Visual Pleasure and the Cinematic Experience
The Cinema, Sexualilty and Social Conditions
In the writing Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema author Laura Mulvey discusses Sigmund Freud’s stages of psychosexual development, scopophilia, and the mirror effect outlined by Jacques Lacan. Mulvey supports her acknowledgements of social conditions during the 70’s by comparing them to the effects created on and by the big screen. Women and luxury are definitely glamorized on the big screen along with the American dream which was especially glamorized during the 70’s and decades prior.
Scopophilia is quite literally the pleasure, joy or love of looking but more specifically it is described by the objectifying male gaze and this objectifying male gaze is almost always directed at women. In a way the object being viewed is being controlled by the gaze. In a cinematic setting the audience can gain control by putting themselves in the main characters shoes and living vicariously through them or the audience can gain control by convincing themselves they are viewing the people on screen in an exclusive and unforthcoming way. Mulvey references Freud and Lacan for similar reasons; both men were psychoanalysts. She paraphrases Lacan when talking about the mirror effect, “... the moment when a child recognises its own image in the mirror is crucial for the constitution of the ego (pg 382).” This references the sense of self or identity. As well as an affair or relationship between the looking and what is being looked at. Having a sense of self allows the audience to empathize with the characters, their surroundings and the mood in the theater. Mulvey also outlines a large sexual imbalance presented in films. The active male role includes the looking beholding or gazing upon a female that is being displayed. The passive female role is the displayed female that is being looked upon by the male often in a erotic way.
Something interesting Mulvey said in her writing was that in film the characters were “... the glamorous impersonates the ordinary (pg 383).” In film there are also times where it is the glamorous impersonating the glamorous. Ego can be lost in film; ego can also be reinforced in film due to the private viewing experience, empathy, surrogation and quite literally just the enjoyment of looking or viewing.
Norman Rockwell, 1972, Triple Self-Portrait
Norman Rockwell was notorious for painting images of the American dream. The painting shown above is called the Triple Self-portrait painted by Rockwell in 1972. It is one rather famous Rockwell painting. Here he shows the audience three different viewpoints of himself. Attached to his easel are photographs of many other historically famous artists, all men, Van Gogh and Picasso to name a couple. Rockwell’s work is a fine example of enjoyably looking in on a perfect world. Whether the joy is from the exclusive viewing experience or from empathizing with the imagery. Although Rockwell was criticized for creating images of a life that was not achievable by many because he did not acknowledge prejudice. During the 70’s the American dream of a man and wife, children, a white picket fence, a car and a pie in the window was the goal of many carrying it from previous decades. Rebellion, reform and more progressive ideals were the goal of many as well. Mulvey explains in her writing that the active male presence of cinematic entertainment is not part of the more progressive ideals of the 70’s that support active female and racial roles.
Smarthistory, and Smarthistory. “Teaching Guidenorman Rockwell, Rosie the Riveter.” Smarthistory, https://smarthistory.org/seeing-america-2/politics-and-power-2/teaching-guide-rockwell-rosie/.
“Triple Self Portrait.” Muhlenberg College, https://www.muhlenberg.edu/gallery/thepermanentcollection/tripleselfportrait/.
Mulvey, Laura. Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. British Film Theory Journal. Screen. 1973. 1975. Accessed 27 September 2021.
Cayton, as always your weekly writings are fun to read. I liked how you tied the enjoyment of private viewing with the impact on ego. Reading this essay would’ve been difficult without understanding the psychoanalytic theories it discusses. I can tell in your writing that you understand these theories. I also really enjoy the Norman Rockwell painting you analyzed. It’s a great example of scopophilia. One thing to improve on is your last sentence. I think you wrote progress instead of progressive so just look back and edit that. My question for you is, how do you think the female gaze differs from the male gaze?
ReplyDeleteThank you India! The male gaze is more objectifying than the female gaze. The male gaze looks upon an object specifically being presented for the purposes of viewing. The female gaze is more genuine and tender, the female gaze is naturalistic while the male gaze is not it is controlled and conformed.
DeleteOh my gosh! I thought that Rockwell had a pin up of Bob Ross for a second! I guess, it's supposed to be Rembrandt. Haha! I like that you wound Rockwell up in this essay because he really did represent the wholesome white American male viewpoint. I probably wouldn't have drawn this connection, but I definitely agree with your choice. I wonder if the "American dream" was ever that for black Americans? There is such a huge divide, and it's a question I've often wondered about.
ReplyDeleteYou did a nice job of summing up the reading. I was a little shocked at this weeks reading because Freud is such nonsense. I understand that he is the foundation for which psychoanalysis was built, but most of his theories have fallen out of favor with psychologists. It's not that I disagree with Mulvey's point about the objectification of women in Hollywood. It's the route she took to prove it. I think gender roles are a lot more complicated than the active/passive roles she was defining. How do you think that the female roles have changed in recent times? Do you think that as more women land director's roles that there will be a shift in objectification?
Thank you Ashley! I also agree that gender roles are more complicated than active or passive. I think gender roles have change in todays society. Women now actively seek out their own careers rather than only taking care of the home and children. It is also not uncommon to see women in powerful and dominant roles, while there are some roles like president we have not achieve yet. I think objectification will continue to change with more women seeking independence and taking on those challenging tasks. It will normalize the presence of women and women's opinions.
DeleteHi Cayton,
ReplyDeleteI think you did a wonderful job summarizing this week's reading. You brought out points that I did not think about, such as Freud and Lacan being both psychoanalyst. I liked how you featured the quote about the child and how he recognizes his own reflection in the mirror for the first time. The child looking at himself in the mirror gives birth to ego and a sense of self. I also like the painting you chose. Norman Rockwell is one of my favorite American painters. Rockwell must have been influenced by the thinking of society during his time. He painted the American dream that was shown on TV. Do you believe if Rockwell were alive today his paintings would reflect the world around us or what he sees on TV? I don't really have anything to add for you to improve upon. I really enjoyed reading your perspective of this week's reading.
Thank Yvonne! If Rockwell was alive today I think he would be a bit disappointed by the behavior of some Americans who take what they have for granted. I think he would also have to learn some social change since sexual and racial inclusion are a big part of society today. He would definitely still get inspiration from pop culture!
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