Theorist Laura Mulvey is notorious for her claims about the nature of cinematic enjoyment. In “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”, she concludes that a spectator experiences two main pleasures in viewing conventional Hollywood films: (1) a voyeuristic pleasure, constituted from considering a female figure in an objectified, sexual way, and (2) a narcissistic pleasure, arising from identification with a male protagonist and his ‘gaze’. (Mulvey 62) Central to her argument is Mulvey’s emphasis on the voyeuristic quality of the viewer’s ‘gaze’: it is an erotic look of power and of objectification, held from a distance, based on the fetishization of the female body. The view of the camera, and thus of the male protagonist and the spectator also, is that of the intended male ‘gaze’.
Fueled by eroticism of a ‘larger-than-life’ image and guided by both narrative and formal elements, the filmic ‘gaze’ encourages satisfaction in looking; Mulvey’s notion of filmic voyeurism, then, is integral to cinematic pleasure. Yet one may wonder: can one enjoy the pleasures of voyeurism in other media (such as television), in which a fixed male ‘gaze’ may or may not be present? John Ellis’s examination of broadcast television extends Mulvey’s psychoanalytic approach to answer this question. Ellis’s articles, “Broadcast TV as Sound and Image” and “The Broadcast TV Viewer”, ask questions that are fundamental to film and television theory: what are the differences between the two media? Do audiences respond to them similarly? And, is the pleasure received in their reception the same?
Ellis contends that it is primarily the conditions of viewing that support a Mulveian response to cinema, and that the vastly different locale of TV viewing (the home) does not necessitate the same ‘gaze’. He argues that the physical setting of a theatre – with its dark atmosphere, gigantic screen, and coliseum seating – guarantees a “centered” viewer that automatically gives his or her full attention to the film. (Ellis 116/128). The life-sized (or larger) cinematic image encourages objectification and fetishization, as does its demanding narrative; with complicated narrative information and imagery, the film spectator must pay strict attention to plot progression and visual details throughout the course of a viewing.
The conditions of TV viewing, however, are starkly dissimilar. At home, Ellis notes, a television viewer is always distracted. (115/127) The surrounding atmosphere hinders one’s ability to fully commit his or her attention:
TV does not encourage the same degree of spectator concentration [as does cinema].
Mulvey, Laura."Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." The Sexual Subject: A Screen Reader in Sexuality/Screen. London: Routledge, 1992.
Neill, Alex. “Empathy and (Film) Fiction.” Philosophy of film and motion pictures : an anthology. Ed. Noel Carrol and Jinhee Choi. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. 247-259. Print.
In her essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”, Laura Mulvey discusses the subject of how female characters, through various methods, are subjected to erotic objectification, by both the characters on screen as well as the spectators within the auditorium. While Mulvey makes an excellent point in acknowledging female’s exposure in cinema, she fails to realize that male characters are just as likely to be subjected to the same kind of objectification, depending on what type of audience the motion picture is directed at. Mulveys claim depends on a generalization of a homogenous audience and characters that only consists of heterosexual men. When transferring Mulveys claim onto homosexual male characters starring in a production that is in first-hand directed towards a gay audience, the erotic objectification of male characters share several similarities with those Mulvey describe women to be exposed to in her essay. Consequently, erotic objectification is governed by different circumstances, in which the audience plays a large role.
After Mulveys theory was published, during the 1980’s many feminists who began to look for the meaning of female spectatorship raised many debates about the male gaze. (Stacey,1994, p24) As Rosemary Betterton enquires, “what kinds of pleasure are offered to women spectators within the forms of representation…which have been mainly by men, for men?” (Betterton, 1985 p4). Similarly, David Rodowick stated, “Mulvey discusses the male star as an object of look but denies him the function of an erotic object” and asks “So where is the place of the feminine subject in this scenario?” (Rodowick, 1982 p8) Many feminist film theories have attempted to study Mulveys theory further. One way would be to look at the way film text produces different gendered spectator positions which goes against Mulveys and masculine models of spectatorship (Stacey 1994, p 25). On the other hand accepting the masculinisation of the female spectator but arguing that due to sexual difference the spectator therefore will get different visual pleasures from the text. I will look at three main theorists who argue against the Mulvey male gaze theory of the 1970’s.
Lehman, Peter and Luhr, William. Thinking About Movies: Watching, Questioning, Enjoying. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003.
This principle embodies the fundamental premise for the community policing movement in today’s society. In the past, the “police” were viewed in a tradition...
In Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, Mulvey states that, “Traditionally, the woman displayed has functioned on two levels: as erotic object for the characters within the screen story, and as erotic object for the spectator within the auditorium, with a shifting tension between the looks on either side of the screen.” (Mulvey 40). A woman’s role in the narrative is bound to her sexuality or the way she
Divorce is a heavy concept that has many implications for those involved. The situation becomes even more consequential when children are considered. As divorce has become more commonplace in society, millions of children are affected by the separation of the nuclear family. How far-reaching are these effects? And is there a time when divorce is beneficial to the lives of the children? This paper will examine some of the major research and several different perspectives regarding the outcomes of divorce for the children involved, and whether it can actually be in the best interest of the kids.
This era is where the shift from a centralized task force has gravitated to a decentralized task force, causing some friction from both the community and the officers that serve it. Police are told that they are needed to listen to the concerns for the community; however, law enforcement is still the primary goal. Police forces now have to defend the values for which the forces were built upon. The idea of problem solving has come into question with police discretion towards certain run-ins with the law. Williams and Murphy argue it is due to the lack of sensitivity from minorities and the concern on crime itself than the community. Kelling and Moore contradict Williams and Murphy, with Kelling/Moore suggesting the era is more about listening to concerns of the community and improving the citizen satisfaction. But both the article came to the conclusion of the silent underlying problems that are becoming more of a “quiet riot” with the police and the
Led by Laura Mulvey, feminist film critics have discussed the difficulty presented to female spectators by the controlling male gaze and narrative generally found in mainstream film, creating for female spectators a position that forces them into limited choices: "bisexual" identification with active male characters; identification with the passive, often victimized, female characters; or on occasion, identification with a "masculinized" active female character, who is generally punished for her unhealthy behavior. Before discussing recent improvements, it is important to note that a group of Classic Hollywood films regularly offered female spectators positive, female characters who were active in controlling narrative, gazing and desiring: the screwball comedy.
Divorce is a very common word in today's society. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, "divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage or a complete or radical severance of closely connected things"(Pickett, 2000). This dissolution of marriage has increased very rapidly in the past fifty years. In 1950 the ratio of divorce to marriage was one in every four; in 1977 that statistic became one in two. Currently one in every two first marriages results in divorce. In second marriages that figure is considerably higher, with a 67% average (National Vital Statistics Report, 2001). One critical aspect of divorce is often not taken into consideration: How it affects children. Every year 1.1 million children are affected by divorce (Benjamin, 2000). Children from divorce or separation often exhibit behavioral and long-term adjustment problems (Kelly, 2000). Throughout this paper I will discuss divorces effects on children at different age levels, how they react, and what can be done to help them.
In the article “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” Laura Mulvey discusses the relationships amongst psychoanalysis (primarily Freudian theory), cinema (as she observed it in the mid 1970s), and the symbolism of the female body. Taking some of her statements and ideas slightly out of their context, it is interesting to compare her thoughts to the continuum of oral-print-image cultures.
The argument over how divorce affects children is one that has been going on for a very long time. Some people believe when parents get a divorce the children are not affected at all, while others believe when parents get a divorce the children are affected by the impact of divorce more than anyone in the family. In some cases, married couples can be in such a terrible marriage that divorce can in no way be avoided, and these divorces are usually the ones that children benefit from and are affected in a positive way. Many times though, a couple will choose to get a divorce because their marriage is not exactly the way it used to be, and they want that aspect of life back; these are the divorces that negatively affect children. Even though in some cases divorce does not affect children negatively, many times when parents obtain a divorce, the children are negatively harmed in many different ways that will forever change their lives.
Reckless actions lead to untimely deaths. In Shakespeare’s tragedy “Romeo and Juliet”, both protagonists fight for their hopeless love. Bloodshed and chaos appear inevitable in fair Verona; Romeo and Juliet come from enemy households, the Montegues and the Capulets, who have sworn to defeat one another. The young and handsome Romeo weeps over his unrequited love for Rosaline, until he lays his eyes on Juliet. Strong and independent, Juliet seeks to escape her family’s will to marry her off to Paris, a kinsman of the Prince. Fate ties these adolescents’ lives together binding them to witness the ill-fortunes of Romeo and Juliet’s love. Romeo and Juliet prove themselves woefully impulsive through their words and actions, which ultimately lead them along a series of unfortunate mishaps.
"Statistics show that each year, over 1 million American children suffer the decision made by parent 's to end their relationship" (Amato, 2001). Divorce is the factor that plays a role in many households rather individually planned or just happens. Many people seem to believe that a divorce on young children of age will completely destroy them growing up. Nobody wants to see the good it can do for the children. What if the situation was bad, and divorce was the only safe solution. A lot of adults believe the child is more upset about the family falling apart. In reality most times, it 's because they don 't want to leave home, friends, schools. It wasn 't till I was ten years old that I was aware of what happened.