- Several key forms of gaze can be identified in photographic, filmic or televisual texts, or in figurative graphic art. The most obvious typology is based on who is doing the looking, of which the following are the most commonly cited:
- the spectator’s gaze: the gaze of the viewer at an image of a person (or animal, or object) in the text;
- the intra-diegetic gaze: a gaze of one depicted person at another (or at an animal or an object) within the world of the text (typically depicted in filmic and televisual media by a subjective ‘point-of-view shot’);
- the direct [or extra-diegetic] address to the viewer: the gaze of a person (or quasi-human being) depicted in the text looking ‘out of the frame’ as if at the viewer, with associated gestures and postures (in some genres, direct address is studiously avoided);
- the look of the camera - the way that the camera itself appears to look at the people (or animals or objects) depicted; less metaphorically, the gaze of the film-maker or photographer.
- the gaze of a bystander - outside the world of the text, the gaze of another individual in the viewer’s social world catching the latter in the act of viewing - this can be highly charged, e.g. where the text is erotic (Willemen 1992);
- the averted gaze - a depicted person’s noticeable avoidance of the gaze of another, or of the camera lens or artist (and thus of the viewer) - this may involve looking up, looking down or looking away (Dyer 1982);
- the gaze of an audience within the text - certain kinds of popular televisual texts (such as game shows) often include shots of an audience watching those performing in the 'text within a text';
- the editorial gaze - 'the whole institutional process by which some portion of the photographer's gaze is chosen for use and emphasis' (Lutz & Collins 1994, 368).
John Berger quote The Ways of Seeing, (1972)
"men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves. The surveyor of woman in herself is male: the surveyed female. Thus she turns herself into an object -- and most particularly an object of vision: a sight."
Images of women and bodies are ubiquitous in contemporary culture, they cannot think of themselves as not being looked at. There is no real equivalent of this for men. Women are constantly surveying their idea of femininity.
Hans Memling 'Vanity' (1485)
Female nude, her body fully on display. The mirror being held in her hand shows an inaccurate view of her face. The mirror, Berger says, is placed in her hand as a device to justify the act of looking. It was created to be viewed by Hans Memling and other men, whilst the mirror is used a distracting device, to justify their voyeurism.
This device is used in the media and advertisements often.
Berger also looked at Alexandre Cabanel's 'Birth of Venus' (1863).
Sophie Dahl for Opium recreated the reclining pose, although it is more overtly sexual due to it being contemporary. The reclining pose is angled vertically as opposed to horizontally, which draws the viewer's eye to the face as opposed to the body.
Titian's Venus of Urbino, 1538
The nude in this image is more passive and coquettish, the pose is more casual.
Manet's 'Olympia' is incredibly similar to Titian's Venus.
Subtle symbols tell us that the posing woman is a prostitute, such as the neck tie.
Contemporary artists have used the traditions of the nude to challenge the idea of the passive nude models, and the voyeuristic tendencies the paintings allowed.
The Guerrilla Girls was a feminist art movement that sought to challenge the patriarchal art world.
This advert demonstrates and challenges brilliantly the male gaze and the idea of the passive female, they reappropriate a classic painting, using the gorilla mask to turn the passive nude model into an active protester of a male driven culture. The headline of the advert links well to the nude image, immediately advising the viewer that the only way a female can currently be seen in the Met is as a model, and not an artist.
Advertising is one of the biggest examples of the male gaze in action, and the objectification of women in particular.
Nudity and semi nudity are often present in adverts, designed to give the viewer a visual pleasure and tap into the sexual desires of the consumer.
Eva Herzigova Wonderbra Campaign is one such example. The campaign was designed to be viewed on a large scale, such as a billboard, to create something literally traffic stopping. The eye is immediately drawn to her cleavage, thanks to the composition of the image and the fact that Eva herself is looking down at them. The phrase 'Hello Boys' also positions the gaze directly towards them. It became incredibly successful thanks to its controversial nature, and also the idea that if the female bought a wonder bra, they could achieve such a figure and power that Eva possesses over the males who view the image.
There are images that do objectify men, but as academic Scott Lucas states, the number of females still outnumber the number of males who have been used in this way.
Dolce and Gabbana
Males are portrayed as active, celebration of the male body, not a passive look, an aggressive look.
In the same way still images act as an extension of the male gaze, the use of the film camera can further objectify women, both using the camera and certain visual signifiers.
Laura Mulvey is an important theorist of 'the Gaze'.
She created a paper titled Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema - (1975)
She discussed in her paper how women were portrayed in film, more specifically 50's and 60's Hollywood movies. She talked about how the camera breaks the female body into separate pieces, into components that can be viewed by the male.
She also states how women were objectified and portrayed as sexual objects in the cinema, how often they were passive characters, there to support the male who to be seen as the active character in the films.
The James Bond series of films is the ultimate patriarchal ideal. He is the powerful, attractive, active male who is seen a classic, stylish role model for males. In all James Bond films, there is a Bond girl, an attractive but passive character, who is used as a gratuitous pleasure by Bond to pass the time before he gets back to his important role as man of mystery. Female names such as Pussy Galore further emphasise the purpose the female is supposed to serve.
Even now, active female characters are still sexually objectified and designed to give the male voyeuristic pleasure. Tomb Raider is an active female character, and is the title character of the video games, but the character design displays obviously that she is still serving a purpose of visual pleasure for the viewer. Her form of dress is skin tight, and minimal, she wears only shorts, a vest and some boots (stilettos being a step too far considering her job in the game). Her figure, and her facial features are emphasised and conventionally attractive, with a slim figure and an arguably disproportionate chest.
Artemisia Gentileschi Judith Beheading Holofernes 1620
An example of a painting that portrays the female as an active character, without being objectified. Challenges the gaze.
Cindy Sherman challenges the gaze in her images, Not made with theories in mind.
Untitled Film Still #6 -
Meant to look at the face, which instead of appearing coy and sexual, seems vacant and gormless, perhaps alluding to the perceived lack of intelligence of the actresses and models who posed in similar ways. Mirror turned away from viewer as opposed to allowing the viewer to justify their voyeurism. The pose appears awkward and staged, in contrast to adverts that make this style of photography seem natural.
Sarah Lucas 'Eating a Banana' 1990
Represents the artist's self consciousness of something she considers innocent and everyday being misconstrued as a sexual act. The look of aggression challenges the viewer who perceives the eating of the banana as something more sexual.
The media has the ability to distort reality, and they can control how people are portrayed. This is made evident by the portrayal of Amanda Knox during the time of her trial, who was often referred to as 'Foxy Knoxy', an obvious link being made to her alleged motivations behind the killing of Meredith Kercher. She was portrayed by Meredith's lawyers as being "...a diabolical, satantic, demonic she-devil. She was muddy on the outside and dirty on the inside. She has two souls, the clean one you see before you and the other", which in turn influenced the medias portrayal of her. In an article by Joan Smith, she argues that this is how women have been portrayed for centuries, citing a witch-hunter's manual, 'the Malleus Maleficarum or The Hammer of Witches', which was commissioned by Pope Innocent VIII. The book was published in 1486. It talked about a woman having a dual nature, and flooded the reader with irrational views. "A woman is beautiful to look upon, contaminating to the touch, and deadly to keep... all witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable".
Reality TV is a mediated reality - What we see, although described as real, is in fact not. It is constantly being surveyed and created by the producers and editors of the shows, who do so to increase the dramatic affect of the programme and heighten the entertainment value of it. It is a false experience of voyeurism, and offers a position of the gaze. The viewer does not really hold the power, instead they are being manipulated by the producers of the shows who edit them.
In the beginnings of the reality TV genre, the mediated reality was obviously not as transparent to viewers as it is now, because the pressure these shows face to keep people entertained means the editing of material has become less subtle.
Reality contestants, and 'stars' of reality shows are aware of their representation, and the way they are viewed by the public. This can lead many to play up to a particular persona, reinforcing the gaze as opposed to challenging it.
Big Brother and the X Factor are perfect examples of how the editors of the shows mediated their reality, using engineered dramas and peoples back stories as a way of developing their characters.
Voyeurism becomes an everyday experience that is saturated in modern life. We are particularly intrigued by the celebrity life, and the gaze is continually promoted by celebrity magazines and the paparazzi, who have an insatiable appetite for images and information on the life of celebrities, both as a public entity, and as individuals experiencing their personal lives. This is evidenced by people like Princess Diana, or, more recently, Jennifer Anniston, whose private life after her public divorce from Brad Pitt was of greater interest than her career.
Berger 'to be looked-at-ness'
'Looking is not indifferent' Burgin
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