Laura Mulvey and the male gaze theory

The male gaze theory is the representation within the media of how women are portrayed. Laura Mulvey states that women are portrayed within the media as objects and aesthetic products, meaning they are there to be looked at. This is done by the way the camera portrays them through shot types and movement as within numerous products the camera focuses on women's assets and they are composed and choreographed to sexually appeal to the audience.
She refines this by looking at how men view the women within those images as the product and reason for the women used in these videos is to appeal to a male audience. In terms of female portrayal the women are often idolized and seen represented as the perfect image as in order to appeal they must attract. This is why the women featured in these media products are often models and very sexually appealing. The media creates the ideology of a perfect image and essentially create the conception of the subject in this video is what men want and what women should look like.
Mulvey suggests that these media products emphasize the curves (assets) of the female figure, they refer to them as objects and not people. The way the display the women is how men think women should be perceived in order to be classed as appealing. She also says the female viewers view the content through the eyes of a man, thus creating the sense of this is what I should look like in order to be appealing. Women are often sexualised and seen as objects and are portrayed specifically sexual desire and the way they look.
This theory describes how the audience or viewer is put into the perspective of a heterosexual male as the camera lingers over the curves of a woman's body. Mulvey states the within film women are typically the objects, rather than the possessors and this is displayed by the composition and control of the camera and cinematography in turn creating an idealistic view that women should follow. As this is a theory it is all subjective and an opinion as some women may disagree and say that this view of women within the media is empowering and liberating as they are seen as what men desire meaning they have the power.
Mulvey concluded that typically within the media the man is portrayed as a powerful character and is far more dominant and women are passive to the active gaze from the man.
Mulvey also states that the female gaze is the same as the male gaze as women view themselves through the eyes of men, objectifying themselves whether they view themselves as attractive or not and whether they conform to the media perception of attractive.

By looking at three music videos I shall determine whether they comply with Mulvey's theory. The videos that I have chosen are the top three current tracks from http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/singles.
The first is Meghan Trainor, All about that bass:

The song focuses on  the subject of women's figures and how the media has created the concept of the perfect figure as really slim, often said to be size 6-8 and how more recent debates and controversy of artists within the media beginning to re-shape the ideal figure to larger (size 10) however ideally many people believe there shouldn't be an ideal figure and you should only conform to your own ideology of perfect and you should look how you want. With many current artists focusing on this, much like this artist they talk about their own figure as an example however in today's society they would still be classed as slim to many people but by classifying themselves within the "plus size" category can just create more controversy.
Regarding Mulvey's male gaze theory this video is a very good example as it mainly focuses on figure and more specifically curves as the lyrics refer directly to the whole concept and idea of women appealing to men. In terms of cinematography and camera movement the video shows many pans and tilts going down a women's body following her hands as they exaggerate curves. The video also featires some subjects dancing in a provocative manner "twerking" is one of them. In terms of outfits within this video many of the dancers, which are predominantly female are wearing leotards which fit around the body tightly and again emphasis the curves of the dancers figures.

The second video is Ed Sheeran, Thinking out loud:

This video featues an intimate dance between a male and female the male is a suit, whereas the woman is in a one pice outfit that shows both her legs and upper torso. Instantly you see Mulvey's theory within this video although it is more subtl and not as loud as it is in the first music video the camera still moves in a similar way as it follows the female in the opening scene and focuses on the lpower half of her body. Her legs are completely exposed as it is claessed as very sexual and since media has evolved things such as this become less vulgar and unexpected as there was a time when women couldn't show their ankles as it was too suggestive. The video shows a series of shots that emphasise the womens figure as well as her dancing ability.

The third music video that I looked at was Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Niki Minaj, Bang bang:

This song is a prime example of Laura's theory and not only through the video but the lyrics also. The lyrics within some popular music currently are very vulgar and talk and refer to sex directly there are many lyrics within this song that prove this. Here is a video that I found which highlights many of these lyrics and they comment on how they are portrayed to an audience:

Regarding the music video to this the majority of women in this video are dressed to appeal to men, this is even displayed within the video as the three main singers are dressed in revealing clothing that emphasise their curves and the camera shows men linger around them and are represented as though they desire the women.

Within film trailers the theory is less more prominent but can still be featured especially as a subplot as typically films include a love interest. The trailer that I am going to look at is Chronicle (2012)

With a film lead with male characters, especially teenage ones there is bound to be love interset somewhere as relationships within film are very conventional in terms of subplots. The first shot that Mulvey's theory applies is a quick pan across a football field were a group of cheerleaders are practicing, this was clearly added to appeal to a male audience as the conventional stereotype of cheerleaders are athletic and pretty also by using found footage for this shot as the teenage boys film them connotes how men find such things appealing due to the conventional cheerleading outfit can be somewhat revealing and in the actual film they filmed them numerous times. The only other scene within the trailer that relates to the theory is around 1:06 as there is the protagonists girlfriend/ love interest who is topless and in her underwear the reason for this is to establish a sense of maturity to the film maybe say a viewership of 15 as its target audience is teenagers. By showing her half naked and through the perspective of the handheld camera connotes that she is an object and meant to be looked for entertainment.

Within my film trailer I plan to feature a love interest for my protagonist as a sub-plot as this has became a convention for most films not just specific genres. However I don't think I am going to use a female character in order to appeal to my audience as I only plan to show shots to imply that there is a love interest.