Laura Mulvey

After reading Laura Mulvey's theory on the representation of women. I came to the conclusion that Laura Mulvey is just saying what some people might be thinking, but are too afraid to say it. Some people might agree with her theory but some people might disagree.

Laura Mulvey's quote- "In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been spilt between active/males and passive/females. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure which is styled accordingly." -Laura Mulvey 1992

What I understand from Laura Mulvey's theory on representation is that women are solely used in music videos to make men seem in control, like they hold the power over women. But also they are used as something to admire in a music video, for instance the main body parts of a woman that are shown in a music video are their legs, bum and breasts. Although you would also see there whole body, the camera would mostly focus on these three body parts. You could also say that women are  shown as sex symbols in certain music videos, as they are told how to act, what to wear and they dont mind being told what to do or what to wear.

A few examples of how woman are portrayed in music video include;-

Dizzie Rascal's Holiday video portrays the representation of women in quite a negative way, as from what you can see most of the  men are fully clothed whereas the women are dancing and walking around the pool in bikinis this is the perfect excuse for men to admire the women's bodies. Just by watching the video you can see that this is true as when a girl walks past the men just stare at their body in amazement.

Another example is Akon ft. Eminem Smack that. This music video again portrays women as sex symbols. Although at the beginning of the video you wouldnt expect it you soon realises what the video entails when the location changes to a night club. Where you can see women, with very little clothing dancing and the men are just sitting there watching and admiring the way they look. You can also tell that women are portrayed as sex symbols from the lyrics in the song. The camera also focuses on certain parts of womens body parts such as their legs, breast and bum.