theory of the Male Gaze. The Male Gaze theory suggests that media typically presents women from a heterosexual male viewpoint, as objects of male pleasure. Women are often portrayed through passive, objectified roles while men act as controlling subjects. Feminist film theory uses the Male Gaze to analyze how men look at women, how women look at themselves, and how women look at other women in media. The document provides examples from the music video for "Blurred Lines" that illustrate elements of the Male Gaze theory.

1. Laura Mulvey – ‘Visual Pleasure
and Narrative Cinema’

2.  The Male Gaze is a theory based on how
women are presented in media through a
heterosexual male viewpoint. The concept of
the gaze is one that deals with how an
audience views the people presented. The
theory suggests that the idea of the Male
Gaze has become a social acceptability, or
the norm, within the media world.
 Feminists can analyse media use the Male
Gaze in three ways: how man look at women,
how women look at themselves and how
women look at other women.

3. 1. The representation of women as sexual objects/fantasies
from a heterosexual male view.
2. Scopophilia – the pleasure involved in looking at other
peoples bodies (a voyeuristic representation of women).
3. A patriarchal society (in which men dominate society).
4. Objectification of female characters.
5. Active male roles and passive female roles.
6. Men being controlling subjects/ men controlling women.
7. Women as an image – just something to be looked at.
8. Men do the looking at women and women are just there to
be looked at.
9. The needs of the male ego.
Mulvey believes that in film, audiences have to ‘view’ characters
from the perspective of an heterosexual male.

4. The camera lingers on the curves of a
female body, and events which occur to
women are presently largely in the context
of a man’s reaction to these events.
Relegates women to the status of objects.
The female viewer must experience the
narrative secondarily, by identification with
the male

5. Some theorists also have noted that
sexualizing of the female body even in
situations where female sexiness has
nothing to do with the narrative or with the
product being advertised.

6. Some women enjoy being ‘looked’ at e.g.
beauty pageants (extreme)
The Gaze can also be directed towards
members of the same gender for several
reasons, not all of which are sexual, such
as in comparison of body image or in
clothing.

7. ‘Blurred Lines’ Robin Thicke
Thicke is shown to be laid in bed bedside a naked
woman. Thicke’s arm is across the women in a
‘protective’ gesture. This makes the women seem
inferior and the man as controlling, which
conforms to the ideas that the males are
presented as controlling.
Thicke’s
name is
huge bold
letters
across the
screen. This
makes him
appear
important
and so
conforms to
boosting his
male ego.

8. This close up emphasises how
little make up other than the bold
lipstick. This makes her appear
very plain but still feminine and
attractive. This therefore suggests
attraction from a heterosexual
male’s point of view.
Her intense gaze at
the camera indicates
that she is
sexualised and an
image to look at. This
complies to the Male
Gaze theory.

9. In this shot the male is dominant as he is staring at her body, rendering her
just and image to be looked at. The woman’s bright lipstick enforces her
femininity and sexuality. The woman’s facial expression is bland indicating
that she is the most passive. Her facial expression could alternatively
indicate that she has no interest in the male and that he cannot dominate
her. This is going against the idea of a male dominated, patriarchal society
that is suggested by the Male Gaze theory.