Representation

Representation in the media and the Male gaze

Representation

Representation refers to the construction of aspects of 'reality' in any medium. These elements of reality include people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Such representations may be depicted in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures.

The gaze
The concept of the gaze refers to the ways in which the audience view the people presented.
 The male gaze can be traced back to the essay "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" which was produced by  film theorist Laura Mulvey in 1975.

Mulvey states that women in film are seen as objects of desire.
Mulvey believes that film audience view characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male and thus women are seen more as objects.


Three parts of to the Male Gaze

• Men looking at women
• According to Mulvey's theory men are more inclined to look at the 'curvy parts' of the female body. One feature of the male gaze is that cameras tend to be more focused on these 'curvy parts' thus objectifying women on film
•  Women looking at themselves
• Women are made to look at themselves in a negative way, comparing their appearance against the women depicted in the media and finding faults with their appearance. This make women aspire to be like the 'ideal woman' depicted in these texts.
• Women looking at women
• Women are forced to look at other women through the perspective of a 'heterosexual male viewer' therefore women can see the women on screen in a sexual way. However according to the theory they judge and compare themselves to the other women on screen.