The theory suggests that the male gaze denies human identity, downgrading women to the status of objects to be admired only for physical appearance, the theory also suggests women can more often only view themselves from a males point of view. typically in mainstream films the female character often doesn't have importance herself, rather the female only exists in relation to the male.
Mulvey argues, for women the result of media being presented from a mans point of view, and through the male gaze, women tend to views themselves and other women in similar ways as a man would, therefore resulting in a objectification of women.
Mulvey states that the role of a female character in a narrative has two functions:
- As an erotic object for the characters within the narrative to view
- As an erotic object for the audience watching to view.
Gender roles in film
The characters that look at others are typically seen as the active roles, which are mostly played by males. The characters that are to be looked at are passive (typically females), they are under the control of the male gaze and only exist for visual pleasure Females often slow the pace of the narrative, they act as inspiration for men to act. Males on the other hand, push the narrative forward and make things happen and are sen as active.
Mulvey also discussed the term "Scopophilia" which literally means 'Love of Watching', this is because we see it in a darkened room and observe activities of people on the screen who are that they being watched, (the term also derives from Freud's study of the psyche).
Lastly, Mulvey argues that we live in a patriarchal society in which men set the majority of rules and construct and represent the ideal visions, roles and male dominance over woman.
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