Radical Weapon.// 27.02.2020

  Gaze.

noun

a steady intent look. 

  Gaze.

verb

to fix the eyes in a steady intent look often with eagerness or studious attention. 

Laura Mulvey a renowned feminist film theorist from Britain who wrote an essay about the 'Male Gaze', which refers to the engagement of the viewers to the visual media. Her theory criticizes the depiction of women in media and how they are viewed by men and how they are forced to be viewed by the audience. In her essay, she writes about the different possible pleasures and where she suggests the destruction of pleasure and how that is a radical weapon. Mulvey not only suggests eradicating pleasure which may only be seen as sexual and bring in a new form of pleasure which can be relatable to all kinds of audiences. 

This blog post is written based on my opinions and how I perceive the films. It may differ from person to person but this post is to solely criticize and interpret the films based on Laura Mulvey's essay 'Male Gaze'. The films which I will further write about in this blog post are some of my favourites and as difficult as it was to criticize them, the essay brought to light new factors which I was blind to when first watching them. 

My Fair Lady (1964)

Directed by: George Cukor

My Fair Lady was one of my favourite classic films, starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. After rewatching this film, I realized I didn't enjoy it as much as when I first watched it. Eliza Doolittle, the protagonist in the play was portrayed as a loud, stubborn, and annoying girl who would always pick a fight with Professor Higgins. She seemed to not have been able to do things on her own and as Laura Mulvey had coined it, she seemed like a good example for a 'passive female'. A passive female is when the female character is used as a mere plot device and to push forward the film. Even though Eliza does have a little bit of character development, at the end of the film she realizes she could not leave the professor and goes back to him. Considering this film was made in 1964 and based on a play which was first performed in 1913, Eliza can be considered as a little bit of a strong women figure.

The reason why the film existed was due to Eliza wanting to learn how to speak proper English to leave her peasantry life behind and own a flower shop or have a high paying job. The professor and his friend Colonel Hugh Pickering (played by Wilfred Hyde-White) made a bet on whether or not the professor would be able to teach Eliza how to speak proper English in the span of 6 months. From the moment the bet was made, we can clearly understand how Eliza is being used as a plot device. She had a tongue of her own but was shunned out and disciplined by the professor. After Eliza had mastered the art of speaking in proper English, instead of congratulating Eliza on her hard work and efforts, Colonel Pickering compliments Professor Higgins and the professor boasts more about himself and completely ignores Eliza. In this particular scene, Eliza backs away from the light and under the shadows in the corner of the room, portraying how men during that time were treating women by disregarding them, taking credit for all the efforts of the woman and how women are behind the shadows of a man. 

In the film, we also perceive how submissive and childish Eliza is portrayed as. She would stop bickering with the professor once he offers her chocolates which she had never had before or she would be the one to always start the argument which shows how women are usually portrayed as the submissive and the ones who always start an argument with no absolute reason. Professor Higgins takes Eliza to a horse race to test Eliza's speech but limits her to only talking about the weather and asking a person "How do you do today?" However, Eliza is quite witty and uses her sense of wit to go head-on with the professor and speak her mind about how she feels. 

To conclude, the songs in the film are very enjoyable and Audrey Hepburn plays her role as Eliza Doolittle spectacularly. 

Pretty Woman (1990)

Directed by: Garry Marshall

Pretty Woman is another classic film which stars Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. Pretty Woman is a film about a prostitute and a rich entrepreneur and they eventually fall in love. He hires her to accompany him to various social events but also to live with him for a while in a hotel room. Although Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) does not ask her for sexual favours but is paying her and also providing her with a luxurious lifestyle, the film shows how it is natural for her to do those sexual favours all on her own because the man is providing for her. 

In the film Pretty Woman, there is a shopping scene where Edward takes Vivian out shopping for clothes. In the background, we can hear the song 'Pretty Woman' by Roy Orbison Jr. In the scene, we see Vivian changing her clothes, a focus of her putting on stockings and Vivian wearing a tight belt over her shirt which shows off her tiny waist. These shots were taken from a close mid-shot where we only see her body or those particular features. As she is putting on her stockings, the lighting in the background has a very sensual feeling to it and the music which is playing is basically the singer purring or roaring in a soft sensual way to tease a woman.

Lyrics to the song 'Pretty Woman'. 

Pretty woman, walking down the street

Pretty woman, the kind I like to meet

Pretty Woman

I don't believe you, you're not the truth

No one could look as good as you

Mercy

Pretty woman, won't you pardon me?

Pretty woman, I couldn't help but see

Pretty woman

Then you look lovely as can be

Are you lonely just like me?

Wow

Pretty woman, stop a while

Pretty woman, talk a while

Pretty woman, give your smile to me

Pretty woman, yeah yeah yeah

Pretty woman, look my way

Pretty woman, say you'll stay with me

Cause I need you, I'll treat you right

Come with me baby, be mine tonight

Pretty woman don't walk on by

Pretty woman, don't make me cry

Pretty woman, don't walk away, hey, okay

If it's that way it must be it, okay

I guess I'll go on home, it's late

There'll be tomorrow night, but wait

What do I see

Is she walking back to me

Yeah, she's walking back to me

Oh, oh, pretty woman.

This song was played as the background music during the shopping scene. In Laura Mulvey's essay, she wrote: "It is said that analysing pleasure, or beauty, destroys it." When combining the song with the scenes from the film, it shows how the film is trying to portray her as a pretty woman and is setting the scene in a pleasurable form for the audience and forcing viewers to view the process of wearing a stocking as a form of pleasure. This destroys the very idea or fact of a woman normally wearing her clothes and perceiving it as something sensual.

In the movie, as Vivian is a prostitute, it is filled with her doing short strip teases and a scene where she's in the bathtub singing to the song 'Kiss' by Prince. This shows how Julia Roberts was overtly sexualised in the movie and was created as a sexual object to satisfy and signify male desire. 

To analyse the song further, listeners can interpret that the song is about a man lustfully desiring for the "pretty woman". The song talks about how the man wants the woman for the night and to belong to them. Even though the woman is not mentioned, she is being used as a sexual object and is being used for the narrative of the song. In the movie, when Vivian is performing sexual favours for Edward, he is seeing the eroticism which the audience sees. Vivian is known to be the "pretty woman" in the movie and song which sets standards or stereotype of what is considered as a "pretty woman". 

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Directed by: Tim Burton

Tim Burton is a very famous director who makes most of his films in a gothic style which people may perceive as eerie and dark. I for one am a huge fan of his style because it makes him films different with a hauntingly beautiful appeal to it. Edward Scissorhands is a film starring Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder. At the beginning of the movie, we are introduced to a dark, castle on the hill which had a very mysterious and creepy feeling around it. After the scene, we are taken to the place below the castle and everything is in the shade of bright colours and is a place where a small town is settled. Johnny Depp plays Edward Scissorhands in the film and he is brought down from the castle to the town to live with the so-called "norm" as he has no family. The town seemed to have been infested with lustful housewives who are all seeking for a dangerous kind of pleasure. 

In the movie, Edward becomes really famous after a point of time and starts cutting hair for dogs. As the owners come and go, there is a particular housewife called Joyce (played by Kathy Baker) who asks Edward to cut her hair for her. As soon as he starts cutting her hair, the scene becomes a little explicit as it shows her receiving a thrilling pleasure and symbolizes the idea of sex or masturbation. Joyce throughout the first half of the movie is portrayed as a pleasure-seeking lady. 

Kim (Winona Ryder) is the protagonist of the movie however, she is seen as a very useless female lead. She doesn't really have much of a role and Edward and her hardly ever talk but as soon as Edward came to her house and saw her picture he fell in love with her. The question is how? She is being used as the female lead who inspires the male lead to lose control and act the way he does. However, she has no such important even though she is the female lead. She is portrayed as the definition of a passive female even though she is the one who is reciting the story.

In a scene where Edward and her ex-boyfriend were fighting, all she did was watch on the side with terror. Her role in the movie was almost non-existent. However, in the end, when Edward goes back to the mansion and her ex-boyfriend comes to fight yet again, she finally tries to stop them but gets pushed away really quickly. 

Edward, on the other hand, is portrayed as this socially awkward boy with scissors for hands. From the moment the black castle was shown in the movie, we could tell how different he was going to be. Then from the moment, he was brought down from the castle, he was shown as this guy all dressed in latex clothing and the desire of all the housewives or women who met him. 

Grease (1978)

Directed by: Randal Kleiser

Grease is one of the most favoured and well-known musicals of all time. A fun musical about high school romance and drama which is filled with fun songs and amazing dance moves. The main characters in Grease are the T-Birds who are Danny Zuko (John Travolta), Kenickie (Jeff Conaway), Doddy (Barry Pearl), Sonny (Micheal Tucci) and Putzie (Kelly Ward) and the Pink Ladies who are Rizzo (Stockard Channing), Frenchie (Didi Conn), Marty (Dinah Manoff), Jan (Jamie Donnelly) and Sandy (Olivia Newton-John)

The lead roles are Sandy and Danny Zuko. Their love first started during summer vacation where they met at the beach. However, they have torn apart because Sandy thought she was going back to Australia but they meet in high school again. Sandy is a blonde, innocent and pure girl. Danny Zuko, however, is a top-notch player in his high school. One of the most iconic moments in Grease is when Sandy gets a dramatic makeover. 

Sandy is usually dressed as a plain, innocent and studious girl however, in the end, she decides to change her appearance for Danny Zuko. She is the poster girl for the very famous saying "Good girl gone bad." In the movie, on their carnival day, Sandy comes to the carnival all dressed in black leather, red heels and a cigarette in her mouth. Thus leading to the scene where they sing 'You're the one that I want'. 

Lyrics to the song You're the One that I want. 

I got chillsThey're multiplying
And I'm losing control
'Cause the power you're supplying
It's electrifying!

You better shape up
'Cause I need a man
And my heart is set on you
You better shape up
You better understand
To my heart, I must be true
Nothing left
Nothing left for me to do

You're the one that I want
Oo-oo-oo, honey
The one that I want
Oo-oo-oo, honey

The one that I want
Oo-oo-oo, the one I need
Oh, yes, indeed

If you're filled
With affection
You're too shy to convey
Meditate in my direction
Feel your way

I better shape up

'Cause you need a man

I need a man
Who can keep me satisfied

I better shape up
If I'm gonna prove

You better prove
That my faith is justified
Are you sure?
Yes I'm sure down deep inside

You're the one that I want
Oo-oo-oo, honey
The one that I want
Oo-oo-oo, honey
The one that I want
Oo-oo-oo, the one I need
Oh, yes, indeed

Sandy and Danny Zuko sing this song during the carnival and towards the end of the song, audiences can see that they have reached the carnival house which is called the 'Shake Shack'. The song consists of the sexual desires they have. The change in Sandy is one of the most remarkable and yet we question why she must change for the man. In the scene, they focus the camera at her from head to toe and the T-Birds actually stare at Sandy before they tell Danny which causes the audience to look at her in their eyes and also in a very sexual manner. She changed from this "good girl" to a smoking "bad girl" which also shows how they stereotype. 

Sleeping Beauty(1959)

Directed by: Clyde Geromini

Disney Princess holds us accountable for so many things. The old generation Disney princesses are considered to be very passive and going with the flow kind of vibe. To begin with, the design of the princesses throughout generations has been girls with a thin waist, a powerful singing voice and beauty beyond. The Disney princesses are designed in a way that it is for the male gaze. As most of us have watched Disney princess films, their ideas about how pretty and delicate a woman is instilled in audiences through movies like these. 

Taking Aurora from Sleeping Beauty as an example, from the time she was born, the three fairies gave Aurora gifts which were a beautiful voice, being loved by all and beauty. The beauty standard of Disney Princesses changes the perspective of young children and as they watch these shows they will continue to think that their standards of beauty are not enough. Which is why Laura Mulvey wants to eradicate these sorts of pleasures and create the kind of pleasure that will be able to be pleasurable to all sorts of audiences. 

Thank you so much for reading my blog~ 

References:

https://www.filminquiry.com/film-theory-basics-laura-mulvey-male-gaze-theory/

http://theconversation.com/explainer-what-does-the-male-gaze-mean-and-what-about-a-female-gaze-52486