The male gaze

The male gaze and the contemporary representation of women in the media, to what extent do Mulvey's theory on the male gaze and Schroeder's contemporary media texts. 
Easy A scene
Mulvey-….
Tight corset- black (meant to the the slimming colour of clothing) and it is silky- sexy.
Revealing clothes
Sun glasses- mysterious- bitting the glasses when talking
Pearls
Air kissing men- teasing them
Boys moving out- making a pathway
Looking her up and down
"Boy I will be your sexy silk"- music, smooth music.
Throwing herself at men.
Even girls at watching her.
Shaking hips as she walks- not talking to those looking at her- leaving them hanging- giving them something to look at- even when she's walked past the boys are continuing to gaze at her- shown from the camera shoot at 20 seconds.
lick off food on the fork- making the boys fall for her.
Longing out the words- Dumb to be pretty- to get the attention from men-
       BUT… Use of longer words- anagram, Rhetorical question
She's doing it to prove a point, if people think she's like that, she decides to dress like it. She doesn't normally dress in this way. Although as she is, all the boys are falling at their knees for her (literally)- she's being very revealing- the part small section at the end of this clip shows how she isn't actually like this- her teacher is shocked because it is abnormal for her- she quickly removes the fork from her mouth because obviously this show wasn't for her teacher it was to teach her ex-estfriend and lesson for calling her a "slag"

Schroeder- The idea that the gazer is more superior to the object of the gaze.
Doesn't apply here- she is the one walking in the light- she is making a corridor in the people- they are moving for her- not the other way round- it seems for her that her beauty is the thing that is giving her the power in this case. Also she is wearing the sunglasses at the beginning part of the clip- showing she isn't giving eye contact because she doesn't have to- everyone is looking at her, not the other way round, she has the power in this school corridor, in this scene anyway...

START OF ESSAY HERE....
Mulvey is a feminist theorist who came up with the idea of the 'male gaze' objectifying women in different media texts. Also she believes women are presented as sexual objects for the enjoyment of the male audience. From the above clip, Easy A, it supports Mulvey's perspective and view. However if you were to watch the entire film, it would be noticed that this isn't actually how this character is and is doing this just to prove a point- although this short clip does portray Mulvey's view very well. For starters, the simple mise-en-scene of watch she is wearing suggests this objectification of women as she is clearly showing too much skin, a "sexy" black silky tight corset- making it easier for the camera to follow her curves, along with all the men around her. Also, the mysterious use of sunglasses continues to show the male gaze because she doesn't need to show her eyes because that is clearly not what everyone is looking at- in contrast of what the normal "first impressions" should be, "her beautiful eyes". This shows how men clearly look at the body, especially if revealed like this character is. Even the simplicity of the walking down the corridor shaking her hips as she passes all the drawn eyes- not stopping to speak to anyone because she wants their gaze to follow her, this is a very teasing way of walking because it leaves them wanting more really. Also this shows the male gaze as they clearly can't take their eyes off her. Prior to this clip, she wasn't very popular, however as soon as she reveals herself in this way, she gains lots of attention. Suggesting by Mulvey's view, women can only be noticed properly if they can supply the interest in male views.

Additionally, as she walks through the parting sea of males, the camera doesn't go off of her, showing either a close up of her face or a body shot showing the surrounding people. This would have been important for showing the male gaze because it shows all the men not taking their eyes of her. This is also joined by the teasing smirk she has as she walks, alongside blow kisses at the men. However, when looking at Schroeder's view of the gazer being more superior compared to object of the gaze doesn't apply here. This character clearly has more superior in this case purely for the fact that she is the one parting the crowd of people, she isn't moving out the way. Also the way she has sunglasses on goes against this view because the fact you can't see her eyes shows she doesn't have to give people eye contact, as she is being watched not her looking at someone else.

However, even though many films convey Mulvey's view upon the male gaze, there are some that do not. For example, even if there is parts of the film showing a typical male view, Charlies angels also shows the empowerment of women. Notwithstanding that the Female gaze is shown as well. For example they are looking through binoculars as a man saying "yummy", this suggests that it's not only men objectifying the opposite gender- thus suggesting Mulvey's view is only half the truth, yes women are objectified through men, but women can be just as bad. Charlie's Angels shows women's empowerment by a selection of different activities that would stereo-typically be seen for a males enjoyment only. An example of this is the
monster truck racing and the women betting money with lots of men- showing she has the power the beat them. Also, in the trailer (linked below), a female character says "I'm here to save you" showing a contrast to the stereo-typical "damsel in distress". This suggests that even though Mulvey's view is present in most film, the extent to which it's relevant in all can be low- especially in films such as Charlie's Angels.
Charlie's Angels trailer
(Notes shown on previous blog)