Laura Mulvey's theory

Laura Mulvey

Mulvey’s theory suggests that women are usually presented as objects of male desire in the music industry. She believes that women being sexualised in music videos has become the norm. Even women have adopted ‘The Male Glare’, judging women from a male’s point of view. The image of an artist is portrayed through their choice of clothes and styling, the narrative of the music video and the actions of the artist. Mulvey discusses the idea that women are ‘dismembered’ in all forms of media. This is when there is a focus on parts of their body instead of the woman as a whole.  

  Dizzee Rascal - Holiday

Females are constantly dismembered in this video. One of the first shots is a close up of a woman’s upper torso. All of the women are in revealing swimwear which draws even more attention to their bodies. They are even obviously shown as objects of male desire as one of the men stares at a females body as she walks through the door.

The female's body had been dismembered in this mid shot of her torso.

In this tilt shot of the females body at 0:30 the fact that the audience are expected to use The Male Glare is reinforced.

This long shot containing just the female in her bikini draws attention to her body and the fact that she is only wearing a bikini.

Beyonce - Run The World

This video in some ways challenges the conventions of music videos. Beyonce is presented as a powerful woman, this is shown through low angle shots of her and the fact that she is not being dismembered. However, revealing clothes are still worn and eye-line matches of the male audience watching her are used. In these shots the women are dismembered at points. This shows that The Male Glare is present within the video and thus draws attention to the presentation of women in the music industry.

These three shots show Beyonce in a position of power. She is shown with props which would usually be related to masculinity (big dogs, a horse, a car). They are wide angle shots in which Beyonce and her props are the only things in the frame. This keeps all eyes on her and on the fact that she is challenging the gender stereotypes included in a lot of music videos.
   

This shot proves that that the females are dressed and dance provocatively. I feel that these shots contradict the previous shots which portray Beyonce as a strong woman.

This is an eye-line match of the males in the audience. At this point the females are dismembered.