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In this essay I will examine Laura Mulveys psychoanalytical theory regarding the female figure in Hollywood cinema, and evaluating how, if at all, this theory can be applied to the study of cinema in the present day. I shall begin my analysis by outlining Mulveys theory, and then in the second section of this essay I shall apply the theory to the study of cinema in the present day. I intend to show that Mulveys theory, while it may have had some relevance when it was first published (1975), is contradicted to a high degree when applied to the study of modern day cinema. ... Mulveys theory is criticised today as being a “Dark and suffocating analysis of patriarchal cinema” (Van Zoonen, 1994:97). However, while having been dismissed as a theory which could be used as any basis of a study of gendered viewings, Mulveys theory is nevertheless a very important piece of information when thought of as a reference tool for any study of feminine theories regarding cinema in recent history.
To begin with, I shall explain Mulveys view regarding the female figure in Hollywood cinema. The theory is explained in a quote taken from the Mulvey article:
“In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure, which is styled accordingly. In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness.” (Mulvey, taken from Screen 6.3, Autumn 1975, p11)
Here, Mulvey is saying that the presence of women in cinema is solely to provide a focus of attention for the male protagonist, she is there to be looked at by him. The female figure is there to fulfil the fantasies of both the male protagonist, and following on from this, if we examine this as an aspect of a gendered viewing, the male spectator identifies with the male protagonist, and the female spectator is left without anybody in the film with which they can identify.
Approximate Word count = 1755
Approximate Pages = 7
(250 words per page double spaced)
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