Introduction
The term gaze in film is used to define how the audience interacts with the visual elements in a film. The gaze was developed in film theory and criticism and describes how viewers interpret the visual representations in film. In film the male gaze refers to the sexualized way in which male viewers perceive actresses as sexual beings by objectifying them ( Mulvey, 1975) . Therefore, in the male gaze the woman is automatically positioned as an object that sexually appeals to the male audience. The male is empowered whereas the feelings, views and sexual desires of the woman are considered as less important compared to how she is framed by the male desire.
Gaze in the Films Vertigo, Sunset Boulevard and Alien
The male gaze is prominent in Alfred Hitchcock’s film Vertigo , which centers around Scottie Ferguson, a retired police detective that is hired by his college friend to follow his wife Madeleine, who he thinks is possessed by her great grandmother. As Scottie watches Madeleine he forms an obsession for her before she commits suicide. Following her suicide Scottie meets Judy, whom they enter into a relationship and he attempts to transform her to Madeleine. Scottie’s infatuation with Madeleine’s looks becomes a fetish as he commits to transform Judy into a visual replication of Madeleine in an effort to create an ideal female character that fulfills his desires.
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In Vertigo there are two forms of male gaze which are voyeuristic and fetishistic. Scottie demonstrates voyeurism as he derives pleasure from watching Madeleine and develops a desire that turns into an obsession. Scottie finds satisfaction from watching over Madeleine, and when she dies his gaze transforms from voyeuristic to fetishistic. When he meets Judy and desires to transform her into a symbol of his enjoyment, to ease the guilt he feels for not being able to prevent Madeleine from committing suicide, Scottie finds pleasure in changing Judy to look like Madeleine. He develops a fetishistic viewing by turning Judy into a fetish object that reassures him as opposed to believing that he failed to stop Madeleine’s suicide. According to Hollinger (1987), fetishistic viewing enables a person to manipulate the physical beauty of an object in order to change it into something that is satisfying in itself. In Vertigo , Madeleine is presented as focal point of satisfaction and desire for Scottie, who is fixated on changing Judy to become like her. The film concentrates on Scottie’s obsession with Madeleine to reveal the male’s journey to masculinity as he curates Judy to fit in his idealistic vision of femininity so that at the end the female is prepared to fit into the socially-constructed perfect heterosexual romantic relationship.
In the film Sunset Boulevard, the male gaze is demonstrated by Joe. Joe’s gaze towards Norma is voyeuristic as he perceives her to be a guilty object while at the same time deciphering her mystery. Joe Gillis obsession with Norma leads to his death as he pursues a romantic heterosexual relationship with her. In the film, the voyeuristic gaze functions as Norma casts a castration anxiety on the man who gazes at her. However, instead of Joe Gillis objectifying her as her sexual being, he commits to investigate her and discovers her guilt and devalues her. He first gazes at Norma when he first arrives at her mansion at Sunset Boulevard, when he gets out of his car and sees a mysterious woman. The angle of the camera shifts to Joe’s first impression of Norma as he looks at her with an intense sense of curiosity. Place (1998), affirms that Norma is holding a long cigarrete, which is a depiction of her phallic power. Her entire demeanor embodies the sexuality perspective of film noir.
Joe is curious to learn about the mystery behind Norma and instead of leaving her compound he follows her with the hopes of learning more about her. Once Joe follows Norma his castration anxiety is evoked and he is unconsciously inspired to investigate her in order to learn of what makes her guilty or what she is hiding. His voyeurism is revealed through his fascination of Norma’s demeanor and characteristic. For instance while in the house he works on Norma’s movie scripts and devalues her talents and expertise as a female. He refers to her fame and talent as an actress in the past tense, thus, implying that Norma is not as talented as she used to be since her fame has now gone down. On the other hand, Norma expresses her guilty pleasure, by informing Joe that she is in love with her even though he is much younger than her and is her employee. Joe responds by fleeing away from Norma as a way of punishing her for her misplaced feelings. Due to Joe’s rejection, Norma attempts suicide and this captivates Joe’s attention who only comes back due to pity. He forms a romantic relationship with Norma as a way of saving her from killing herself. Norma uses the male gaze to regain the satisfaction and pleasure it provides her.
The character of Ripley in the film Alien contradicts with the male gaze as defined in film theory and criticism. Unlike other films in the classical era whereby women are objectified, in Alien Ripley is remarkable female protagonists that take over big roles in the science fiction movie which would traditionally be focused on women. However, the female characters in Alien play a supporting role to their male counterparts as they are bound by the confines of masculinity. Their roles as heroines force them to assume physical and narratives features of masculinity. According to Clover (1987), Alien cannot be considered as a feminist development since Ripley’s character is curated to invoke a figurative meaning, and the male audience uses her to satisfy their sadomasochistic fantasies. This is evident in the film when the male crewmates demean Ripley and the rest of the female crew on board.
The film Alien reveals the notion of masculinity in sci-fi genres, whereby there are few heroines as women are mainly presented as supporting characters. For instance, Ripley position in the movie exhibits the mainstream narrative whereby the female characters play the subordinate sidekicks to their male counterparts. Clover (1987) affirms that in horror films gender plays a critical role as the killer is presented as a male whereas the victim in most instances is a female. As a result, the viewers are influenced by the cross-gender identification. The theme of gender in the film Alien is associated with the horror of the female biology – egg-laying and sexual reproduction. The monster possesses feminine features; thus, the horror film demonstrates the female desires by showing how monstrous it is. This is almost like a Freudian nightmare, whereby the monster has a slushy vagina, a mouth and its movements are very feminine yet it is a repulsive creature.
Conclusion
The three movies in this essay Vertigo , Sunset Boulevard and Alien differ in the subject matter but reveal how the male gaze is shown in the classic movies. By analyzing the male gaze in these three films, the audience is able to understand the patriarchal practices in film theory and criticism. Viewers recognize how both male and female characters in film shape their perception and understanding of the roles that they play.
References
Clover, C. (1987). Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film. Representations, (20), 187-228. doi:10.2307/2928507
Hollinger, K. (1987), The look, narrativity, and the female spectator in vertigo. Journal of Film and Video , Vol. 39, No. 4, Spectatorship, Narrativity, and Feminis; pp. 18-27.
Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Screen 16.3: 6-18.
Place, J. (1998) Women in Film Noir. London: BFI Pub
