Laura Mulvey's Theory on Representation

Laura Mulvey's theory on representation is that women in music videos are 'passive' and presented as objects of male desire.

They are 'styled accordingly' and dressed to appeal to men, (most of the time with little clothing) who are the 'active' ones.

Males have more 'active', important roles than women in music videos, and are styled/presented how they want to be, and fully clothed.

Videos are marketed towards the male viewer, and everything in the video is exclusively for the 'male gaze' - everything is for their benefit.

Here are two videos that I feel illustrate Mulvey's theory:

Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke

The women are presented as objects of male entertainment; they are degraded by being made to perform acts such as riding a bike and having a model car balanced on them as they are on their hands and knees as the men watch them. They are made to walk as if on a catwalk in front of the men, as if their sole purpose is to look good and be on display for the men, much like mannequins in a shop window. They are also made to dance in front of the men, like performers in a circus, and bend over in front of the men.

 

The women in this video are wearing very little clothing (in some shots there is implied nudity), while the men are fully clothed. In one scene, one of the women is sitting on a stool as one of the males is holding a brush to brush her hair. This implies that her hair should be groomed like a horse's would be, and should be 'styled accordingly' to how the man wants it to look; she should be appealing to the man. The women also appear to be wrapped in plastic in some of the scenes; this implies that they are shop-bought objects, purely there to entertain men.

In one scene, one of the women lights a cigarette for one of the men, as if she is a servant to him; he then proceeds to very disrespectfully blow cigarette smoke into her face as she coughs and is clearly not enjoying it. The lack of respect for women continues when one is smacked on the bum by a man, and again when one is held by the hair and 'walked' like a dog as if her hair is the lead; this implies that the men think that the women are nothing more than animals.

This de-humanisation is the lowest form of degradation, and is also shown when one of the women 'meows' like a cat. There are lots of animals in the video, and they are placed in the frames along with the women, as if the women are part of the animals.

Attack - 30 Seconds To Mars

In this video, there is implied nudity from the women, while the men are all fully clothed. In a few scenes, it seems as if the women are being slightly man-handled. They move in a 'seductive' way, stroking their legs, as if they are there to please the men. There are also shots of the women with their legs open, which is extremely uncomfortable to watch from my point of view, but from a man's perspective; the 'male gaze', it would be enjoyable.