Visual Cultural Critique: Theory and Analysis

Essay #2

This week we are focusing on Essay #2, the Visual Cultural Critique. This assignment is based on analyzing the cultural message and ideologies about difference and viewpoint on an artifact (Film, video game, show, commercial, etc.) of your choosing. While explaining how this specific artifact communicates its message or viewpoint, we will be using one of four different theories to frame our reading of our respective artifacts, in turn framing our essays based on one of these theories. These four theories are:

• Roland Barthes’ theory of denotative and connotative meanings

• Edward Said’s theory of Orientalism and the other

• Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze

• Bell hooks’ theory of the oppositional gaze

Theories

Roland Barthes’ Theory is based in the idea that all artifacts have two forms of meaning, connotative and denotative. Connotative meanings are deeper, ideological and subjective choices made by the creator of the artifact that represent some opinion or ideal, whereas denotative meaning is literal, explicit and objective meaning of said artifact. Studying the connotative vs. the denotative meaning of an artifact works well for this essay, as it could help to bolster your analysis of the meanings and viewpoints of the artifact.

Edward Said’s Theory is based more in the idea that many western artifacts, like movies and television shows, are obsessed with the idea of Orientalism and fear or perversion of the image of the “other”. Orientalism is a way of looking that emphasizes and distorts the differences between western and eastern peoples, typically Arab and Asian cultures, eastern media typically portraying these cultures as exotic or backwards compared to western culture. This ties in to the image of the “other”, or the way that we as a culture tend to shun or exaggerate the features of those outside of our own cultural bubble. This could be used in your essay as it works on many artifacts quite well, so well that it could even be the main topic of discussion, as we saw in class with the example of Aladdin and how even an old and “harmless” Disney movie proves the ideas of Said’s theory.

Mulvey’s and Hooks’ theories of the oppositional and the male gaze, respectively, work similarly, as Mulvey’s is an active response to Hooks’ original theory. Male Gaze as a theory suggests that in visual arts and in media women, and in many cases the entire world, are portrayed and depicted from a solely male perspective, and are by design intended to be looked at, pleasurably, by men, becoming no more than sexual objects. This gaze has three perspectives as well, the man behind the camera, the gaze of the protagonist, and the gaze of the viewer themselves, each of which should be analyzed to point out when and where the male gaze is being emphasized.

Oppositional gaze is the contrast to this, as Mulvey points out that Hooks’ theory only works in regards to white women, not women of color, as they are rarely the subject of male gaze in media, and black women are in turn constantly searching for a mirror to themselves in the media, as Hooks suggests that the white female figure is the sole target of the male gaze. These two theories could be used in tandem for the essay, perhaps pointing out how male gaze applies to an artifact while also seeing how Mulvey would critique this analysis with her oppositional gaze.

Prompt

Based on the Essay #2 assignment instructions and the theories listed above, and on the artifact you have chosen, please answer these discussion questions intended to get you talking about your essays and to start a dialogue about how to apply these theories effectively.

1.      What is the artifact you chose to analyze? Why? What about its themes, viewpoints, and ideals compelled you to write about it?

2.      What theory are you framing this artifact with, and why did you choose it over the other three possible options? What about your chosen theory fits well as a frame for your chosen artifact?

3.      Respond to one of your peer’s replies to the first 2 discussion questions. In this response point out which other of the 3 relevant theories would also work well to frame the analysis of the artifact chosen by your peer.

(Feel free to also add feedback on your peer’s analysis.)

The Male Gaze: Analyzing Visual Arts

Laura Mulvey, film theorist and feminist, published “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” in 1975. In this essay, Mulvey points out the dichotomy of power present in films. She presents the theory that women in film are merely objects that cater to the male gaze, saying

“Traditionally, the woman displayed has functioned on two levels: as erotic object for the characters within the screen story, and as erotic object for the spectator within the auditorium, with a shifting tension between the looks on either side of the screen” (Mulvey, 838).

Rather than the female character being a developing aspect of the film, she is relative to the male protagonist of the story as a symbol of how she develops him as a character. Mulvey quotes Budd Boetticher stating,

“What counts is what the heroine provokes, or rather what she represents. She is the one, or rather she is the love or fear she inspires in the hero, or else the concern he feels for her, who makes him act the way he does. In herself the woman has not the slightest importance” (Mulvey, 837)

Mulvey explains that women are primarily in films as an object of viewing pleasure for the male protagonists, in which women’s bodies, style, and sexuality cater to the fantasy of men. She further theorizes that men watching films (spectators) identify with the male protagonist in the films. The spectator projects himself onto the protagonist, and therefore identifies with the erotic events that occur in the film. Through technical aspects that shape the diegesis, he is able to possess the woman in the same way as the protagonist.

There are differences between the Bechdel Test and Mulvey’s theory. The Bechdel test only requires three simple questions: 1. Does it include at least two women? 2. Do these women talk to each other...? 3. About other subjects besides men? Mulvey’s theory discusses more of how women are perceived as objects in the male perspective. The male gaze is how the visual arts and literature depict women from a masculine point of view.

Figure 1: 'The Rule' from Dykes to Watch Out For, Alison Bechdel and Liz Wallace 

Terms to know

Phallocentrism: developed by Freud as the penis as a central element to organization of the social world→ “castration” of women as a natural aspect that informs our culture

Voyeurism: The practice of gaining sexual pleasure from watching others engaged in intimate behaviors. In the extreme becomes perversion, “Peeping Tom”.

Scopophilia: Pleasure at looking at another person as an erotic object.

Diegesis: A sphere or world in which narrated events and other elements occur.

Assignment:

After reading the comic, find a movie that does not pass the Bechdel test, preferably one that was made in the past ten years. How does the movie fit into Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze and spectatorship? How might gender representation in cinema translate to reaffirmations of patriarchy in our everyday lives?

Our Example:

Figure 2: The Avengers movie poster, Walt Disney Studio Motion Pictures

One example we found of a recent movie that does not pass the Bechdel test was The Avengers (2013). This was a Marvel movie made in the past ten years with three named female characters: Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Pepper Potts, and Agent Maria Hill. For reference, there are double that amount of named male characters just in the film poster we found. However, none of these characters speak to each other at any point in the film, therefore failing the Bechdel test. Each female character is attached to a male protagonist: Black Widow- Hawkeye (in later films Captain America), Pepper Potts- Iron Man, Agent Maria Hill - Nick Fury. Each woman has a companion which informs their character, makes them relevant to the story line, and demonstrates their worth as they provide love, companionship, or act as the sexy sidekick. It is also interesting to note that in each pairing, the man is the leader of the relationship. We found this to be problematic, given the fact that there are so few representations of female superheroes, or women being seen as strong and capable in any capacity in cinema. In such a high profile movie and franchise, it is disappointing to know that young boys are being taught that girls function as sexy sidekicks rather than heroines in their own right, and that girls are being taught that they should look to a man to save them, and that their worth is in their roles as passive, supporting girlfriends, sidekicks, and employees.

The Practices of Looking

Practices of Looking

This week we are examining the practices of looking, and how 
photographs make use of power dynamics to alter the way we
 process an image. Philosopher Jacques Derrida has argued that 
all binary oppositions are encoded with values and concepts of power, 
superiority, and worth. Racism and sexism both both play a part in 
concepts of dominance and superiority, and we see examples of this 
everyday in advertising and commercials.

The gaze, as described by our textbook is imperative to the power 
dynamics we establish:

“The gaze, whether institutional or individual, thus helps to establish 
relationships of power. The act of looking is commonly regarded as 
awarding more power to the person who is looking than to the person 
who is the object of the look.” (Sturken 111)

Edward Said emphasized the idea that Asian culture is subject to 
being falsely represented because of how dominant their culture 
and history has been. In contemporary popular culture we constantly 
see Arab men depicted as terrorists, and Asian women being highly 
sexualized.

“Orientalism, describing the tendencies of westerners who have fetished, 
mythologized, and feared the cultures, lands, and peoples of Asia and 
the Middle East.” (Sturken 113)

The textbook focuses mainly on paintings to represent Orientalism, 
and many paintings of the past contained sexist and orientalist views. 
One such genre of art widely recognized as masterpieces in history is 
the female nude.

An image of the female body does not necessarily exist to present a 
power dynamic but in many European pieces, the female is viewed while 
the artist and the collector is the viewer.  This is shown in the example of the  
The Colonial Harem in the book.  The image represents the colonial gaze 
and the objectification of the women by the colonial power.  “In the book  
The Colonial Harem, Malek Alloula shows that the figure of the harem woman
was invoked in France as a visual and Literary icon of female sexual submission 
among painters and photographers enmeshed in the broader tradition of 
Orientalism in arts and sciences.” (Sturken 116)

These concepts and values are embedded into many of the images we 
view today.  According to Roland Barthes, “Historical meanings are 
reproduced in the codes and conventions we use, whether producers 
intend these meanings to be there or not.  And whether any given spectator 
explicitly notices them or not.”

For this week, please find a photograph, advertisement, or painting 
that displays some sort of power dynamic and explain how it functions. 
These could be gender related, wealth, race, etc. What was the image 
used for and how did they use Orientalism and/or the gaze to express 
that purpose?  

In this example, male dominance plays a large role in the advertisement. 
The woman is positioned under the man to show that the man is in control, 
and there are multiple men positioned around the woman looking down on her. 
When looking for examples, think about the position of the actors and how that 
could contribute to a possible power dynamic.

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