Psychoanalysis Film Evaluation

Final Psychoanalysis Film from Frankie Smith on Vimeo.

Introduction

After much research about the three psychoanalysis film theories by Lacan, Mulvey and Freud, I was given a brief to create my own psychoanalysis film that explores one or more of the theories. I chose to focus on Lacan and his theory of 'lack' because I felt that I understood the idea behind it more than the others. I aimed to show this theory through various techniques, camera movements and angles, shot types and through editing. 

My film is a short documentary that follows the obsession of a young man, Jordan, who is obsessed with the 1971 Volkswagen Beetle that he has been restoring since he was 14 years old. 



Planning

Before making my psychoanalytical film, I conducted some research on three different psychoanalysis film theories from Freud, Lacan and Mulvey. This enabled me to understand the meanings behind films in more depth and the theories that some filmmakers use when creating a film. I viewed several texts including Grizzly Man by Werner Herzog, Married To The Eiffel Tower by Agnieszka Piotrowska, Black Swan by Darren Aronofsky and Vertigo by Alfred Hitchcock. These films gave me an insight into how producers and filmmakers get across their psychoanalytical messages through different ways and means like camera angles, lighting etc.

What Went Well

I portrayed Lacan's theory effectively throughout the film, particularly through the mies-en-scene. All of the shots that you see are filmed in Jordan's car, in his garage or in his bedroom - emphasising the fact that he lives in 'small world' that revolves entirely around his beetle. This is very similar to the way that Herzog constructs Grizzly Man, as he likely has footage of Timothy Treadwell in other locations than in the park with the bears, such as in his home or at school, however he deliberately chose to use footage that really puts emphasis on his obsession with the bears and with nature and being outside. 
In the interview sequences Jordan talks about how he works at a company that sells VW parts, he spends most of his time preparing for car shows, his brother and dad have bought beetles as well and about how he takes pride in cleaning and making adjustments to his car. All of this really echoes the fact that he lives and breathes for this car - but nothing he does to it is enough to fill the lack that he feels and therefore he continues to make adjustments and changes to it and it becomes an endless cycle. 
I used various technical elements to portray Lacan's theory also, including using a shallow depth of field, experimenting with shot types, camera angles and camera movements. 

I experimented a bit with sound, ensuring that the audio transitions between the non-diegetic music and the interview audio was smooth (adjusting the volume of the music whilst Jordan is speaking). I think that the narrative audio recording was particularly good as I recorded it in the studio, meaning that it was of the highest sound quality. 
I also used a variety of different shot types and camera movements (pans, static shots, low angles, tilts etc) which made the film look more interesting and aesthetically pleasing. My use of hand-held camera movement made for a more authentic looking documentary, as many of the documentaries that I watched incorporated some hand held camera movement and my interview set up went quite well, as I made use of additional LED lights, tripods and audio equipment like microphones to attempt to get the most high quality footage that I could.

Improvements

Looking back on my final psychoanalysis film, I can see that there are definite improvements to be made. The main thing I noticed is the audio - some of the audio was recorded using the Zoom H1 microphone which sounds crisp and clear, however, I didn't manage to record all of the audio I wanted to with the external microphone so some of it was recorded in-camera, which sounds quite fuzzy and echoey. If I were to re-shoot, I would definitely ensure that I record all audio with the Zoom H1 mic, or even a boom mic, just so that I know it is of the highest quality. Another improvement I would make is in regards to the lighting - in the future I plan to film at the same time of day in each shoot as some of the footage that I took later on in the day is quite underexposed.
I also intend to consider more carefully how to use the LED lights when setting up and interview, as I am not satisfied with the outcome of the interview lighting. As I filmed these interview clips on two different days, the lighting looks different in each clip and in some, the fact that I have used additional lighting is too obvious and it is a little over exposed and bright. 

Effective Judgements

I made countless decisions throughout the filming process, as many unexpected problems occurred. For example, before filming, I didn't think to film at the same time of day on each individual shoot as the lighting would be different at different times of day. To combat this problem I made the decision to film in the morning, rather than in the late afternoon or evening on each shoot because this is when the natural ambient lighting was best. 

Another problem I faced was that I found it very difficult to match up the audio I recorded on the microphone to the footage I filmed on the camera, so unfortunately I had to use a lot of footage that had the audio recorded in-camera which meant that the audio wasn't the best quality however it saved a lot of time that I could spend putting the overall video together. I did however use the better quality audio over the top of other footage of the car, rather than over the interview footage, almost like a voice over which was very effective. 


Health and Safety


Throughout the filming process, I carried out various steps to ensure the safety of myself and the individuals who appeared in my film. These steps included: ensuring that there were no wires or cables laying around for people to trip over and injure themselves or damage the equipment, making sure that the microphones, cameras and lights were screwed onto the tripods correctly so that they did not fall off and ensuring that when the equipment was not in use it was put away safely and correctly and out of the way of anyone who could trip over it or damage it.

Narration Script

Jordan Hale is an average eighteen year old with a slightly less average obsession. Jordan is his obsessed with his car.



His obsession with classic Volkswagen Beetles started when he happened to pick up a copy of Volskworld magazine whilst on a long car journey with his dad. The obsession spiralled out of control when he went to a volkswagen car show later that year and soon ended up with a Beetle of his own.

Inspiration and Ideas

After deciding on the content of my video, I came to the conclusion that I needed to carry out some extra research to give me some inspiration when it comes to filming cars, as I have never done so before. I watched various short documentaries to give me some ideas of what kind of shot types, camera movements, angles etc to use and to see what looked effective. Because I want to almost use the male gaze to present the car in my own documentary in a way that makes it look as though Jordan sees it as an object of desire, I thought it was important to focus and look specifically at the way cars are filmed to look attractive.

Below are some of the short documentaries that I found particularly inspirational. 






I really enjoyed this video, particularly because of the different shot types the producer has used. I like the way in which he/she use lingering shots of the car and film from different angles. 

First Shoot Evaluation

Looking back on my first shoot for my psychoanalysis film, I believe that it was relatively successful overall, although I can see that there are definitely some improvements to be made and things that I would do slightly differently if I were to shoot again. I felt as though I had limited time to film, as we started the shoot in the mid-afternoon and with it being winter and therefore it getting dark early, it meant that I had only a few hours to get the clips that I needed. For the limited time that I had, I feel as though I did get a fair amount of footage, although it is not all at the highest quality. I used a Canon 700D camera to film, however, I feel as though if I had used a Canon 5D Mark II, the quality of video would have been at much higher standard as this camera is much more suitable for film than a standard DSLR camera is.


Throughout the filming process, I used a wide variety of shot types and camera movements (pans, close-ups, medium close-ups etc), which I think is effective because it makes the video look more visually interesting, however, I would have liked to have shot an even wider variety, including establishing shots, extreme close ups, extreme long shots etc. Below are some stills from the clips that I have that illustrate the kind of shot types and camera movements that I utilised. 

Medium Close-Up

Close-Up

Medium Close Up

Mid Long-Shot

Shooting Plan Two - Pyschoanalysis

My ideas

Looking back on the footage from my first shoot, I have decided that it is not the standard that I had hoped for and therefore will conduct another shoot on 21/01/15. This shoot will have the same basic idea as the first - I will film both interviews and shots of the car. I hope to include a wider range of camera movements and shot types, whilst also experimenting with composition and apterture (shallow depth of field  I will ask my subject to wear the same clothes as he did in my first shoot, for continuity, as I may still make use of some of the clips from shoot 1. 
I will ask the same or similar questions as in shoot one, and hopefully interview family and/or friends who can talk about Jordan's obsession. I am hoping to film in the early morning so that I have plenty of time to film, however, if I am running later than this on the day I will use additional light sources so that I can film for longer in the evening. 



Lighting

The lighting in my first shoot was not as high-key as I had hoped, so for my second shoot I plan to use two/three LED light sources placed on tripods so that I can correctly expose my film clips. This will improve the overall quality of the clips, making them look a more professional standard.




Audio

Watching my clips back from my first shoot, I have noticed that using the in-camera audio is not ideal as there is some noticeable background noise (almost like a buzz or a hum) which is quite distracting when trying to listen to what my subject is trying to say. For my second shoot, I am going to use a Zoom H1 microphone to record the audio of the interviews, which record the sound at a much higher quality. 

I also plan to use non-diegetic sound in the form of music. This may be introduced within the title sequence and then dip in and out of the main body of footage, depending on where the interviews are.
I have chosen the song 'Where's Your Car Debbie?' by the punk band Slaves for several reasons. The first reason being that it is relevant to the subject matter of the documentary - it mentions the word car, it is about finding a persons car. The second reason is because this particular band is Jordan's favourite band, thus making the documentary more personal to him. The third reason is because in the music video for the song, they use a classic vw beetle, which is the same car make and model as Jordan's car.

Equipment

Although I am relatively happy with the quality of the film that I recorded from my Canon EOS 700D, for my second shoot I want to use the Canon EOS 5D Mark II because I know that this camera is much better suited to moving image than just a standard DLSR camera.

I am hoping to use two lenses along with the 5D - a standard lens for general filming (the interviews, long shots etc) and a 50mm lens for close ups etc (this lens has a lower aperture so allows more light in, allowing for a shallower depth of field), however I will only be able to use this lens whilst indoors because it allows so much light in that if it were to be used outside, all of my footage would be completely overexposed.

I will also use a fluid head tripod so that all of my footage is stable and there is no camera shake unless intentional, and a 64GB SD card with 90 MB/s.


Location


The location I am going to use will be the garage that the car is stored in and my subjects house. I have chosen these places as my two main locations in which to film because my subject feels most comfortable in them (being as they are where he spends most of his time) and because they are relevant to the subject matter of the documentary. In the two places there is a lot of iconography that connotes the idea that my subject is obsessed with VW beetles and cars in general.  

Risk Assessment

The majority of the footage that I will be recording will be filmed whilst in a fairly enclosed space, being as it is a fairly small garage, so I will have little room to manoeuvre my equipment. I will have to make sure that my subject is aware of any wires, tripods etc to avoid anything falling over and breaking either the equipment, or the car that is being filmed, as well as avoiding any trips that may injure myself or my subject. The garage is also full of car parts, tools, actual whole vehicles etc so I will need to make sure that everything has been put away correctly and nothing is left lying on the floor. 

Structure

• Title sequence
• Introduce Jordan
• Shots of the car
• Interview with Jordan
• Cleaning the car
• Interview with Jordan
• 
  

Visual Influences

Below are various clips, documentaries and photographs that I am going to take influence from in my next shoot. I may use these videos as inspiration for shot types, angles, camera movements, content etc. 

Psychoanalysis Film - Editing Process

The editing and post-production stage is vital in the creation of my psychoanalytical film; the way in which I edit my clips and combine them has a huge impact on the way the my subject's obsession is portrayed. For example, shallow depth of field, repetitive clips and lingering shots all echo and highlight the idea of obsession. 
To edit, I use Adobe Premiere Pro CS6, which allows me to organise my footage and separate clips according to the content of them. I have separated and organised each of my clips into 'bins' - one for audio, one for titles, one for interview footage, one for footage of the car and one for miscellaneous footage.

Shooting Plan One

Main ideas

My idea for this shoot is to focus predominantly on the interview footage, whilst also trying to capture footage of the car itself. I will ask my subject (Jordan) various questions about his obsession and then in post-production, I will carefully select my footage in order to construct the interviews in such a way that it really enhances the idea that he is obsessed with his car. 


Lighting

I plan to use natural ambient lighting as my main light source but will also use any other available lighting as it will enhance the quality of the exposure a fair amount. I could use light from windows, ceiling lights, lamps etc to light the room that I am filming in.


Audio


I plan to record a voice-over to layer ontop of some of my footage in the recording studio. The narration will explain any information that is not obvious to the viewer to begin and also introduce to the audience what the entire documentary is about. Most of the rest of the audio (interviews etc) will be recorded in camera.





Equipment

In regards to the equipment I plan to use, I intend on using my Canon EOS 700D camera paired with a 18-55mm f/3.6-5.6 lens and a fluid-head tripod which will allow me to utilise different camera movements and angles. This will make for documentary of professional standard, as there will be no camera shake as a result of hand-held camera movement, unless intended, and because it will have a variety of different shot types to make the documentary more visually interesting. 


 



Location


The location I am going to use will be the garage that the car is stored in and my subjects house. I have chosen these places as my two main locations in which to film because my subject feels most comfortable in them (being as they are where he spends most of his time) and because they are relevant to the subject matter of the documentary. In the two places there is a lot of iconography that connotes the idea that my subject is obsessed with VW beetles and cars in general.  

Risk Assessment

The majority of the footage that I will be recording will be filmed whilst in a fairly enclosed space, being as it is a fairly small garage, so I will have little room to manoeuvre my equipment. I will have to make sure that my subject is aware of any wires, tripods etc to avoid anything falling over and breaking either the equipment, or the car that is being filmed, as well as avoiding any trips that may injure myself or my subject. The garage is also full of car parts, tools, actual whole vehicles etc so I will need to make sure that everything has been put away correctly and nothing is left lying on the floor. 

Psychoanalysis Film Design Brief

For unit 11, we were given the task to chose between writing an essay, making a short film or creating a video representation. 


My intention is to create a short, four or five minute mockumentary, drawing influence from Lacan's theory of lack. The mockumentary will follow the life of a young man who is obsessed with the classic Volkswagen beetle that he has been restoring since he was a young teenager. The obsession with the car and the need to constantly alter it has an effect on his behaviour as he strives to fill the lack that he feels due to the fact that no matter how much he alters the car, he is never truly happy with the outcome. The lack he feels never gets filled because his desires for the car change along with the car as he alters it. The film will be comprised of clips of interviews with the young man himself and the people around him, as well as clips of his behaviour, the way he interacts with the car etc. 

  



Interview setup: fairly shallow depth of focus, in a relaxed and comfortable environment (photos from google images)

Lighting setup for an interview

In regards to the technical aspects of the film, I plan to use various techniques in order to emphasise and illustrate the idea of obsession. For example: close-up shots of objects - of facial expressions and body parts/body language, shallow depth of field and long takes that linger on objects, facial expressions etc. 
I plan to shoot both indoors and outdoors, as I will be conducting short interviews as well as filming my actor with his car. I will need to use a higher ISO for my indoor footage than for outdoor footage as there will be less natural high-key lighting - I may even have to consider using additional lighting such as LED lights or softbox lighting.
I intend to use a mixture of diegetic and non-diegetic sound, using both music (maybe songs that include lyrics about cars to illustrate the fact that he is obsessed with the car) as well as recorded sound from interviews etc using a Zoom H1 microphone or a boom microphone. 

Psychoanalytical Film Ideas

General Ideas

After looking at the three different theories, I have decided to focus on Lacan's and/or Mulvey'.s Below is a collection of different ideas to help me determine what direction to take my psychoanalytical film in.

Lacan theory based ideas

Obsession over something - an object (vehicle, person, object etc) - in this case a young man who is obsessed over the classic car he has been restoring since he was a teenager. The obsession with the car and the need to make the car evolve and upgrade will change his behaviour as he strives to fill the lack he has due to him never being quite happy with his work, however no matter how much he changes the car, the lack never gets filled as his desires for the car change along with the car itself. 


Lacan and Mulvey Theory based ideas

A young girl is obsessed with body image and looking like the 'ideal image of perfection' so much so that she strives to change everything about the way she looks in order to be seen as what other people consider to be perfect (Lacan). Throughout the film there are shots of her body, for example, her lips, legs, breasts etc (Mulvey) in order to illustrate the changes she makes to her body. Fragmentation, clothing and settings will be considered throughout in order to explore the idea of the male gaze.

Grizzly Man

Grizzly Man is a 2005 documentary film by a German director named Werner Herzog. It documents the life and eventually, the death of a man named Timothy Treadwell, and includes over 100 hours of footage that actually belonged to Treadwell himself. 

Within 'Grizzly Man', Lacan's theory regarding 'lack' is clearly evident. Timothy Treadwell is an outcast and a loner, who finds solace in the company of wild animals (particularly grizzly bears) and nature. Although, in some of his own footage he does discuss his relationships with other humans and ponders why his relationships never worked out. It is clear that Treadwell tried to fill his lack of human relations and connections by using the bears and the nature around him as a form of escapism. During the documentary, we discover that Treadwell was once an alcoholic, hence proving that he had previously tried to fill his lack of human connection through other means but sadly this had not worked for him. 

Herzog interviews various people from Treadwell's life throughout the film, all of whom paint a relatively normal picture of his personality. His parents, his ex-girlfriend, his colleagues and friends all speak about him in such a way that almost contradicts Herzog's portrayal of him. They talk about how he was born in Long Island, New York in 1957 and how he was average at school, how he got into several broken relationships and how he stumbled upon heavy drinking as he got older like many people do. And then, Herzog begins to illustrate the fact that Treadwell began to fill the lack that could not be filled with alcohol or social interaction by becoming, what he thought was, a saviour for the grizzly bears that lived in Alaska's Katmai National Park. He filmed the grizzly bears for a total of 12 years and almost lived and breathed for them, or so Herzog made it appear with the way that he constructed the documentary and selected the footage. 

Included in the footage were various interviews with family members, friends and colleagues, as well as handheld camera work from Treadwell himself, diegetic sound from the footage found on Treadwell's camera and non-diegetic sound that was added during post-production to emote sympathy for him.

With the clips found on Treadwell's own cameras and computers lasting over 100 hours, director Herzog had to cut down the footage through a process of selection. The footage that he carefully chose was used to show the full extent of Treadwell's loneliness and how his personality was quite unique in comparison to that of an average person. He extensively used shots of Treadwell in a state of anger, as well as long shots of lonely locations and shots where Treadwell is the only subject in frame, to highlight his isolation. Throughout the film, Herzog really wanted to put emphasis on the fact that Timothy's entire world revolved around these bears and around nature, so he selected only shots of his in this environment despite the fact that he likely had footage of Timothy in other places, such as at school or in his family home. He deliberately chose footage that incorporated the mise-en-scene that fixates on and supports the message he was trying to get across: that he is obsessed with this environment to such an extent that it borders on insanity. 


   

As you can see from the above stills taken from the documentary , Treadwell is entirely alone in the frame of many of the shots, against a vast, severe backdrop to highlight loneliness and isolation from the outside world. This really emphasises the fact that he lived in a small world that revolved around this national park with the grizzly bears and being on his own without any social interaction with other human beings.

Freud

The Structure of the Personality

Freud's arguably most important idea was that the human personality had a structure made up of more than one aspect. He separated the structure of the personality into three parts, the Id, the ego and the superego, all of which he argued developed at different stages in life.

The Id

The id consists of inherited components of a personality, including aggressive and sexual instincts. It is the impulsive and unconscious part of the human personality, which responds directly and immediately to the human instincts. The id demands immediate satisfaction, resulting in the feeling of pleasure. The id is not effected in any way by the real world or logic. Pleasure principle - the idea that every wishful impulse should be satisfied immediately, regardless of the consequences.

The personality of a small child begins as the id but later develops into the other parts of the personality.

The Ego

The ego is developed in order to create a balance between the unrealistic id and the realistic world. It is the decision making component in the human personality, working by reason whereas the Id is completely unreasonable and causes chaos. The ego operates according to the reality principle, working out realistic ways in which to satisfy the demands made by the id. This often involves compromising or pausing satisfaction to avoid negative consequences. Similar to the id, the ego desires pleasure and avoids pain, however, the ego sets out to do so in a realistic way.

More often than not, the ego is weak in comparison to the id and the best that it can do sometimes is to just continue on, trying to point the id in the right direction. The ego doesn't really have a concept of what is right or wrong, something is just good if pleasure is reached through it without causing harm to the id or the ego. It is rational, realistic and problem solving orientated.

The Superego

The superego carefully considers the morals and values of society which are taught by parents and those around you. It usually develops around the ages of 3 - 5 years old. 
The function of the super ego is to really control the impulses, especially those impulses that are frowned upon by society, such as sex or aggression. It also functions to persuade the ego to turn to the moralistic goals rather than the simple and realistic ones. 

The super ego is made up of two systems: the ideal self and the conscience. The conscience can punish the ego through feelings of guilt and remorse. The ideal self is an imaginary image of how you are 'meant to be'. It represents career aspirations, how to treat others around you, how to behave as a member of society etc. If behaviour does not reach the expected standard of the ideal self, the super ego may punish through guilt again. As well as punishing, the super ego can also reward us through the ideal self when we 'behave correctly' through feelings of pride. 

If the standard of a person's ideal self is too high then it can never be reached, meaning that whatever the person does will be deemed a failure. The ideal self and the conscience are determined in childhood by parents and how you were raised.

References:

• McLeod, S. A. (2008). Id, Ego and Superego. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html
• Freud, S. (1920). Beyond the pleasure principle. SE, 18: 1-64.
• Freud, S. (1923). The ego and the id. SE, 19: 1-66.

Freudian Analysis of Black Swan

Black Swan is an American psychological thriller-horror film by Darren Aronofsky. In it there is a perfect example to illustrate Freud's human psyche/personality structure theory. 

The superego is the element of the personality which is concerned with the principle of morality. In Black Swan, this is portrayed in the form of Nina's mother who appears to be successful in controlling her daughter, encouraging her to be a perfect dancer and basing her entire life around dance. She puts a lot of emphasis on getting everything exactly right and attempts to keep Nina from become independent. 

The Id is the part of the personality who focuses around the pleasure principle. It lives for immediate gratification from everything it wants and needs. In the film, Nina was unable to play the part of the Black Swan as she had been raised as 'morally correct' by her mother, the superego, who had taught her to believe that expressing sexuality was a bad thing, and as the black swan is meant to be a relatively sensual character, she was unable to grasp the part fully until Lily, the id, enabled her to explore her sexuality and open up to it. This resulted in Nina being able to play the part of the black swan in the end. 

The ego is the aspect of the personality who is meant to be the balance between the measure principle 

Nina, the main character is the ego who is unsure of her situation and no longer finds herself with a voice in regards to her own decisions. Her mother appears to be the superego, being as she is constantly attempting to keep Nina in the confines of her own hopes and dreams and also because of her morals and values that urge Nina to not stray onto the wrong path.  

Lily, another dancer at the dance school portrays Nina's Id. Lily, as a character, is completely different to Nina's mother's character in the sense that she is a free spirit, openly expresses her sexuality and prefers to be spontaneous. Lily encourages Nina to explore her sexuality and let go of all constraints.

Nina's Mother (superego) and Nina (Ego)

 

Nina (Ego) and Lily (id)

References

• http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FreudianTrio/Literature

Lacan's Theories

Jaques Lacan

Jaques Lacan was born in 1901 to a rich, Catholic French Family in Paris. He was a psychoanalyst and psychiatrist and has been named the most 'controversial psychoanalyst since Freud'. 



The 'Lack' theory by Lacan


Jaques Lacan came up with a theory/concept that revolved around the idea of 'lack' and the desire that arises as a result of it. He said 'Desire is a relation to being to lack. The lack is the lack of being properly sparking. It is not the lack of this or that, but lack of being whereby the being exists'.

Lacan distinguishes between three different types of lack, according to the nature of the object which is lacking. 

• Symbolic castration 
• Imaginary Frustration
• Real Privation 

Lacan and The Mirror Stage

Lacan proposes that infants pass through a stage in life which an external image of the body (reflected in a mirror) produces a psychic response that gives rise to the mental representation of 'I'. Generally speaking, this means that when a child sees themselves in the mirror, they see the image looking back at them as superior to themselves. The child fails to identify the image as themself, therefore, they set this mirage as something to worship and look up to.

In the same way, women often follow the same behaviour patterns in film. They see an 'ideal' image of a woman on screen as superior to themself and end up wishing that they could transform themselves into that 'ideal image'. 

Example of the male gaze in film

The male gaze is evident in the opening scene of the third instalment of the Transformers films. The film opens with a close up shot of Rosie Huntingdon-Whitely, who plays the female lead and also a Victoria Secret model (well-known for being thin, attractive etc), as she climbs the stairs. The camera follows her barely covered behind closely as she makes her way up the stairs, and then the camera cuts to various other parts of her body, panning down her bare legs and feet and then back up until the camera reaches her torso. The fact that the audience do not even see her face before they see these parts of her body implies that her identity isn't even particularly important,it dehumanises her; she is just a sexualised object to look at and admire. 

Throughout the length of the film, there are countless shots that linger over her behind, her lips, her breasts and her legs. She is often viewed from below and is dressed in tight and revealing clothing (short skirts, tight dresses, high heels) which is clearly for voyeurism purposes and to gain scopophilia.

Not only is she intended to be viewed as a sexual object by the camera and audience, but also by the characters throughout the film. In one scene, one of the transformers (not even a human being) is scene looking up her skirt and rummaging through her underwear drawer. In another scene, John Malkowitz' character is seen going out of his way to look at her behind.

References:

• http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/06/transformers-3-sour-sexist-and-salivary/241305/
• http://www.karanovic.org/courses/mca008/archives/1487

Male Gaze Theory by Laura Mulvey

The 'Male Gaze' theory is a concept that was first put forward by a feminist film critic named Laura Mulvey in 1975. The theory refers to the ways in which films are structured around a male viewer and states that in film, audiences are forced to see through the eyes of a heterosexual male. 


The male gaze consists of three different types of gaze: 

• that of the person behind the camera
• that of the characters within the representation or the film itself
• that of the audience 

Mulvey's theory suggests that the male gaze denies women of an identity and dehumanises them; it gives them the status of objects to be desired by men because of their appearance. It also suggests that more often than not, women find themselves viewing a film from a secondary perspective (this being the perspective of a heterosexual man). Often a female character in a film has no real importance, but only exists in relation to a male character. Women in film are usually viewed as an erotic object for both the characters within the film and the audience who is watching the film, almost assuming that the audience is entirely made up of heterosexual males. 


In the 1975 essay 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema', Mulvey discusses the idea of 'scopophilia', which literally means 'pleasure through looking' or 'love of watching'. 
Voyeurism is a synonym for scopophilia and derives from sexual gratification from observing others from a distance. Film-making and film-viewing have been seen as voyeuristic activities for a long time; the audience sits, typically in a dark room, and observes the activities of others who appear to be unaware of the fact that they are being watched. 
Sigmund Freud, who came up with the idea of scopophilia, reinforces Mulvey's theory, suggesting that from babyhood, we have a natural tendency to fix our gaze upon objects. He argues that although we grow and become more able to control what we observe, it never completely diminishes. 

Technically, there are elements in film that significantly enhance the male gaze. For example: fragmentation, slow-motion, close-ups and lighting. Often, films are edited in such a way that we get shots of the woman or 'sexual object' and the person viewing them, further highlighting the male gaze by showing us how other males react to them. In regards to mise-en-scene and visual elements, the female subject is often seen wearing some form of tight clothing or maybe even no clothing at all, with an analogy between machinery, vehicles, food or sexual objects - this creates a suggestion of ownership over women. It compares the female to an object, like a car, that can be owned. 

      

Example of the male gaze in film

The male gaze is evident in the opening scene of the third instalment of the Transformers films. The film opens with a close up shot of Rosie Huntingdon-Whitely, who plays the female lead and also a Victoria Secret model (well-known for being thin, attractive etc), as she climbs the stairs. The camera follows her barely covered behind closely as she makes her way up the stairs, and then the camera cuts to various other parts of her body, panning down her bare legs and feet and then back up until the camera reaches her torso. The fact that the audience do not even see her face before they see these parts of her body implies that her identity isn't even particularly important,it dehumanises her; she is just a sexualised object to look at and admire. 

Throughout the length of the film, there are countless shots that linger over her behind, her lips, her breasts and her legs. She is often viewed from below and is dressed in tight and revealing clothing (short skirts, tight dresses, high heels) which is clearly for voyeurism purposes and to gain scopophilia.

Not only is she intended to be viewed as a sexual object by the camera and audience, but also by the characters throughout the film. In one scene, one of the transformers (not even a human being) is scene looking up her skirt and rummaging through her underwear drawer. In another scene, John Malkowitz' character is seen going out of his way to look at her behind.

References:

• http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/06/transformers-3-sour-sexist-and-salivary/241305/
• http://www.karanovic.org/courses/mca008/archives/1487