In her essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”, Laura Mulvey discusses the subject of how female characters, through various methods, are subjected to erotic objectification, by both the characters on screen as well as the spectators within the auditorium. While Mulvey makes an excellent point in acknowledging female’s exposure in cinema, she fails to realize that male characters are just as likely to be subjected to the same kind of objectification, depending on what type of audience the motion picture is directed at. Mulveys claim depends on a generalization of a homogenous audience and characters that only consists of heterosexual men. When transferring Mulveys claim onto homosexual male characters starring in a production that is in first-hand directed towards a gay audience, the erotic objectification of male characters share several similarities with those Mulvey describe women to be exposed to in her essay. Consequently, erotic objectification is governed by different circumstances, in which the audience plays a large role. This essay sets out to distinguish how male characters can be portrayed in the same fashion as their female counterparts, and therefore become subjected to the same erotic objectification. This will be researched under the circumstances that the production revolves around gay characters and the assumed audience is exchanged from a homogenous crowd of heterosexual spectators, to a homogenous crowd of homosexual spectators. To support this claim there will be references to a segment from the American remake of the television series Queer as Folk (USA, dev. Ron Cowen, Daniel Lipman, 2000-2005) where Brian Kinney (Gale Harold) and Justin Taylor (Randy Harris) first meet. Framing a Character By co... ... middle of paper ... ...noted to consist of more sexual themes than it did thirty years ago, a fact that changes the way erotic objectification can be analyzed as it can be considered to be more frequent and general but therefore also less purposely objectifying concerning the characters sex. In conclusion, todays cinematic evolvement through being more accepting of sexual themes as well as representation of different sexual orientations, in both characters and audience alike, contributes to further objectifying people in an erotic sense to please different kind of spectators. Furthermore, it enables male characters to be subjected to erotic objectification and is therefore not a portrayal exclusive in portraying females. However, this remodels the way male and female characters are depicted as it in a sense equalizes them through the same kind of degrading portrayal as sexual objects.
Smith, Jeff, and Chloe Beighley. "Normalizing Male Dominance: Gender Representation in 2012 Films." Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy. N.p., 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.
Sexual objectification refers to the way in which a person sexually reduces another by treating them as a mere sex object (Halwani). Sexual objectification is rarely referred to as a benign topic, though throughout this evaluation, an enlightened, thou broad range of opinions are discussed emphasising the ambiguity of the term in relation to the morality of sexual objectification. Halwani’s definition only embraces ‘treatment’ and or the ‘behavioural’ aspects of sexual objectification, nevertheless Halwani recognises that the process by which someone is sexually objectified occurs most frequently throughout the following scenarios: During casual sex, as the parties desire nothing more than the others body party, essentially their sexual parts. When we look at naked pictures of people and become intrigued by their sexual aspects. Engaging in pornography, as the material already objectifies it’s actors as models (Halwani). Perving on a person’s bodily features such a “her booty” as he or she walks by. Catcalling, by reducing the person solely to their physical appearances and lastly, fantasising about someone, as it objectifies them solely on their physical appearances and can in turn symbolise men or women holistically (Halwani, 2010, pp 186). Allowing for a broader discussion in relation to when sexual objectification is morally permissible (if ever), idea’s constructed by Immanuel Kant, Martha Nussbaum and David Soble are broadly evaluated in order to construct when sexual objectification is permissible.
Finally, I will examine the critical and cultural reception of the film in comparison to that of its male counterpart: ‘American Pie’ (Weitz and Weitz, 1999). Through this textual analysis I will not only desensitize the notion of female sexuality, but also question its ultimate underrepresentation in media in order to prove that female sexual desire is part of growing
Despite initial criticism at the time of release, Paul Verhoeven’s erotic drama, Showgirls (1995), has become a camp classic that challenges notions of identity and sexuality. The film traces Nomi Malone’s challenging journey from a stripper to a showgirl where she experiences the brutal and sexist economy of Las Vegas. Verhoeven (1995) uses the relationship between Nomi, Cristal and Zack to explore Sedgwick’s (1985, pp.23) concept of the erotic triangle. This is where the bond between two men seeking the attention of a women are usually more potent than “the bond that links either of the rivals to the beloved” (Sedgwick, 1985 pp.21). However, this traditional representation of erotic triangle can be altered by the friendship between women.
In Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, Mulvey states that, “Traditionally, the woman displayed has functioned on two levels: as erotic object for the characters within the screen story, and as erotic object for the spectator within the auditorium, with a shifting tension between the looks on either side of the screen.” (Mulvey 40). A woman’s role in the narrative is bound to her sexuality or the way she
This essay argues that the film Bridesmaids transcends traditional representations of feminine desire that exhibits women as spectacles of erotic pleasure, through the symbolic reversal of gender identity in cinematic spaces. By discussing feminist perspectives on cinema, along with psychoanalytic theory and ideological narratives of female image, this essay will prove Bridesmaids embodies a new form of feminine desire coded in the space of the comedic film industry.
An innumerable amount of movies involves forcing the audience to participate in the male gaze upon a feminine body. In Robert Altman’s The Player (1992), the audience experiences the hard realities that are associated with the Hollywood/film industry. However, during this story of betrayal and murder, the audience becomes exposed to the male gaze, an act that men perpetrated against women. Early on in the movie, the protagonist, Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins), has a friendly conversation with June Gudmundsdottir (Greta Scacchi) while watching her from outside of her house. Examining the staging, sound, and acting displayed in this sequence contributes to the understanding how The Player normalizes the male gaze and reinforces the power imbalance between men and women.
These movies allowed female characters to embody all the contradictions that could make them a woman. They were portrayed as the “femme fatale” and also “mother,” the “seductress” and at the same time the “saint,” (Newsom, 2011). Female characters were multi-faceted during this time and had much more complexity and interesting qualities than in the movies we watch today. Today, only 16% of protagonists in movies are female, and the portrayal of these women is one of sexualization and dependence rather than complexity (Newsom, 2011).
This paper will look at the different conceptions highlighted by Bulman in his article through the use of different methods used by the actors in the play. Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare captures the different conceptions of gender identity and different sexualities within the Elizabethan period.
Led by Laura Mulvey, feminist film critics have discussed the difficulty presented to female spectators by the controlling male gaze and narrative generally found in mainstream film, creating for female spectators a position that forces them into limited choices: "bisexual" identification with active male characters; identification with the passive, often victimized, female characters; or on occasion, identification with a "masculinized" active female character, who is generally punished for her unhealthy behavior. Before discussing recent improvements, it is important to note that a group of Classic Hollywood films regularly offered female spectators positive, female characters who were active in controlling narrative, gazing and desiring: the screwball comedy.
It is proving difficult to portray homosexuality without some form of stereotype in media. This is because this very standard life allows easy identification of homosexuality in media. Therefore, in television shows, when a homosexual character is presented, the orphan seen in a stereotypical fashion. When the audience sees the stereotypes present in a certain character in a television show, they get a general idea of what to expect from the show, even if the idea is vague, it is based on an extension of the stereotype it's in. This is simply because what was earlier considered invisible, has been cast brought to the visible screen. Hence, the basis of this essay is to explore gay archetypes which exist in media. An archetype can be described
The 1990s saw surge of gay characters in both television and movies. From Ellen Degeneres and her character Ellen Morgan coming out under much scrutiny on the TV show ‘Ellen,’ to Julia Roberts and Rupert Everett comedically playing off each other in the motion picture ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding.’ Sure, gays and lesbians have been around forever, especially in Hollywood. But never has there been a time to be more out. With the popularity of shows like Will and Grace, which feature leading gay characters, as well as Dawson’s Creek and it’s supporting character of teenager Jack McPhee, we are slowly seeing gay and lesbian characters creeping into the mainstream media.
The body of a woman is a frequent target of sexual objectification. From the perspective of objectification theory, objectification describes the representation of another as an object, which has the consequence of dehumanizing the subject (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Advertisements, magazines, and commercials all utilize objectified images of women to attract viewer attention, yet researchers understand little about why viewers find such images appealing to begin with. Morris and Goldenberg (2015), which the current study aimed to replicate, proposed an explanation in the context of terror management theory (Greenberg, Pyszczynksi, & Solomon, 1986).
...f women & individuality, the sense of fashion, and the passion in a sexual act distinct it from being sexually objectifying. Similarly, this type of film also needs a higher cognitive skill that could reason and reflect upon the tricky features in the entire picture.
Different from the heterosexual relationships embodied by the good-bye kiss between Laura and her husband as a ritual, which although problematic, represents the normal order, these same-sex kisses, according to Judith Halberstam, act as a disruption to the domestic “schedule of normativity” in the definiton of patriarchal system (Pidduck 58). The lesbian relationship between Clarissa and her girlfriend is even more remarkable as a modern “normativity”, while the homoerotic desires conversely becomes a disruption of normal life, indicating the increasing visibility of normative lesbian lifestyle in modern cinema. On the other hand, these same-sex intimacies, from the perspective of lesbian feminists, like Jackie Stacey, establish the association between the identifications of female spectators with the female stars by offering them homoerotic pleasure, rather than reducing their fascination with the idealized other to male gazes and male desires