The Male Gaze theory was thought up by feminist and theorist Laura Mulvey in 1975. It states that females are only used in media - i.e. music videos and advertising - as objects of visual pleasure for men. This theory does apply to certain aspects of media and music video, but not all. This is mainly due to advances in how women are perceived in society now and are seen as equal rather than in 1975 when that was not the case. This theory can also be flipped as well to show the Male Gaze, men being used as visual pleasure for women.
It can be argued now, that this theory is no longer relevant or at least not as relevant as it was due to the fact women and men are seen as equal now, and both sexes can relate to the gaze theory.
The purpose of the music videos are to promote the artist and gain money as well as provide a visual story for the song. This means that the song was selected for a reason and the music video was tailored to that artist and that song in a way that will stand out and make an impact. This is where the male gaze comes in, if the video is made in a bold and even a controversial way; such as the Blurred Lines video, more people will hear about it and it will become more popular which is the aim.
Mediation is also important to keep in mind when looking at music videos. The music video will have been planned and edited a lot to get the finished product, showing the audience a carefully crafted representation of the storyline to hopefully get the intended reaction. This also links into the previous point I made about the purpose of the music video as when shooting the video, you could get loads of different takes, but only certain ones and certain edits would represent what the artist and director wants to be seen.
The three videos I have chose to analyse are, Kelly Clarkson - Since You Been Gone, Paramore - Misery Business and Robin Thicke ft T.I, Pharell - Blurred Lines. I have decided to use these three videos as they all relate to and show different ideas in relation to Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze theory (1975).
Kelly Clarkson - Since U Been Gone
This video directed by Alex Da Rakoff in 2004 shows Kelly Clarkson destroying her ex - boyfriends apartment and of her performing on stage. I decided to use this video as it contrasts with the typical way women are perceived to be after a break up such as sad and crying, instead it shows her as powerful and strong. Although this is the what is shown and what the message of the video is, it can be argued that the destruction of his property is a sign of weakness. But overall, this represents women in a modern, strong and powerful way.
In terms of body language as well, this video goes against the male gaze theory. This is because she is not flaunting herself around in a sexual way. For the majority of the apartment sections of the video, she is sitting cross - legged. This is more of a manly, casual pose, showing her to not conform to typical girly stereotypes and instead being herself. In contrast to other female pop videos, her body language overall strongly contrasts throughout the video but during the stage scenes, it is most evident she is going against typical female representation in pop videos. Instead of having a dance routine, or her acting in any sexual way, she takes on more of a "rock star" style approach due to the way she is acting on stage and her presence.
The male gaze not only relates to how men objectify women, but how people - in this circumstance mainly women - look up to the person in question. In this video, Kelly is a positive and strong role model for her mainly female and teenage audience as she is showing herself as independent and not reliant on males. It contrasts strongly to other popular female artists and videos as instead of making a sad song and video about the after math of her break up or one where she goes out clubbing, she acts in control and powerful.
In terms of mediation, the different scenes have been put together to show her as both powerful and at the same way feminine through the different outfit choices. This carefully shows two sides of her and promotes her image as well as being a story for the music.
Paramore - Misery Business
In this video directed by Shane Drake in 2007 you see the band both performing in room decorated to match their album cover, and playing the role of high school students who in the end effectively over throw the schools bitch. I decided to look at this video to show the way in which females are represented as there is two different representations in this. Firstly their is how Hayley Williams (lead singer) is represented, then how the other girl is represented. Although these representations are exaggerated, they do highlight to different stereotypes and the way they are represented.
One of the most important factors in this video that represents Hayley and the girl in the blue dress is body language. These play a big part in showing their status and attitude in this video. For instance, the first time we see the girl is when she is pushing her way through a gang of cheerleaders. This immediately asserts her power, as stereo typically the cheerleaders are the most popular and powerful in American high schools. This continues the almost the whole way through the video almost. Her facial expression also adds to this. She looks down at everyone she goes past. This representation is showing female power in a negative way, showing that if you have power then it will be used for personal gain. In the video she walks up to a guy in the hall - who we know from previous that he has a girlfriend - and kisses him. This emphasises the fact that she uses her sex appeal and looks for power.
The way in which Hayley is represented through body language contrasts this completely. Firstly, during the performance sections, she is dancing and moving around the space in a way that conforms to the punk rock genre of the music, and as if she was on stage. This contrasts not only the way female pop singers tend to act, but also contrasts earlier female bands of a female genre such as Hole where the band members would rely more on sex appeal in videos. I think this is mainly due to the time difference, as the male gaze theory was more relevant in the fact that in previous years such as the 80's and 90's women were still seen as visual objects to men. But now, women are seen as equal and do not have to rely on looks and sex appeal which is what Hayley is showing. The way Hayley is represented throughout the high school scenes are similar to how Kelly as they are both shown in more of a tomboy, independent way. For this video the fact that Hayley is hanging around with her band full of guys almost as if she was one of them emphasizes the fact she is not conforming to typical representations of women.
In terms of the way they look such as clothes and makeup, these also give strong representations. Both of them are wearing a lot of makeup, but for different reasons. With Hayley, her makeup is bright and creative, not what someone would typically wear to school. This gives the impression that it is for the purpose of the video and relates to the punky genre and style of the band. Although these are the predominant reasons why the makeup is being used, it can be said that the makeup is adding to visual pleasure for the male viewers. Her hair also goes against the stereotype that women's hair always has to be perfect by having messy, multicolured hair. With the girl, her makeup strongly suggests that she is viewed as a attractive or that that is the aim. The heavy, dark eye make up and dark red lipstick colours are related to darker attitudes, and being used to attract men. Her hair is also perfectly curled with no fly aways, this gives girls a false impression that to be powerful and popular then you have to look perfect. The way they are dressed also shows different representations and people. For instance Hayley dresses in relation to the punk rock style with bright clashing colours and black and the girl has a low cut dress on.
Although the message from this firstly shows that that the girl is the most powerful one at the school, it soon flips when Hayley takes out her bra padding and wipes off her make up. This makes the girl upset and weak. This changes the power and gives a strong message about female popularity, looks and attitude, basically contradicting the whole male gaze theory and saying that being false and using looks to get things will not get you anywhere.
With mediation in this video, the director wants to show Paramore as a feisty pop punk band, therefore the shots are created to show a strong contrast being Hayley and the brunette girl's character and attitude, as the same effect would not be created if say the girl Hayley was standing up to was similar to her. This shows a reality in the video where stereotypes are used to enhance the way the band are seen and to create visual aesthetics to go along with the song - both selling the song and the band and creating them a powerful image.
Robin Thicke ft. T.I and Pharrell - Blurred Lines
This video directed by Diane Martel in 2013 shows the singers in front of a blank wall with models doing unrelated things around them. Due to the fact the artists in this video are male, there is obviously going to be women in it. The original version got banned from YouTube due to to much nudity.
Out of all three videos I have looked at, this one relates most to the Male Gaze theory as the models are dressed in revealing clothing throughout the entire video, and in some cases only a thong. Laura Mulvey's theory states that women are just objects of visual pleasure for men, and in this video, that is the case.
In terms of how the models act in the video shows that they are there for the entertainment of the singers and for the viewers, because none of what they are doing actually relates to the song or creates a story line for the video. This makes the models appear as if they are toys, and doing whatever the men want them to. This also makes them appear weak and as though they do not have any control. The body language in this is quite important, especially of the men. In some parts the video, the men are facing away from the women and not acknowledging them, this then leads the women to try and get their attention again. This is sending out a bad message to women as it is telling them that they have to always have male attention. Although the women are mainly doing random things that necessarily do not relate to any sexual or suggestive ideas, but with this they flip them. For instance just they are standing or hanging onto the singers looks promiscuous.
How they look plays a big part in this. The main difference between looks is that the men are fully dressed in suits and the women are wearing barely - there clothing. This accentuates the fact that they are seen as less than the men and objectifies them. The suits also make the men look powerful in contrast to the women who are wearing what looks like plastic clothing, that could be seen as making them look trashy. The plastic also adds to the fact that they are being represented as objects as it makes them look fake. In some parts of the video, the women appeal almost completely naked other than a thong and something covering up their breasts such as an animal or object. This further continues to make them look weaker and that fact they are covering them self up gives the impression that they are not unclothed by choice and are trying to hide. The men are wearing sunglasses throughout the majority of the video. This makes them look shady and adds to the fact they look important.In terms of the male gaze relating to men, this is giving a strong impression to males as they look up to these popular artists, and this video could make them think that women are less than men and just sexual objects. It would also make them think that if they act in a obnoxious, "powerful" way they can get women and women would do whatever they want to. This is only sexist, but could strongly effect and impact the way teenage boys view women and effect the way they treat them later in life.
With the way women can view this video, they could see the way the women both act and look and damage their self confidence and make them feel like this is the way they should act around men. If they think this is the way to act around men, doing what they want them too, this could make an impact on the view of them self and think they could not be higher or equal to men. In terms of looks, this could trigger something in teenage girls and lead to something dangerous such as an eating disorder to look like them.
Although the Male Gaze theory is prominent in this video, you have to take into consideration mediation and the purpose of the video. From the hastags that appear during the video, you can tell that the point of this video is to become viral, which is most likely why it is so controversial, where if it was not so controversial it would not have made such as big impact.
Overall
After looking at these three different videos there are different things that factor into how women are represented in a music video. Firstly, the genre. If the genre is rock - such as the Paramore video - then the video is more likely to show women as more equal or to focus more on the bands performance as that is a part of what the style is like. But, with a pop video such as Blurred Lines, it is quite common for the videos to show women in a sexual way. Another thing to consider is whether the artist is male or female. This would determine the way women are presented in the video as men would want to look as them as visual objects, whereas women would not as much. Out of the two points I just mentioned, the most important one would genre, as in a pop video by an artist such as Britney Spears she herself could dress in revealing clothing and act promiscuous to attract the opposite sex.
As well as the looking at how the women are being represented in these videos, you have to consider the mediation of the video, such as the reasons as to why the women were presented in the ways they are. This could mean its the way the label/director want to show the artist, the relation to the point of the song and the impact they want the video to make. For example when making the Blurred Lines they probably knew it would be so controversial and with the Since U Been Gone video that shows Kelly in a strong independent why which reflects her as an artist.
The way in which women are shown in relation to the Male Gaze is crucial to to the way the video is received by both men and women. Music videos are widely accessible and are shown almost everywhere and therefore can create a strong impact on people - especially teenagers and children. If the message is good and positive like the first two videos I looked at then they will make a positive impact and, but if the message is like the last one, then it could give a strong negative effect to people.
Out of all three videos, it is pretty obvious that the Blurred Lines video relates quite strongly to the gaze theory as it shows women as nothing but objects of visual pleasure for men. Since U Been Gone would have to relate the least as it shows Kelly as independent and not trying to get a males attention. Misery Business is also going against the theory by not as much as Since U Been Gone as it shows both a woman trying to use her looks for power and it also shows someone independent.
