‘Male gaze’ is a theory developed by Laura Mulvey in her essay, ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ (1975). In this essay, she develops the feminist theory by suggesting that sexualising men means empowering them while when the media sexualises women it’s in a way that objectifies them. Women don’t always add to the narrative of the piece of media as women are there for a frame of male desire. Mulvey’s ideas are highlighted in the James Bond movies with this idea of ‘Bond girls’ as the women don’t add anything to the narrative apart from being the love interest. In this blog, we will focus on the 2012 movie, Skyfall, as women being objectified is prominent within this movie.
In Skyfall (2012), mise-en-scene is heavily used to sexualise the women in the movie. An example of this is an over-the-shoulder shot where the ‘Bond girl’ is first seen (Skyfall, 2012), but it seems like she is naked which highly sexualises the character. This brings in Mulvey’s idea of scopophilic which means there is pleasure in looking at someone as an ‘erotic object’ (Durham, M.G. and Kellner, D 2006, pg 351) as the audience is forced into being attracted to the character due to the choice of low-cut clothing. Another example is when the camera is pointing at another female character’s chest area as Bond tries to undress her, (Skyfall, 2012), so the focus is her body which brings back this idea of women being objects for sexual desire in the media.
The ‘Bond girl’ in this movie highlights the way women are represented as objects in the scene, with the character captured by the villain (Skyfall, 2012). When she is shot dead, there is no reaction from Bond, with the character just saying ‘It’s a waste of good Scotch’ (Skyfall, 2012). This enhances the idea that ‘Bond girls’ are only there for sexual desire and then thrown away which connects to Mulvey’s theory of women just being thrown to the side and women being damsels in distress for the man to look like the hero.
In the trailer above for Skyfall (2012), mise en scene is used through costume design as the ‘Bond girl’ is in a tight black dress with some of it being see-through to show off her body. Another shot of the same character with Bond is when they’re in the shower which sexualises the ‘Bond girl’ more as it adds to Mulvey’s theory with this idea of voyeurism being connected to the male gaze as it further objectifies women to just be something to look at (Durham, M.G. and Kellner, D 2006, pg 351).
Overall, Mulvey’s idea of the male gaze in the media is still applicable to modern movies such as Skyfall (2012). The idea of ‘Bond girls’ fits into the theory with the characters only being for sexual desire, (Durham, M.G. and Kellner, D 2006, pg 351), for Bond’s character and for the audience. The women are overly sexualised within the Bond franchise and have very outdated ideas of women which has rarely changed in the genre of action. James Bond injects ideas into society that men are still the heroes and that women are just there for the main male character’s sexual pleasure.
References:
Durham, M.G. and Kellner, D. (2006) Media and cultural studies: keyworks. Rev. ed. Malden, Mass: Blackwell.
Loreck, J. (2016) Explainer: what does the ‘male gaze’ mean, and what about a female gaze?. Available at: https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-does-the-male-gaze-mean-and-what-about-a-female-gaze-52486 (Accessed: 27 November 2024).
Media Studies (no date) The Male Gaze. Available at: https://media-studies.com/male-gaze/ (Accessed: 30 November 2024).
Mokhefi-Ashton, M. (2015) James Bond is still a sexist dinosaur – but audiences love it. Available at: https://theconversation.com/james-bond-is-still-a-sexist-dinosaur-but-audiences-love-it-50092 (Accessed: 27 November 2024).
Skyfall (2012) Directed by S.Mendes. [Feature film]. UK: Sony Pictures Releasing.
007 (2020) Skyfall. Available at: https://www.007.com/the-films/skyfall/ (Accessed: 30 November 2024).
This blog is a really interesting take on the male gaze exemplified in the media. Your blog gives really detailed examples of the male gaze in Bond movies and paints a picture in the reader’s minds.
In the Bond movies, there is always a Bond girl present – even the general of name ‘Bond girl’ means that we often forget their names; we tend to just group the young, female characters in the same category. This is another way in which women are overlooked as humans, especially in such a popular franchise, where woman are portrayed in a way that just uses them as objects rather than important assets to the story. I really liked your use of the trailer in your blog as an example, and the use of movie quotes in your blog highlights further examples of where women are objectively disrespected in the movies. Bond girls are a perfect example of the male gaze being used in the media in general too!
Great blog!! 🙂