Laura Mulvey: Visual Pleasure And Narrative Cinema (1975)

Laura Mulvey focuses on the portrayal/use of women within cinema and on screen; Mulvey argues that women are viewed as mere sex objects, purley for the male gaze on screen, and segregates women into the category of both the 'madonnas', and 'whores'. This visual conception of the role of women onscreen, Mulveys argues, consequently allows males to indulge in their voyerustic pleasures. Mulvey's work also refers to the physchoanalysis of Sigmeund Freuds work, due to her strong Feminist viewpoint. Reference is paid to the patriachial society in which we live, and debates wether any representation of women will ever be free from male enforced values/ideologies. Mulvey also argues that lead roles are predominantly male, and as the viewer we are encouraged to identify with the male protagonist; Therefore as women are useually presented in films as objects of the male gaze/sex objects we as the audience are alos positioned in a masculine role,and therefore influenced to think from a male perspective.