Variety: In the opening shot of Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation” (2003), Scarlett Johansson is lying on a bed, back to the camera, shown in partial view, wearing underpants. In Denis Villeneuve’s “Blade Runner 2049” (2017) a banged-up Ryan Gosling stares up at a bone-thin, enormous nude projection of a woman. More recently, Jay Roach’s “Bombshell” (2019) featured Margot Robbie lifting her dress for John Lithgow as the camera takes in her legs.
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I really appreciated the content in this article because when the conversation of “male gaze” has come up, it normally examines the use of dialogue, the character itself, or even the costumes. A famous recent example of this was with Harley Quinn in the Suicide Squad vs. the upcoming Birds of Prey film. As for this article, the actual camera angles, and what is shown vs. what isn’t also makes a huge statement about the importance of the character and other opinions of the creative team. I appreciate the work that current directors are doing to counter their own biases and avoid this ‘automatic objectification and sexualization’ but one of the best ways to counteract this typical male gaze is to get ranges of perspectives behind the camera - so that more gazes can be represented.
I really love that we're having this conversation about the way films are shot and framed. It might seem irrelevant to some people, but the way film portrays things is very telling about the way we see the world. When women see themselves on film, how they're portrayed is really important. When we see ourselves as objects for male satisfaction, it tells us we're here for nothing but that. Bombshell is a really significant example here because it was written and directed by men, but it tries to tell important stories from the perspective of women. And, to be honest, it didn't really succeed. I saw Bombshell over winter break and it just rubbed me the wrong way. I think it would have been possible for the scene with Margot Robbie lifting her skirt to be effective. But, with the context, it just wasn't. Too often in this movie, women's suffering is made to be a punchline. There's just something off about the whole movie. I'm glad Margot Robbie felt safe and comfortable during the filming, that's incredibly important. But, that doesn't negate the huge problems with the movie. Bombshell is ridiculously out of touch and I wish it did not exist.
I'm really glad that the film industry is thinking about the way they frame the world.
I have to start this by agreeing with Elizabeth's point that this article brings up a really great and under valued discussion about the way that women are filmed/photographed beyond dialogue, character, and costumes. While all of these things can play into the male gaze in movie making, the way that a film is shot and the story is told are the factors that dictate how these other elements are used. Awareness of the impacts of filming decisions is a really important first step, and then once directors have a consciousness of the underlying message of those choices they can start to make better decisions. I read another article about the differences in costume design between the two live action movies featuring Harley Quinn when the trailers for Birds of Prey came out, but I also noticed in watching the trailer that the way that she is filmed is also really different in the newer movie. It just goes to show the difference that having a female director makes in achieving better depictions of women in film.
This article is so important, especially with so many instances of sexual assault and harassment right now. I watched Bombshell last week, and actually noticed how the camera angles seemed to objectify the women in the same way that the men were. I also love that articles like this are being written that are aware of how much entertainment and media affects the way the human race sees the world. The fact that angles the seem to objectify women in movies is desensitizing disgusting behavior in real life is super interesting, but also explains why so many people think acting terribly is okay in society. I love the emergence of female directors (even thought they are getting ignored by the oscars but it's chill), who are writing and directing female power centric stories so that we aren't always rooting for a white male.
It is great to see an article call out the misogyny within the entertainment industry and promote a filmmaker who is directly challenging these ideals of female fetitization. It’s a concept not often thought about by the majority, yet for women it seems to be common in almost every piece of media. The more I went through this article, the more it made me reflect on the media I consume and how women and portrayed in it. There are definitely male examples of this as well that feel just as gross and uncomfortable, but for me, they are harder to think of than the ones of women. A film educating a larger crowd about the harmful effects of such a grotesque focus can hopefully spread more awareness for a change in how filmmakers approach the females in their films. In this current year, it feels big steps are being made towards progression, but there is still a ways to go. Hopefully a greater awareness can educate filmmakers on how to make a more appropriate approach in their methods of capturing a woman in film.
The male gaze is something that can be obvious, but sometimes is not. Scenes and shots which clearly objectify and sexualize women, which are aboutI that objectification and sexualization, can be spotted by even someone only passingly familiar with feminist theory. Scenes which might not directly deal with sexualized subject matter can be less noticeable, even for someone used to making note of such things. As the article notes, "it has the insidious power of being considered 'normal.' It's often not striking because it is simply what we expect. We expect to consume media through the eyes of men, and especially of white men. Similar to other such systemic problems, it is not enough to simply avoid the more obvious, particularly egregious examples. In order to truly achieve equality, the industry needs to take a sustained and deliberate approach to counteracting it by consciously incorporating diverse persepectives, as well as changing the particular pracitices and tropes that perpetuate the worst objectification.
I think it is really important that we are having this discussion, but find it problematic to the cause that the issue of the “male gaze” in cinema is being discussed in such a male arena. Obviously, the industry itself is predominantly male which is what aided in the perpetuation of such a male centred point of view (as in a visual “view” through a lense of a camera as well as idealised films marketed towards gendered audiences). I think it is interesting that this article explains it such that the “male gaze” seems to be almost a default angle from which we produce entertainment from. Even as a woman, I’m not sure that I had ever thought about it from that point of view - there always seemed to be ideals that could never be met or framing or marketing that always was projected towards a certain demographic, but was never necessarily seen as a problem or addressed.
My favorite quote from the article, and the one that resonated with me most was “For years, as women we’ve been expected to relate to the white male protagonist”. Immediately I thought of the cover of “The Avengers” movie. The poster/cover design got backlash initially due to the depiction of its one female character against the rest of the male characters. On the cover, the male superheroes are posed in either fighting or heroic stances, while Scarlett Johansson, the only female superhero, is placed in an over-sexualized pose. It is not uncommon, when looking back action flash superhero movies, you can often see the difference between how gender male and female superheroes are depicted. It is rare to see a female superhero shown as tough and strong over seductive. The quote I mentioned above also brings up an important focal point. often movies aren't just from the Viewpoint of a male, but specifically from a white male gaze. I believe it is important to address this male-dominance issue and standard within the film industry if we want to truly create a more equal industry for women.
I have heard too many people make fun of this concept of the male gaze because they are unable to see it. To me, it is pretty simple. Are the establishing shots for male and female leading characters the same? Typically, the answer is no. More often than not, the establishing shot for the lead female starts at her toes and slowly travels up allowing the audience to take in her beauty before anything else. It is objectifying and portrays the message that women are most valued for their bodies. It is disgusting. There are other things which are less obvious but still push this narrative of the male gaze, but I feel like if we can even eradicate that establishing shot it would be a huge step in the right direction. I am hopeful that as our language evolves to discuss these things, that more people will be aware of it and it will eventually stop being used in this way. I agree with the article that the best way to get this done is to start employing more women behind the camera.
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