Saturday 26 September 2015

Male Gaze Theory (Example)

An example of the 'Male Gaze' theory is the music video by Shakira, featuring Rihanna, "Can't Remember to Forget You".




The video consists of two hyper-sexualised female mega stars, dancing in provocative attire whilst essentially 'luring' the audience. This is known as voyeurism. There are many extreme close ups of both Rihanna and Shakira singing into the camera, highlighting their physical appearance, almost as if they're singing to their audience (which will consist of both males and females). The close ups are also present when both females are dancing in a provocative manner whilst leaning against the wall, which accentuates their curvaceous body. In regards to their audience, the female fans of both singers will watch the video to see the collaboration of two successful and beautiful female singers, whereas the heterosexual male viewers would probably want to watch the video in order to witness two 'sexualised' females essentially flaunting themselves for their pleasure. However, there are scenes in which both Shakira and Rihanna are together, touching each other in a sexualised manner. This connotes how the male gaze does not necessarily need to be applied to just heterosexual males, but to females also. This use of close ups is a popular style of filming whilst using the male gaze theory. Overall, the male gaze theory is very apparent in this video as it uses costume, choreography and camera angles to portray the two females in a sexualised and provocative manner.

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