The Media and The Gaze

                                                      
          The male gaze is when there is a male spectator looking at either a female painting, picture, scene, or person (Mulvey 835, Berger 55). In Berger’s “Ways Of Seeing”  he discusses the male gaze more in the context of art (Berger 59). He discusses how the male gaze is offensive because the models were once “naked” (Berger 54) but soon become “a nude”(Berger 54) because of the male audience (Berger 54). He explains that “a nude” (Berger 55) only pose for the male audience and become objects, because they are now no longer naked, but nude for the pleasure of the male viewers (Berger 55).  Thus, the models, becoming objects for someone else, and no longer have control over their bodies (Berger 56). They are also not consider as someone with a mind (Berger 56). In his piece he demonstrates how this male gaze does not allow for equality to occur for both genders.
      In Mulvey’s “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” she discusses the male gaze in a similar manner but argues in the context of film (Mulvey 836). She argues that women are not considered people or characters that matter but instead as images for pleasure (Mulvey 837). Similar to Berger’s argument, women in film with males as the audience members are considered only as items for satisfaction of the male viewers (Mulvey 840). She also argues how women themselves, are simultaneously seen as a threat of emasculation because they are not male, which is another reason why they are objectified (Mulvey 840). In Mulvey’s piece women are also put down thru this gaze so that they are not a threat and become an entity for another’s pleasure (Mulvey 840). One of the many negative impacts that this has is that now the concept to be an individual is lost.               

           The male gaze is also a pervasive form of vision because young women try to look a certain way to appeal to someone else’s form of beauty. In Susan Douglas’s piece, “Introduction Where the Girls Are”, she discusses how the media advertises products that tell girls to look a certain way (Douglas 16). As a result, according to Douglas, women get used to being observed by others and create a guideline of how they are suppose to act and look (Douglas16) Women then no longer have control over themselves but instead feel that they must change themselves to fit an ideal female (Douglas 16). This idea is even more common in the piece “Cutting Girls Down to Size” because Kilbourne also discusses how girls are instructed to look a particular way or else they are not valuable people to men (Kilbourne 133). One example that she gives is when men watched Charlie’s Angels and claimed that these men were more judgmental of what an attractive women was suppose to be (Kilbourne 133). Another was when she was speaking about how through the advertising images it encouraged girls to not speak their mind and be passive and quiet because that was more attractive (Kilbourne 142). These reading show how the media encourages young girls and women to act and look a certain way so that they are attractive to male onlookers. These readings show that women and young women are encourage to not be themselves and instead value themselves, by someone else’s criteria. This causes them to be manipulated by another person or group of people and results in them not developing into their own person. No person should ever feel that they need their self wroth evaluated by another person but instead be happy with themselves. Unfortunately, in todays society we rarely see individuality being encouraged by the media. Often there are ads that encourage weight loss via a pill or diet supplement so women could feel attractive to men.  


Another example is shampoo by Pantene. This ad is claiming that if women or young girls do not use this shampoo then they are not considered to have pretty hair, or be pretty. Advertisement such as this one also make me think about people whom have different texture and color hair. If theirs is not the same as the women below. Does that mean that their hair is not pretty? (The answer is no because each person is unique and has different hair texture and color).      





I have seen the Hydroxycut commercial a thousand times and even after that I seen magazines with more messages about losing weight. Exactly how many times does a person have to lose weight? This is all because women have to be reminded that they have to be attractive to the male viewer. In addition, I unfortunately see young girls in their adolescent reading magazines such as the one below. While I do not say anything it does shock me that someone who is probably sixteen is reading a magazine like this one. Why would anyone who is not done developing be worried about their weight? I sadly then remind myself that it is because images like the one below tell them that they have to. 


   

















          The oppositional gaze is how black and African American women are portrayed or are not portrayed in film (Hooks 129). The oppositional gaze is also when and how African American and black women criticize how women of their race are portrayed or not in films (Hooks 130). This view point has developed because there are more spectators looking and criticizing theses film as well as more film makers making film with an image that they want African American women to be seen as (Hooks 130). The oppositional gaze has indeed developed due to the fact that, there is indeed more criticism and film making of the image of African Americans. The beginning of having the oppositional gaze is indeed showing the view point that they want to get across, which they have started to do (Hooks 130). For example, Hooks says that “Opening up a space for the assertion of a critical black female spectatorship, they do not simply offer diverse representations, they imagine new transgressive possibilities for the formulation of identity” (Hooks 130). Here according to Hooks is the start of allowing not only a new identity to form but also one that allows for a new perspective to be viewed (Hooks 130). One of the films that she discusses that demonstrates this is “Illusions, Daughters of the Dust and A passion of Remembrance” (Hooks 130).
          The way that I have come to understand theses structures is that I now look at film and other media from a perspective that questions why the creator made it the way that it was and try to understand what that choice means. I no longer just watching passively. Similar to writing many film and media makers just make film and media for the sake of entertainment but, even then each choice has a purpose for the reason why it was chosen or formed in that manner. In terms of, my own identity I still reminded myself that these images are not real and that some ideals are unrealistic to achieve for me or almost anyone else. My role while it is currently still a consumer I still hope to become either a journalist or even a publisher, and still advertise to girls that it is alright for them to be themselves. I still believe that the media can severely hurt young peoples self esteem and they need to be reminded that they should never try to look a certain way to appeal to anyone but themselves.   
         In addition how many times have you seen a commercial like this, and how many times do we have to be reminded about it?:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrwTB_yPuKc  
First Image from
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/JSaG1BHuBGk/0.jpg
Second Image from
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvevgR-F-qrooh48eEW2JiiQw50acQ4XdCtkqoYTsaOiD5-dDuEDIRJUHSIPsO9iq_bWnTm8z0LZdnXHHxEh6Ep8T8A4vG4KeYKst9iMfJT0JYh-KKCsX_X5XvdB8HJpwUF2qFTK8v7VM/s400/75.png
Third Image From
http://www.marisamiller.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/cover_summerhires.jpg 



hfarraj 
Hasnah Farraj


                                                            Bibliography

Berger, John. "Ways Of Seeing Chapters 2&3." Ways Of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting
        Corporation, 1972. 36-63. Print.
Douglas, Susan. "Introduction." Where The Girls Are Growing Up Female With the Mass Media.         New York: Three Rivers, 1994. 3-20. Print.
Hooks, Bell. "The Oppositional Gaze Black Female Spectators." In Black Looks: Race and   
           Representation. Boston: South End, 1992. 115-30. Print.
Kilbourne, Jean. "The More You Subtract The More You Add Cutting Girls Down To Size.
            "Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel. New York:          Touchstone, 1999.128-54. Print.
Mulvey, Laura. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Film Theory and Criticism : Introductory    Readings. Eds. Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen. New York: Oxford UP, 1999:  833-44.

hfarraj
Hasnah Farraj