The Male and Oppositional Gazes

The male gaze often refers to the belief that all media is structured to cater specifically to the male spectator. According to Laura Mulvey, "The determining male gaze projects its phantasy on to the female figure which is styled accordingly. In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness" (Mulvey, p.837) What she is saying in this quote is that women are only seen as manifestations of a man's desire. As such, they are judged based on appearance and sex appeal. This quote also reminded me of something that occurred back in the summer of 2009.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen opened in theaters to much anticipation from moviegoers and fans alike. A man did a news piece for a local radio station where he interviewed people that were in line to watch the film. One of the main questions he asked was concerning the main reason for wanting to watch the movie. Most of the men and some women stated that they were mostly excited to see Megan Fox on the big screen. They kept saying how sexy and attractive they found her. It occurred to me that the movie was going to succeed based on two major components. It would have tons of action and sex appeal that would cater to the male audience. I feel this experience shows that even in today's society the old saying of "Sex sells" still applies and that women are still viewed a source of pleasure by men. Another example of this can be seen in the following pictorial ad.

I first found this ad on a taxi as I was heading to school. What struck me the most about the ad was that it was advertising something for women while using a naked woman to get their attention. It is clear that the ad will get a man's attention but I wonder how it will appeal to women. Once again both this and the movie serve as examples of the male gaze existing in the media in this day and age.

Where the male gaze may be seen as exploitative towards women, the oppositional gaze relates to not only women but also African-Americans both male and female. According to Bell Hooks, "In resistance struggle, the power of the dominated to assert agency by claiming and cultivating "awareness"politicizes "looking" relations--one learns to look a certain way in order to resist." (Hooks, p.116) What Bell Hooks is saying is that the person being exploited by the media or some other medium or person has the ability to challenge the exploiters by being aware of it. I take this to mean that a woman can affect how the spectator will view them and as result is able to take away some of the control that is held by the media and the spectators.

The male gaze is still seen as a dominating force in the entertainment industry. This can be apparent in many kinds of media including print ads, movies, television shows, and even music. However, some women have been able to start a rebellion with the oppositional gaze. They are becoming aware of how they are being seen by the spectators. As a result, they still play the part of the fantasy with the intent of gaining some control over the spectators.

Works Cited: 

Hooks, Bell. "The Oppositional Gaze." Black Looks: Race and Representation. Boston: 

  South End, 1992. 115-31. Print.

Mulvey, Laura. "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." Film Theory and Criticism: 
   Introductory Readings. Eds. Leo Baudy and Marshall Cohen. New York: Oxford UP,

  1999: 833-44. 

*The image was found on Google images with the following link: http://blog.amcpros.com/wp-content/Aetrex branding-ad-793x1024.jpg