Representation Theory

Laura Mulvey’s ‘Male Gaze’ theory.

The male gaze, according to Laura Mulvey, occurs when the audience is put into the perspective of a heterosexual male. This is done by displaying scenes that focus on the curves of a woman’s body through the use of certain conventions such as slow motion, cutaways, and any deliberate camera movements that highlight these curves. Her theory denies women their human identity,and objectifies them, stating that they are simply there to be admired, and add no real element to any narrative in film. Their only importance is to be there for the male viewing pleasure. It is also suggested that women can only watch a film from a secondary perspective, and only view other women from a man's perspective, thus leaving the audience 'masculinised'. The gaze deals with how an audience view the people they are presented with. This is either how men look at women, how women look at other women, and how women look at themselves. This means that the female percentage of the audience will look at the women that they are presented with, and then look at themselves and attempt to create an ideal version of themselves based on the ideologies presented to them in the film. It deals with the objectification and sexualisation of women, and the positioning of the audience, reinforcing the idea of patriarchy.

Richard Dyer's 'star' theory.

Richard Dyer's star theory focuses on the idea that icons and celebrities are constructed by institutions for financial gain, and are built to target a specific audience, or group of people. There are four key components to the theory which are as follows:

• stars and constructs
• audience and institutions
• ideology and culture
• character and components

Dyer developed the idea that an audiences perception of a film is heavily influenced by the stars included in that film, and the audiences perception of these stars. This includes not only the individuals perceptions, but the perceptions of others too . This affects the way an audience experience a media text which can be determined by other peoples reviews of the film. He states that a star is a constructed image, represented across a range of media and mediums - a commodity produced by an institution to represent and embody certain ideologies. A star is not a real person,like in aspect of fiction, they are constructed in order to be desirable and consumable.

Tessa Perkin's 'stereotypes' theory.

Stereotyping is not a simple process and contains a number of assumptions that we can challenge. Perkins identifies 5 assumptions:

• Stereotypes are not always negative.
• Stereotypes are not always about minority groups or the less powerful.
• Stereotypes can be held about one's own group.
• Stereotypes are not rigid or unchanging.
• Stereotypes are not always false.

We are a witness to this stereotyping through the media, which helps us understand them further. We may also witness these stereotypes first or second hand, showing there is truth behind stereotyping otherwise the ideology behind them would be non-existent - showing that stereotypes are not always false. In addition to this, these stereotypes are not always negative.

Implications of Stereotypes:
Stereotypes are always erroneous in content and are negative concepts. They are about groups with whom we have little or no social contact; by implication therefore, they are not held by one's own group. They are about minority or repressed groups most of the time creating a negative representation of the lower class possibly giving the upper class more power. People 'hold' stereotypes of a group or don't. This can lead to negative and wrong assumptions. Stereotypes lead to unfair treatment, Stereotypes are an invaluable aid in understanding the world.