Monday 3 October 2011

Goodwin and Mulvey's theory of Voyeurism

The idea of voyeurism generates from Froid, but in media is used particularly to describe the gendered pleasures of cinema. Some argue that male have a controlling powerful gaze, and the female is objectified.
Goodwin for example says that the camerawork, and editing, with fragmented body shots emphasise a sexualised treatment of the star. This can be seen in videos such as 50 Cent's 'Candy Shop' and 'PIMP' in which we see the camera gaze at women from a low angle to display them in a sexual way. The camera also tilted up the women's body as if to portray the male glance at the objectified woman. The idea of voyeuristic treatment of the female body is often apparent with the use of dances as adornment to the male ego. In 50 Cent's videos we can see this as the women are used in comparison to his nice cars and flashy clothes.
Laura Mulvey argues that men have the control in the relationships between the camera and characters, the characters on screen, and the audience watching. In Eric Prydz' video 'Call On Me' the women are portrayed as sex symbols as they are doing highly provocative actions. However, in the group of about 10 only one is a man, which could be argued to be the women in control, as also most of the camera time is given to the women, particularly the leader who seems to be in control of the man. On the other hand, the ratio of man to woman could be suggested to be demeaning to women as it is a common male fantasy.
Mulvey's theory could be criticised, as some female independent stars' video's including voyeuristic gazes at men. For example in Britney Spear's 'Womanizer', in many scenes she is in control of the men, e.g. the man is kneeling to her and she hits him. However, it is clear that in most circumstances Mulvey's theory is true, for example, even in 'Womanizer', Britney is shown naked which gives the male audience the control. Even in Nelly Furtado's 'Man Eater' you would think she would have the control, but in fact it appears she is dancing to appeal to the men and it is them holding the voyeuristic stare towards her.  

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