Laura Mulvey's Theory on Representation

Quote

"In a world order by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure which is styled according" Laura Mulvey (1992)

My Understanding

In a music video the artist's look will be carefully planned, the male gaze is the idea the video is filmed in the 'male perspective' and because of this the women will be over- sexualised in their costume and attitude in the video. 

The Representation of women

In some music videos women are used as props to cater to the 'male gaze', but also they are looked at as objects. Hip hop and Rap videos have the worst reputation of over-sexualising women as most of the time the women are half-dressed and behave in a certain way . An example video is "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke as the men are looking at the women up and down, the women are looking lustfully at the men, there are dismembered shots of the women's legs and the women are half dressed in comparison to the men in full suits.

Breaking conventions

Although many music videos in today's society fall under Laura's Mulvey's theory of representation, some artists challenge this theory. For example, Janelle Monae's "Tightrope". The female artist is dressed in a full suit which although is fitted, she is presented to be dressed in a moderate fashion. The men in this video usually look at her feet while she is dancing or look up at her face instead of her body. Janelle Monae follows these ideas is the majority of her music videos which challenges Laura Mulvey's theory.

Overall, I believe Laura Mulvey is still relevant in today's society as the sexual imbalance between men and women is still existent and many music videos show examples of this. However, there is evidence of change in the few artist that challenge this theory.