Laura Mulvey

 The Male Gaze

Mulveys theory suggests that the vast majority of popular cinematic productions are shown through the male gaze. She argues that films are produced mainly by men to satisfy the scopophilia of men (the pleasure of looking), and whilst scopophilia is something all genders are guilty of, Mulvey argued popular cinematic productions are made by heterosexual males and as a result, women would be sexualised and objectified within these movies. Mulvey also suggests that this scopophilia is presented in two ways; the active male and the passive female. The male takes pleasure from looking at the traditionally "beautiful" female and fantasises about her as she takes on the function of an erotic object for both the character in the production and the spectator and so that they connote to be looked-at-ness. Men gain pleasure from being able to look at the female in front of them without being judged where as in the real world, if they were to stare at women it would be considered rude or creepy. Mulvey further links her theory to Sigmund Freuds theory and suggests that this allows for us to succumb to the id without any repercussions. Where as the passive female does not find pleasure from looking at the females presented but they do see these females as an ideal, creating societal standards of beauty the females feels the need to live up to. The male gaze is present in three main ways; the first being the camera for example; using extreme close ups of desirable, erotic parts of the females and slow panning across the females body. Theses techniques are used to sexualise and objectify the female in shot. The second one is the male gaze of the audience and them deriving pleasure from the ability to look. The third is the male characters paralleling how the male audience views the woman, for example; before/after a slow pan of the female body, a man may be shown "checking out" said female. 

In a more equal society 50 years later, is this still present?

The question of whether this theory remains true 50 years after is a largely debatable topic. However, to some extent the male gaze is still present, not only in cinematic productions but within the vast majority of media. Whilst there are much more females working within the film industry, the male gaze is so deeply etched into the culture of the industry, that when it is presented on screen it is often looked over when a woman is being overly sexualised or oppressed. This may be due to the growth of acceptance and control over sexuality. Female characters in cinema now often pose a stronger role compared to the traditional "damsel in distress", however female characters are still far more sexualised than men within narratives. You will often see a woman gaining motivation for a task in the movie by putting make up on along with a skin tight/revealing outfit to match, making herself look more attractive. Where as the mans way to motivate himself often consists of working out and other physical activities. This suggests that the woman uses her sexuality to her advantage where as the man uses his physical strength. This hugely indicates the male gaze is still present. On the other hand, there are obvious changes since the male gaze theory was first developed. Nowadays women, whilst they are still often sexualised, they are also often shown as strong protagonists/antagonists of their narratives. For example in the Tv show The good place, the protagonist Eleanor Shellstrop is presented as a strong woman who doesn't fit into the traditional role for women in film. For example, she is shown being rude and doing "un-lady like" things such as releasing gas obnoxiously.