Contemporary Media Texts and Gender Theory Influences Essay -

Media Gender Representation Essay -

To what extent do Mulvey’s theory (1975) on the male gaze and Shroeder’s ideas (1998) influence contemporary media texts? Discuss Charlie’s Angels and one other show giving evidence from mise-en-scene, sound etc.

Mulvey’s (1975) theory on ‘The Male Gaze’ studies how women are shown in media as sexual objects for heterosexual male gratification ; this is depicted through a variety of means such as camera shots, sexual objectification within dialogue and the conformity to stereotypes of genders in media. Schroeder’s (1998) ideas suggest that the both ‘The Male Gaze’ and ‘The Female Gaze’ suggest more than Mulvey considered. Schroeder stated that “to gaze implies more than to look at – it signifies a psychological relationship of power, in which the gazer is superior to the object of the gaze”. Both theorists put forward an argument that suggests ideas of gender are presented in media productions through a gaze. The two forms of media that I will be discussing, in relation to a few theorists who discuss gender, are ‘Charlie’s Angels : Full Throttle’ and ‘Game of Thrones’ despite them being different mediums.

To begin with, the trailer for ‘Charlie’s Angels’ both conforms and subverts Mulvey’s theory on ‘The Male Gaze’ whilst supporting Schroeder’s ideas of power and introducing the theories of Hanson’s ‘The Female Gaze’. For instance, in the trailer at 0:30 an older male is shown staring at one of ‘Charlie’s Angels’ who is dancing supposedly to distract the male or to gain information. As a result it can be said that the female protagonist is being sexualised by the male character, and heterosexual male members of an audience, thus conforming to Mulvey’s theory. However, the female character is also staring back at the male whilst standing over him thus establishing dominance and conforming to the ideas of power suggested by Schroeder through the use of a gaze and levels in body language and movement. Despite this, it could be argued that the female protagonists of the film use their bodies, as they are aware of the male gaze, to their advantage therefore turning the sexualisation into a weapon to use against males. Furthermore, at 0:35 two of ‘Charlie’s Angels’ are shown looking at a male character through binoculars and saying “Yummy…”. This is an example of Hanson’s ‘The Female Gaze’ which has become more common in contemporary media. ‘The Female Gaze’ is when females sexualise males and therefore this subverts Mulvey’s ideas that media portray women as weak and objects of male sexual lust and desire. Additionally, this moment in the trailer also suggests, according to Schroeder, that the female protagonists are more powerful than their male counterparts. Also, at 1:24 the three ‘Angels’ are with a friend who says “You all fine, but you crazy” whilst gazing at them from a physically higher position. Therefore, the use of ‘The Male Gaze’ and dialogue displays the female active protagonists as inferior to the male who views them sexually but also uses the stereotypical lexis of “crazy” associated with females. Consequently, it can be argued that the trailer for the film ‘Charlie’s Angles : Full Throttle’ is influenced by a variety of gender theorists including Mulvey, Hanson and Schroeder either to create comical effect and or to challenge stereotypical gender roles and representations within the media.

On the other hand is ‘Game of Thrones’ which, very similarly to ‘Charlie’s Angels’, in its series 1 trailer has examples of Mulvey’s ‘The Male Gaze’, Schroeder’s theory on ‘The Gaze and Power’ and Hanson’s theory of ‘The Female Gaze’. For example, at 0:43 Schroeder’s theory on the gaze and power is exemplified when the character ‘Lord Eddard Stark’ gazes down at his wife whilst telling her that he must leave her and their home. The combination of the use of levels, the gaze and dialogue all merge to show the male character as more powerful than his wife. Although, the ‘Game of Thrones’ trailer also conforms to Mulvey’s theory of ‘The Male Gaze’ at multiple points in the footage. For instance, at 1.20 the horse-lord ‘Khal Drogo’ gazes at the female character of ‘Daenerys Targaryen’. This is an example of ‘The Male Gaze’ as the female character is promised to the male character despite her disagreement and is being stared at by the male character who is far higher whilst seated on a horse. The male character sexualises the female character by staring at her body from above and this is also an example of Schroeder’s theory showing the male character as far superior to the female, who is subject of the gaze. Furthermore, at 1.34 is a scene which takes place in a brothel which provides examples of both Mulvey’s ‘The Male Gaze’ and Hanson’s ‘The Female Gaze’. For example, The female is a prostitute being used by the master of the brothel to entice a male guard in. The male guard is seen to be gazing at the body of the semi-clothed female thus establishing the idea that she is a sexual object who exits only for male lust which conforms to ‘The Male Gaze’. However, it is interesting that the female prostitute exemplifies ‘The Female Gaze’ whilst staring at the male guard; even though this would usually be described as an example of ‘The Female Gaze’ it could be argued that her staring does not sexualise the male but instead invites him to sexualise her which would again then become an example of ‘The Male Gaze’.

To conclude, whilst different mediums of media are influenced by many different ideas and theories it can be argued that a significant amount of contemporary media platforms are influenced by Mulvey, Schroeder and even Hanson whether they conform to the theories or subvert them.