Laura Mulvey: Male Gaze - James Bond scene

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dviRXgq31Hk

The James bond franchise is a clear example of film objectifying females and forcing the audience to view females via the male gaze. the scene within ‘die another day’ when james bond meets jinx demonstrates my previous statement by using  vignette, through a use of slow motion and by (-)

In the scene we see James Bond using a pair of binoculars. We are shown the setting of the scene through the eyes of James Bond by the use of vignette to make it seem that you can see what he sees. We see the character jinx for the first coming out of the sea time through his eyes. The vignette affect forces us to see and objectify ‘Jinx’ through how he sees it. But this gives the readers a constructed representation of reality, The way we see her is not the way anybody comes out of the water in reality. However seeing her in the eyes of a male is an influence to women also watching making them think that thats the way the would have to be to catch the attention of a male this is not the reality but only a hyper reality.

A strong use of post production slow motion is used when ‘looking through the binoculars’. The slow motion is used while she’s coming out of the water, This is used to exaggerate her movements giving the viewer more opportunity for objectification and scopophilia. During this time non-diagetic sound is also used through romanticised music involving strings and a graduate crescendo to create a representation of jinx through bonds fantasy.

Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) Film Trailer Analysis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iCwtxJejik

In the ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’ trailer we see two different representations of men. The first is played by Steve Carell. He is  playing the husband/father figure which you would think would give him a role of power and authority, but it doesn’t. The first clip we see of him is in the car with his wife, discussing their broken marriage, I would expect the camera angles to be higher on him making him more powerful but instead its quite equal, giving the woman a sense of equality as his wife. When sitting at his desk he’s shown from a low angle making him seem quite powerless as a man. He doesn’t have the stereotypical representation of what the media thinks a man should be. 

An then we see the character played by ryan gosling - the postmodern metrosexual yet masculine man. The camera angles go up his body giving him a lot of power and leverage. You see that he’s well dressed with smart shoes and a suit jacket, his look is very ‘cut and clean. He is an example of the metrosexual man. The first few shots we see of him he is with a different woman, and for each time he is shown at a higher angle from them representing his power over them. The women are shown at a bar, with alcohol and sexualised by their clothing and hair/makeup.

We then see a change in Steve Carell’s character, who changes from his boring role to also metrosexual, influenced by Gosling’s character. After this transformation the way he is presented is totally different. In on clip you see him walking into a bar. Now he has a higher camera angle showing his new power and to prove he has the power every woman in the bar is now staring at him. This clip sexualises both men and women to influence both male and female readers of the text.

Laura Mulvey - American Beauty

The male gaze in a scene from the film ‘American Beauty’.

In the cheerleading scene of american beauty there is a clear use of objectification to young girls and forcing the audience to view females via the male gaze. We see this mainly through the way the camera see's the girl which symbolises how the male sees her.

When the cheerleading starts...

to be finished. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aWmwTQpZTw

courswork question and opening paragraph (DRAFT)

To what extent are young women such as Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift over sexualised in the music industry today?

The representation of young women differs in different areas of the media, but is rapidly changing. Young women from the ages of 18-25 in the music industry are becoming increasingly sexualised within their material and music videos being produced; using theories such as Mulvey's 'the male gaze’, of which I will be exploring. More young artists are launching provocative and sexy videos into the media, which are being exposed to the public, and creating a new representation of themselves, which young girls may look up to. I am going to be analysing two music video’s of current artists Miley Cyrus – who as an ex-disney star has a fan basis of younger and teenage girls - and Taylor Swift – who is seen as the ‘good girl’ in the music insustry - that represent young women in two very different ways. I am going to be analysing Miley cyrus' music video 'we can't stop' from her album Bangerz and Taylor Swifts music video 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' from her album 22.

- cultivation theory (the more that you see the more that you want)

SKYFALL analysis

The short clip we see includes elements of the Propp’s narrative theory. We see a hero a villain and a princess (damsel in distress). We can see that bond is the hero; not only do we know this from the repetition in past bond films but through the his look and his stance. Bond is typically wearing a slick black suit with black shades which is iconic for a ‘good guy’ spy in spy/action movies. We are also shown this through the way he stands so still and calm for the majority of the clip, he is also shown as very central in each frame making him the focal point. Camera angles on bond are usually shown with quite a low perspective making him seem powerful.

The girl in the clip is represented as the ‘princess’ or the ‘damsel in distress’. She is shown tied up and with a bloody face and in the hands of the villain. With that we immediately believe that she needs saving (most likely by the hero).

(unfinished)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGZHxxTZBCI

Describe Niche and Mainstream audiences with specific text examples.

A niche audience is a smaller and more specialised audience. A text targeted at a niche audience could be something such as extreme couponing on the channel TLC which people will only have on tv subscriptions and is therefore not the most well know channel. This would be classed as niche as it specialises in the specific hobby of couponing. The show is shown on TLC at 2.30pm therefore the audience access is poor as many people would be working or at school etc. The mode of adress may be presented in a mainstream way - following the lives of different people - which people like however it is an american show and would not be particularly popular in the UK.

A mainstream audience is a large audience. A mainstream text could be something such as X factor. X factor is shown on a saturday and sunday night at 8pm. this will target a mainstream audience as it shown during the ‘primetime’ TV times. This is because on a saturday and sunday evening there will be a large number of people and families at home watching TV at this time which therefore make the show and producers more money than if it was shown in the middle of the day - when people are working. Xfactor is also shown on ITV which is also a mainstream channel as you don’t have to have any contract or subscription its shown through channels 1-5 which everybody has. The X factor is a singing competition; talent shows, singing and dance competitions etc are very mainstream and widely watched throughout the UK, Xfactor being one of the main shows. the mode of address will attract a lot of people as if follows the story of contestants which people can relate to or sympathise with etc. Being such a mainstream programme people that don’t particularly like to watch this show may watch it for social integration, so they can talk about it with friends or work collegues the next day.