The Media's Gaze

Coward (2000 P.33) explains that "The film and television industries are dominated by men, as is the advertising industry." As such it is no surprise that the Media's gaze is so obsessed with the image of women. For decades images of women have been used to sell products advertise other media. It has produced an obsession in western culture in objectifying women and watching recorded images. Coward  (2000 P.33) writes that "The camera in contemporary media has been put to use as an extension of male gaze at women on the streets." Through a constant stream of women being objectified in media allow for the continued judgement of women based solely on there looks. While we as a culture like to pride ourselves on 'sexual freedom', it doesn't matter at the media society consume continues to engender the importance of beauty to women. Both Coward (2000 P.34) and Mulvey (2008 p. 204) explain how the Media's gaze promotes voyeurism. Mulvey explains that films "portray a hermetically sealed world which unwinds magically, indifferent to the presence of the audience, producing for them a sense of separation and playing on there voyeuristic phantasy." While Coward talks about how "the profusion of images of women which characterises contemporary society could be seen as an obsessive distancing of wome, a form of voyeurism." It could be said that this voyeurism could of formed from male society losing traditional control over females, and by constantly watching recorded images it allows the illusion of control for the people watching, a recording can't talk back. The consistent over sexualisation of females in the media is often explained away as a 'natural appreciation of objective beauty, however this is not the case. Coward (2000 P.34) explains that "The saturation of society with images of women has nothing to do with men's natural appreciation of objective beauty, their aesthetic appreciation and everything to do with recording and use of women's images  in ways which make men comfortable." For over millennia men have been the 'dominant' gender, and this saturation of women's images in the media is another way for men to feel more secure and powerful about themselves. Mulvey (2008 P.202) talks about how classic Psychoanalysis for women revolve around the lack of a penis and castration. She also talks about women being the 'more narcissistic' gender in Pychoanalysis. However this has been fostered by the constant barrage of female images in the media. Coward (2000 P.36) says that "it is often assumed that women identify with these images rather than desire them." That women see these models in magazines as if they are a mirror. Until the industry sees more diversty in gender, it is unlikely that sexualised images of women will be going away any time soon, as Coward (2000 P.39) writes "through this command to meet the ideal, our society writes one message loud and clear across the female body. DO not act. DO not desire. Wait for men's attention."

Cities and there influence in film.

Donald (2010, P.323) writes that cinema in it's early days "was almost exclusively an urban phenomenon." It is natural then that the cityscape would often take up a role in many films and likewise influence other films. Stout (1999 P.147) explains that during the time of modernism there was "a whole new kind of visual culture emerged rooted in the observation of the new urban reality, both social and physical." The city as a new concept proved fascinating for film makers at the time and provided a lot of inspiration for film. More often than not the city is portrayed as a negative space. In the film Metropolis, the massive city is split into the top of buildings with elegent gardens for the rich, while the working class slave away on vast machines at the bottom of the city. Stout (1999, p.150) explains that in Metropolis "we see the modern citadels of faceless power looming over the dehumanizing structures of class segregation and oppression." Similarly in the film Candyman, Donald (2010, P.324) Explains that "The film is punctuated by aerial shots of Chicago's townscapes: the circulation of traffic on freeways, barrack-like housing, monumental but silent amphitheaters. From that God's eye view, the city presents a dehumanized geometry. " Again reflecting the fears of what a Modern city could possibly become or has already become. Seeing this it is clear that a lot of creatives in the 20th century saw the city as a negative thing, often making references to how despite grouping a lot of people together, it manages to isolate us from talking to people. An interesting way that cities are represented in film is that in Detective films. Donald (2010 P.325) explains that "the detective story stages the city as enigma: a dangerous but fascinating network of often subterranean relationships in need of decipherment." This is a very interesting angle as It could be seen that cities with there winding streets and separation of classs in such a dense area can create new legends and stories that a detective character must solve. It provides an interesting snapshot in a creatives mind when the city is framed as a puzzle that needs to be solved. Of course this does not just apply to the time of modernism, Stout (1999 P.150) explains that "The project of comprehending the modern city visually played, and continues to play, a central role in the history of art and consciousness." When looking at films that portray cities of the future it is often bleak. Bladerunner showcases a highly technologically advanced city drowning in filth and pollution. Meanwhile the Total Recall reboot shows a massive divide between the rich and poor, showing both an optimistic and pessimistic view of cities to come. The idea of the city being a negative element in films and other fiction is a popular one that is unlikely to go away anytime soon.

Globalisation, Sustainability and The Media

Censorship and 'Truth'

Communication Theory: Signs and Signification

Identity

Creative Rhetorics

Celebrity Culture

Critical Positions on Popular Culture

Cities and Film

Panopticism

The Gaze and The Media

Psychoanalysis

An Andalusian Dog

Un Chien Andalou is a surrealist film from 1929 by Salvador Dali and Luis Buneul. It is a film based on the psyche and dreams and as such has no real plot, however there are many interesting concepts that are explored within the film. While I believe there is no true meaning or intent from the directors, the scenes shown in the film can be related to psychoanalysis, the unconscious and the teachings of Freud.

The film begins with a young woman having her eye cut by a razor. While gruesome and an example of abject horror, it could also symbolize the barrier between the Id and the Superego, since it is only the rules and social trappings that we have created ourselves that prevents us from freely killing each other. It is also interesting to see how our educated minds prevent us from doing such a thing, though it would only take a minor lapse into the unconscious to lead into cutting someone so violently.

There are also several scenes of people looking out of windows at other scenes outside. This could symbolize people's voyeuristic nature by highlighting the way windows are a portal to the outside world and into someones personal life, with the glass acting as a social barrier, making it acceptable.

In one scene a man suddenly starts groping a young woman without warning while having visions of her naked. This obviously connotes the more animalistic side of ourselves that run on instinct. When he tries to pursue the woman, he is seen being pulled back and chained to pianos, dead horses, stone tablets and priests. This symbolizes the culture and religion of our world holding such animalistic desires back, keeping them in check.

Another scene shows an oddly dressed man having his clothes ripped away from him from what seems like a father figure. This could symbolise someones sexual identity and how people are forced to stay in there chosen identities by their peers. Later the man acquires a book which transforms into a gun. The book could represent knowledge and the gun the power that comes from that knowledge. The man uses this gun to shoot down the father figure, who then appears in an empty field, perhaps representing an afterlife. The odd clothes later appear in a small box, possibly symbolizing the secrets we keep hidden away from the general public.

Un Chien Andalou is a very odd film that jumps around in time and has little to no plot. However this can be attributed to it's initial subject of dreams and the surrealist nature of its creators. It's odd structure can also be forgiven for the time it was created in, where standard film structure hadn't really been established yet.