In her paper "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," Laura Mulvey investigates the connection between film, visual pleasure, and narrative structures. She contends that traditional film, through manipulating the visual medium, maintains current patriarchal power dynamics and objectifies women. According to Mulvey, mainstream films frequently appeal to the male gaze and present women as passive objects of desire for male viewers. Men continue to hold an active and commanding stance, perpetuating the idea that women are objects to be seen. Mulvey explores the idea of scopophilia, which is the enjoyment experienced from both looking at and being looked at. She contends that the visual and narrative strategies of the cinematic apparatus enable the male viewer to enjoy scopophilia
Contrarily, women are frequently reduced to passive, fragmentary images that either serve as the objects of masculine desire or act as a springboard for the narrative growth of male characters.
In addition, the author proposes the notion of the "male gaze," highlighting how the camera's point of view corresponds with that of a heterosexual male observer. Women are presented as spectacles to be eaten visually in this gaze, which objectifies them. Mulvey contends that this objectification of women contributes to social patriarchy and the continuation of gender inequity. Mulvey suggests a change in cinematic representation to counteract these established dynamics. She advises looking at new visual tactics and narratives that upend conventional power structures and provide more nuanced and powerful positions for women. Cinema can become a medium that questions and subverts preexisting gender stereotypes by dismantling the masculine gaze and investigating alternate viewpoints. In her paper "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," Laura Mulvey examines the ideas of scopophilia, identification, and the portrayal of women in films. Mulvey describes how the cinema positions viewers as restrained and voyeuristic onlookers, giving the impression that they are separated from the action. She emphasizes how the film can satisfy our primitive need for pleasing appearances and foster scopophilia in its narcissistic form, which draws attention to the human form.
It stresses the importance of the mirror phase in the formation of the ego, where the child's discovery of their own reflection causes curiosity with staring and self-awareness. With its potent mechanisms of interest, cinema allows for both temporary ego loss and ego reinforcement. Mulvey emphasizes how the star system, where stars embody both screen presence and the audience's attraction and recognition, contributes to the construction of ego ideals in film. The distinction between active scopophilia (the separation of erotic identity from the thing on the screen) and identification with the object on the screen is further explored in this article.
These two processes, driven by ego libido and sexual impulses, respectively, are formative structures that do not have a clear purpose on their own but end up being associated with idealizations. Mulvey talks about how the tension between desire and ego is complemented by the film making up a fantastical universe. Mulvey then explores how women are portrayed in films, emphasizing the contrast between the active/male gaze and the passive/female figure. Women are concurrently observed and shown, coded for erotic and visual effects, and placed in positions of want by men. Even though women are a necessary component of spectacle in mainstream narrative film, their visual presence frequently disrupts the flow of the tale, necessitating their inclusion within it. Mulvey contends that, overall, the way women are portrayed in films crystallizes the paradox of pleasure in looking, which is both enjoyable in form and frightening in nature. The article's conclusion asserts that a world ruled by sexual imbalance is one in which the male gaze and objectification of women are profoundly established.
The author also touches on the conflict between spectacle and narrative as well as how women are portrayed as objects of the male gaze in films. They examine the idea of scopophilia—the enjoyment of looking—and how it is divided into active and passive behaviors in men and women. Onto feminine figures that are both looked at and shown for sensual and aesthetic impact, the male gaze imposes fantasies. The division of labor between energetic males who advance the plot and passive females who stop the action in periods of erotic reflection is also discussed by the author. The female protagonist represents sexual difference and offers a threat of castration, whereas the male protagonist represents authority and is the bearer of the audience's appearance. The author goes into more detail about voyeurism and fetishistic scopophilia with respect to how women are portrayed in films. With respect to the topics of voyeurism and fetishistic scopophilia, the author contrasts the writings of Hitchcock and Sternberg. They point out that while Hitchcock explores the investigative side of voyeurism, Sternberg's films concentrate more on the direct sensual relationship between the picture on the screen and the viewer. Films by Sternberg frequently have shadowy presences that are unrecognizable to the audience, blurring the boundaries of the screen and reducing the visual field. The author notes that in many of Dietrich's films, her erotic significance is shown as a spectacle for the audience during moments when the male protagonist is not present. However, the male protagonist in Hitchcock's films is the one who can see what the audience can see, and the glance becomes a crucial part of the plot, fluctuating between voyeurism and fetishistic interest. According to the author, Hitchcock's films show the perverted side of identification as well as the power relationships between men and women. They use scenes from films like "Rear Window" and "Vertigo" as examples to demonstrate these ideas, emphasizing the protagonist's voyeuristic and sadistic impulses as well as the consequences of the active/passive split in terms of sexual difference and power.
This Summary concludes by comparing how Josef von Sternberg and Alfred Hitchcock handled voyeurism and fetishistic scopophilia in their respective films. While Hitchcock investigates the investigative components of voyeurism, Sternberg concentrates on the immediate sensual connection between the screen image and the viewer. In Sternberg's films, the visual appeal of the female object is given priority, and the depth of the screen is kept to a minimum. In contrast, Hitchcock's films place more emphasis on the viewpoint of the male protagonist while juggling voyeuristic interest and fetishistic attraction. Hitchcock exposes the skewed nature of gender identification and power dynamics. Overall, the synopsis highlights the distinctive ways that these filmmakers investigate voyeurism, fetishism, and power in the world of cinema.