Voyerism

"VOYEURISM" relates to the act of seeking sexual pleasure by observing the sexual acts of others or observing the naked bodies.

 

 The Idea of "Voyeurism" is widely used in most of the music videos these days, as it is one of the most important and desirable ways to attract a wide number of audience.

 

 

 

 

 

The concept of Voyeurism is the outcome of psychologist Sigmund Freud's theory, which is widely being used and shown in the music videos through "notion of looking", "Screen within the screens",

"Male gaze" etc. This defines the viewer's intention and desire to watch someone for sexual pleasure.

"Notion of looking"

"Toxic" by Britney Spears

"Worth it" by Fifth Harmony

"Can't remember to forget you" by Shakira ft. Rihanna

In the case of Voyeurism in the music videos, the viewer is the person who is watching the other people doing sexual acts without letting them know about his presence (as the actors acting in the music video don't know  the audiences who are watching them) and taking sexual pleasure out of their acts. Following music videos are the example of such music videos.

"Escape" by Enrique Iglesias

"Smack that" by Akon

"Sexy Chick" by Akon

"Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus

Voyeurism in the music videos is created through the voyeuristic acts that the actors perform in the music videos. These actors try to seduce or temp the viewers. These actors engage in the voyeuristic acts as if they're not on the screen and doing it all for real. They get engaged into the acts (on screen) which are considered to be inappropriate (like kissing, and other sexual acts).

Voyeuristic acts examples (in the music videos)

Laura Mulvey's "Visual pleasure theory"

Mulvey states that the female character holds only 2 stereotypical roles in a music video:  As a sexual object for the characters within the narrative, or as a sexually arousing body for the viewers within the cinemas to enjoy.

 

She argues that all visual images represented in the media are shown through a male gaze. The male gaze outlines how both, male and female audience watch the actors on the screen by associating with the male characters. The audiences don't simply watch the video, but gaze upon it in ways that affect our unconscious beliefs about our own bodies as seen through the eyes of men.

 

This theory debates the fact that when a media shows a female through the male gaze, it steals her of her identity. It devalues them to being sex objects,minimized to being only a source of fantasy and sexual pleasure based on their physical appearance. Being a feminist, Laura Mulvey demostrates that women always watch a female character through a unfairly prejudiced filter structured by society. The female actor is always shown as the secondary viewpoint of the male.

 

 

In a music video, the male gaze happens when the audience is put into the outlook of a heterosexual man. A scene may focus on the sexiness of a woman's body by using slow motion or purposely tempting camera angles and cuts putting you, the viewer, in the eyes of a man. The male gaze may also sketch a fetishistic viewpoint where sexual satisfaction is obtained by a particular object such as a  clothing item or a specific body part. The male gaze enforces a dominant theory to exist within our society, where males are more dominant over the females. This causes the feminist theory that the society we live in is controlled by men.

Trey songz-Foreign

Shakira ft. Rihanna- Can't remember to forget you.