REPRESENTATION THEORY
The Male Gaze – Laura Mulvey 
• Throughout the years, women have been 
presented to us as submissive and 
unequal to empowering and dominant. 
• Today, women can still be perceived as 
submissive and objectified through media 
texts, especially music videos. However, 
this ultimately depends on the genre.
The Male Gaze – Laura Mulvey 
• The male gaze refers to how the audience 
view women when presented in the media. 
She states that women are there be seen 
and cinematography and editing are used 
to represent them in a sexual way.
The Male Gaze – Laura Mulvey 
• Mulvey’s focus is on: 
- How men look at women from these 
images 
- How women look at themselves 
- How women look at other women, are they 
meant to conform to these ideologies as 
sexual objects?
The Male Gaze – Laura Mulvey 
• The Male Gaze focuses on emphasizing 
curves of the female body 
• Referring to women as objects rather than 
people 
• The display of women is how men think they 
should be perceived 
• Female viewers view the content through the 
eyes of a man 
• Women as often sexualized and seen as 
objects and viewed based on sexual desire 
and they way they look.
The Male Gaze – Laura Mulvey 
• The Male Gaze describes how the audiences 
or viewer are put into the perspective of a 
heterosexual male i.e the camera lingers over 
the curves of a woman’s body 
• Mulvey states that in film women are typically 
the objects rather than the possessors, this is 
displayed by the control of the camera 
• Man emerges as the dominants power within 
the created film fantasy. The woman is 
passive to the active gaze from the man.
The Male Gaze – Laura Mulvey 
CRITISMS – 
• Does not take into account women viewing 
men as sexual objects – female gaze. 
• The women in these music videos may want 
to be sexualized as it could them feel 
empowered such as Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj 
and Lady GaGa 
• The media has influenced how women 
should look – hard to change that perception.
Star Theory – Richard Dyer 
“Stars are commodities that are produced by 
institutions” 
“A star is a constructed image represented 
across a range of media and mediums” 
“Stars represent and embody certain 
ideologies” 
• Star theory is the idea that icons and 
celebrities are constructed by institutions for 
financial reasons and built to target a specific 
audience or group of people.
Star Theory – Richard Dyer 
Audience & Institutions – 
• Stars are made to make money for that 
purpose alone 
• Audiences want to consume what they think 
is the ideal 
• The institution then modifies the stars image 
around the target audience 
• They make a star based on what they think 
the audience want 
- e.g the X Factor looking for the ‘full 
package’
Star Theory – Richard Dyer 
Constructions- 
• Stars are built for the audience 
- a persona is created for the audience to 
identify with, so stars can differentiate 
between other stars 
• Stars have a signature style to them so 
that they are remembered 
• Institutions exaggerate parts of their 
personality.
Star Theory – Richard Dyer 
Hegemony – 
• We relate to the star because they have a 
feature that we admire or share 
• Develops from an admiration into 
idolization 
• Replicate what they like about a star 
• These stars can be bad role models as the 
pressure of the media takes a toll and they 
engage in behavior which may be negative
Stereotypes – Tessa Perkins 
• Stereotyping is not a simple process and 
contains a number of assumptions that can 
be challenged 
1. Stereotypes are not always negative 
2. They are not always about minority groups 
or the less powerful 
3. They can be held about one’s own group 
4. They are not rigid or unchanging 
5. They are not always false
Stereotypes – Tessa Perkins 
• People assume that stereotypes are aimed at 
and targeted towards the less powerful but 
this is not always the case, we can make 
assumptions and stereotypes about the 
upper class but we don’t know them. 
• Once a stereotype has been created it is very 
hard to change however Perkins states thar 
over a period of time, this stereotype can 
change and develop 
• It is hard to get rid of a stereotype once you 
have been given it.
Stereotypes – Tessa Perkins 
• Stereotypes are not always false – 
stereotypes have to have some truth in 
them or where else would the 
representation come from? 
• We may witness it first hand, however 
there must be some truth in a stereotype 
or the ideology wouldn’t fit
Stereotypes – Tessa Perkins 
Implications- 
• Always erroneous in content 
• They are negative concepts 
• About groups whom we have little/ or no social contact 
– a stereotype of a stereotype 
• They are about minority or repressed groups creating 
negative representation of the lower class possibly by 
giving the upper class more power 
• People either hold stereotypes of a group or do not 
• Without stereotypes we wouldn’t be able to 
understand the world, our society and how we fit in.

Representation theory.

  • 1.
  • 2.
    The Male Gaze– Laura Mulvey • Throughout the years, women have been presented to us as submissive and unequal to empowering and dominant. • Today, women can still be perceived as submissive and objectified through media texts, especially music videos. However, this ultimately depends on the genre.
  • 3.
    The Male Gaze– Laura Mulvey • The male gaze refers to how the audience view women when presented in the media. She states that women are there be seen and cinematography and editing are used to represent them in a sexual way.
  • 4.
    The Male Gaze– Laura Mulvey • Mulvey’s focus is on: - How men look at women from these images - How women look at themselves - How women look at other women, are they meant to conform to these ideologies as sexual objects?
  • 5.
    The Male Gaze– Laura Mulvey • The Male Gaze focuses on emphasizing curves of the female body • Referring to women as objects rather than people • The display of women is how men think they should be perceived • Female viewers view the content through the eyes of a man • Women as often sexualized and seen as objects and viewed based on sexual desire and they way they look.
  • 6.
    The Male Gaze– Laura Mulvey • The Male Gaze describes how the audiences or viewer are put into the perspective of a heterosexual male i.e the camera lingers over the curves of a woman’s body • Mulvey states that in film women are typically the objects rather than the possessors, this is displayed by the control of the camera • Man emerges as the dominants power within the created film fantasy. The woman is passive to the active gaze from the man.
  • 7.
    The Male Gaze– Laura Mulvey CRITISMS – • Does not take into account women viewing men as sexual objects – female gaze. • The women in these music videos may want to be sexualized as it could them feel empowered such as Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj and Lady GaGa • The media has influenced how women should look – hard to change that perception.
  • 8.
    Star Theory –Richard Dyer “Stars are commodities that are produced by institutions” “A star is a constructed image represented across a range of media and mediums” “Stars represent and embody certain ideologies” • Star theory is the idea that icons and celebrities are constructed by institutions for financial reasons and built to target a specific audience or group of people.
  • 9.
    Star Theory –Richard Dyer Audience & Institutions – • Stars are made to make money for that purpose alone • Audiences want to consume what they think is the ideal • The institution then modifies the stars image around the target audience • They make a star based on what they think the audience want - e.g the X Factor looking for the ‘full package’
  • 10.
    Star Theory –Richard Dyer Constructions- • Stars are built for the audience - a persona is created for the audience to identify with, so stars can differentiate between other stars • Stars have a signature style to them so that they are remembered • Institutions exaggerate parts of their personality.
  • 11.
    Star Theory –Richard Dyer Hegemony – • We relate to the star because they have a feature that we admire or share • Develops from an admiration into idolization • Replicate what they like about a star • These stars can be bad role models as the pressure of the media takes a toll and they engage in behavior which may be negative
  • 12.
    Stereotypes – TessaPerkins • Stereotyping is not a simple process and contains a number of assumptions that can be challenged 1. Stereotypes are not always negative 2. They are not always about minority groups or the less powerful 3. They can be held about one’s own group 4. They are not rigid or unchanging 5. They are not always false
  • 13.
    Stereotypes – TessaPerkins • People assume that stereotypes are aimed at and targeted towards the less powerful but this is not always the case, we can make assumptions and stereotypes about the upper class but we don’t know them. • Once a stereotype has been created it is very hard to change however Perkins states thar over a period of time, this stereotype can change and develop • It is hard to get rid of a stereotype once you have been given it.
  • 14.
    Stereotypes – TessaPerkins • Stereotypes are not always false – stereotypes have to have some truth in them or where else would the representation come from? • We may witness it first hand, however there must be some truth in a stereotype or the ideology wouldn’t fit
  • 15.
    Stereotypes – TessaPerkins Implications- • Always erroneous in content • They are negative concepts • About groups whom we have little/ or no social contact – a stereotype of a stereotype • They are about minority or repressed groups creating negative representation of the lower class possibly by giving the upper class more power • People either hold stereotypes of a group or do not • Without stereotypes we wouldn’t be able to understand the world, our society and how we fit in.