laura mulvey theory

Visual pleasure and Narrative cinema- Laura Mulvey- 

Mulvey explains about:

1.       A political use of psychoanalysis.

2.       Destruction of pleasure as radical weapon

3.       Pleasure in looking/ Fascination with the human form

4.       Woman as image, man as bearer of the look

Mulvey argues that the pleasure we take in Hollywood cinema–the pleasure of losing ourselves in the film, for example, or of experiencing the protagonist’s victories as our own–is possible because the camera’s gaze obscures the conditions of the film’s production (the fact that is a film), i.e., the fourth wall. (This parallels the way liberalism’s proceduralism obscures the conditions of society’s production (histories of white supremacy, for example), and thus makes it possible for us to feel proud and happy to live in an equal, just society, blissfully ignorant of the way liberalism naturalizes white supremacist patriarchy.) With the fourth wall obscured, we adopt the camera’s gaze as our own (thus, “the male gaze”). And what does it see? What does the protagonist in the film enjoy? Often, it’s women’s bodies as sexualized objects, women as problems to conquer not people to interact with. For example, Mulvey notes that many “classic” Hollywood films show women’s body parts (a leg, a declotage, etc.), but not women as whole beings–the camera literally butchers women into their most tasty, delectable cuts. Cutting up women, objectifying them, that’s what we like, aesthetically, in classic Hollywood cinema

Example for laura mulvey theory

1.       Four More Shots Please:

Directed by Nupur Asthana and created by Rangita Pritish Nandy, Four More Shots Please Season 2 again deals with the same-old drama that these four girls dealt with in the first season, rightly called ‘Deja-chu’ by Anjana. A mess-up you’ve done before.

This series is a story of four girls-  Damini (Sayani Gupta), Umang (Bani J), Anjana (Kirti Kulhari) and Siddhi (Maanvi Gaagro) - The four women, who met at the Truck Bar and bonded over tequila shots, might not have learned much from their mistake, but their bonds are stronger.

The series starts with a drunk Siddhi walking on the Galata Bridge in Istanbul. She drunk-dials Umang, which results in a reunion of the four in a foreign land. The three land up in Istanbul only to find Siddhi in bed with a Turkish guy, who they (including Siddhi) later discover is a hooker.

Siddhi’s character seems to have undergone a transformation, but gradually, the viewers get to understand that she is the same girl, who can’t deal with adulting. We understand that the series celebrates the unapologetically flawed women, but one should, at some point, learn from their mistakes and not repeat them over and over again. The other three girls are more or less in situations similar to what we saw in the first season. Damini is still hanging between Jeh (Prateik Babbar) and Warsi (Milind Soman), while Umang and Anjana are still dealing with their respective relationship woes. The series touches upon various topics - from open marriage, infidelity, misogyny, body positivity to anti-nationalism - but doesn't delve much deeper. In this series we can see the tough life of women in this society- by carrying motherhood, like a working women, going through sexually content.

2. Song: Despacito-

Despacito” is considered Latin pop really, but has a strong Reggaeton basis (lyrics, video, and rhythm) which I really dislike. I also don’t find precisely this song “revolutionary” as music per se, but it has attracted lots of attention because it was a novelty for US, Europe and the rest of the world (in collaboration with Justin Bieber, he helped a lot to make it famous). The other reason what makes me hate this song is: I don’t think that it’s the best “representation” of what Latin American music is. Latin American music is much more, with several genres with a richer composition, rhythm, and lyrics than “Despacito”.

The video album of the song despacito content represents the exposing of women body in connect to the theory of laura mulvey. One of the lines that has been says, is “Let me surpass your danger zones until I make you scream and you forget your last name.” And another line rife with sexual innuendo is: “We will do it on the beach in Puerto Rico. Till the waves scream dear lord. So that my seal stays with you.”

Meanwhile, “I want to see how much love fits in you”, and “I want to be your rhythm. Want you to show my mouth. Your favourite places” have also been a cause for concern. popularized in relation to the depiction of female characters in this song as inactive, often overtly sexualized objects of male desire. While some aspects of these portrayals may be seen by some as powerful, sexual, or beautiful, they also stem from centuries of visual objectification of women for the pleasure of men.