In Laura Mulvey’s essay, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, Mulvey utilizes psychoanalysis theory to show how our subconsciousness of society shapes the way we view films. The most interesting thing I found in her essay was the Male Gaze. I have read this actually in two other and I always find something new. But I want to focus on the Male Gaze. Her main argument is that the female of the film is used to provide a pleasurable experience for men. She uses the movie Vertigo as an example of this gaze. In many of the scenes, we are looking through the male’s eyes, which is placed on the woman. We see this in a lot of films, and I don’t think it is something that will go away. For example, in Charlie’s Angels, many scenes are focused on the angels’ rear ends. Oops? Can the Male Gaze also be seen in other medias too? The answer to this is absolutely. For example, in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, there is a scene when Esmeralda is being taken to the gallows. During this scene, Victor Hugo spends an awkwardly amount of time describing her “long black hair….more lustrous than the raven’s wing” or how about her “half-naked shoulders” and “bare legs”. Even though we cannot physically see these things, we are supposed to imagine it in our heads, but from the male’s perspective. 
Can this gaze be switched to the female’s perspective? I believe it could be. Take for example the movie Magic Mike. We are seeing the male’s perspective, but from the female view (amazing eye candy, but this is what Mulvey is getting at, no?). Overall, I thought this was a great read and it really enlightened me. Here’s a picture of Magic Mike for your viewing pleasure. 
Meaning and Pleasure2014 
Thanks for the magic mike picture, ha!
I also think that there is potential for the gaze to switch from male to female, but even in your example of Magic Mike, there is still a female love interest, and I am willing to bet that the audiences views her through the male gaze when she is on screen.
I am writing my final paper on the male gaze and how audiences could feel uncomfortable viewing through this gaze when they’re forced (through camera angles) to sexually objectify a person they might typically deem unattractive. The female lead is an 80 year old woman in the film I am analyzing, Harold and Maude.
As I write, I am becoming increasingly aware of Mulvey’s lack of emphasis on plot. She says that the woman’s personality/what she does in general add nothing to the story and do not matter. The camera angles dominate the gaze.
Do you think that, in a film with a male gaze but a powerful, active female character or a female gaze with a powerful, active male character, plot is still irrelevant?
Or is it possible that this contrast could be a director’s way of making people more aware of the gaze or challenging viewers to decide: Is WHAT we see more important or HOW we see it?
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I think this is a great analysis of the male gaze! I agree that is doesn’t seem like this will ever go away because it has become so prominent in every medium. I think it is harder to argue this when it is in print because the descriptions could simply be characteristics necessary for the story.
The female gaze is definitely making its way more and more into our media. It seems only fair that men are depicted in the same way women are, but is this just fighting fire with fire? Is there a problem with the male gaze – constantly objectifying women? I think that the female gaze is taking a stand and saying women look at men as objectified just like men look at women, but is this always true?
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