RepresentationLesson 2

Take a look at the following:TransformersTomb RaiderMummy ReturnsStar TrekNow can you guess what Laura Mulvey’s theory of representation is!?

Laura Mulvey – The Male Gaze TheoryMulvey penned a paper in 1975 called ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. In it she discussed how women are represented in the media…The gaze is a feminist theory developed to highlight the power imbalance between men and women. Mulvey argues that an audience is forced to view media texts from the perspective of heterosexual males – films unashamedly focus on women’s curves regardless of whether it is relevant to the narrative. Mulvey draws on Freudian psychoanalysis theories to investigate the way in which cinema is constructed and viewed.

Scopophilia & VoyeurismScopophilia is a Freudian theory which is to do with the pleasure involved in looking at people’s bodies as objects (usually erotic). In the darkness of the cinema, it is possible to look without being seen by those on screen or in the cinema with you! Voyeurism simply means watching or spying on others unaware out of an interest (usually sexual).Mulvey argues that cinema facilitates the viewer to objectify female characters and to identify with an ‘ideal ego’ on screen. This is relevant to numerous films – we identify with the protagonist and objectify the female characters (see any James Bond film!)Women are usually displayed on two different levels – an erotic object for the characters in the film and a fantasy figure for the viewer. Men usually hold the power on screen and women are passive to the active male’s gaze.

The Expendables• What about if you have no women in your

piece?• Watch the clip from The Expendables – what

representation of men is constructed? From whose viewpoint do you think we are seeing these men? Male or female? (hint – are they constructed in a way that men would admire/favour? How?)

Considering your own workHow do you represent women in your work?What would Mulvey make of your work?Work with the people in your filming group to feedback to the rest of the class your findings.