2. Laura Mulvey
Laura Mulvey's 'Male Gaze' Theory is the idea that women are highly sexualised - there only as
passive objects to be viewed by an active male heterosexual audience. The theory was initially
applied to films but can now be related to music videos. Mulvey focused on three main areas:
1. How men view women in media and therefore in life
2. How women see themselves based on the media's portrayal
3. How women see other women based on the media's portrayal
The theory claims that cinematography and costume focus on the curves of a woman's body.
This obsession with displaying their bodies represents them as objects and encourages the
audience to see them in the eyes of a heterosexual man. Due to The media push this as the
dominant representation, it forces all audiences to see women from the perspective of a male
audience. Therefore women see themselves and each other in this way as well, perhaps
meaning they feel they have to meet a certain criteria to be considered attractive or desirable,
The idealistic images they have about themselves can be damaging to self esteem. To contrast
this, some women find sexualisation within the media empowering. For example, female artists
like Beyonce or Nicki Minaj may wear revealing clothing in their videos not simply to passively
please a male audience but because they like to look good for themselves and for their own
confidence. It becomes very subjective as to whether a female audience choose to see a woman
in the media who is presented sexually as a positive representation or a negative one. There are
examples of Mulvey's theory across many media industries. Sexualised women can be seen not
only in music videos, but film trailers, magazines etc.
3. Richard Dyer
Richard Dyer's 'Star Theory' claims that celebrities become icons because they are constructed
by institutions for financial reasons and to target a specific audience group. He also covers three
main areas: Audiences and Institutions Stars are made only to make money for a certain
company, and audiences want to consume what they believe (or have been made to believe by
the media) is the ideal. Therefore institutions modify stars, adapting their image and ideology
around what the audience wants. Dyer states that 'a star is a constructed image, represented
across a range of media and mediums'. Constructions Stars are built for audiences and therefore
are not 'real' people but constructions instead, a persona created for audiences to identify with.
This makes it easier for audiences to differentiate between stars and decide what they do or do
not like. Stars are usually built with one specific trademark feature, such as Amy Winehouse's
beehive and eyeliner or Lady Gaga's outrageous fashion, that make them unique. Hegemony
This describes leadership or dominance by one state or social group. Dyer argues that as an
audience, we relate to stars because they have a feature that we admire or share with them.
This can develop from admiration into idolization, where people may attempt to replicate what
they like about the star. However this can have negative effects, as often the pressure of being
an idol causes stars to become bad role models, going 'off the rails'. Essentially this area of the
theory is saying 'stars represent and embody certain ideologies' that audiences accept and
become eager to copy.
4. Tessa PerkinsA stereotype is defined as an assumption that is made about or based on a group of people. They are not
always correct and can be based on information from the media rather than first hand experience. Perkins
believes stereotyping is not a simple process and contains five assumptions that can be challenged. The
assumptions people have are:
1. They are always negative
2. 2. They are always about minority groups
3. 3. They cannot be about a group you identify with yourself 4
4. . They are unchanging, fixed perceptions
5. 5. They are always/usually false Each of these assumptions are challenged within Perkins' theory. "They
are always negative"
This is not always true - stereotypes can be a positive thing. For example 'youths' might be portrayed
negatively as thugs n the media, or they could be portrayed positively as hard-working, intelligent, getting
good results etc. This can also apply to other stereotypes - the French being assumed to be good cooks,
"They are always about minority groups" Again this assumption can be challenged. Lower classes are
stereotyped by those with power, yet it also happens the other way as well - upper classes are seen as posh,
'upper class twits' etc. Another example is white people - we're not a minority yet there are stereotypes
about us. "They cannot be about a group you identify with yourself" Groups often good-naturedly
welcome or accept stereotypes about themselves. For example dancers who are said to be too committed,
obsessed with dance, always on diets etc. may agree with these assumptions. Groups often have almost sub-
stereotypes within themselves as well, like celebrities are stereotyped as a whole but there are stereotypes
within that wide group. "They are unchanging, fixed perceptions" Perkins states that stereotypes can change
over time and develop to reflect the different ideologies and values that appear within a culture.Stereotypes
concerning gender are a good example here - women used to be stereotyped as housewives, passive
domestic people who cleaned and cooked and raised children. Now this stereotype has declined, and
women are recognised as more diverse than that. "They are always/usually false“
