Theory, Theory, Theory...

Feminist Film Theory and Audience

Laura Mulvey wrote a essay on the Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (1975).

Laura Mulvey said:-

-cinema reflects society

-therefore cinema reflects patriarchal society

-How does a patriarchal society manifest itself in cinema?

An example:-

• patriarchy and phallocentrism are linked
• the phallus is the symbol of power
• note how guns are used in film
• gun=phallus=power

The Gaze

• the 'gaze' of the camera is the male 'gaze'.
• the male gaze is active the female is passive.
• within the narrative male characters direct their gaze towards female characters.
• the spectator is made to identify with the male look, because the camera films from the optical, as well as libidinal, point of view of the male character.
• thus three levels of the cinematic gaze- camera, character and spectator- that objectify the female character (the tripe gaze).
• therefore the audience is constructed as though everyone was male.
• women are forced to look as though they were a male audience.

Agency

• in the classical Hollywood cinema the male protagonist has agency- he is active and powerful.
• he is the agent around whom the dramatic action unfolds
• the female character is passive and powerless- she is the object of desire for the protagonist and audience

Erotic desire

Mulvey argues that women have two roles in film

1. as an object of erotic desire for the characters.
2. as an object of erotic desire for the audience.