Laura Mulvey Analysis

Now I have learnt the concept of Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze Theory I am going to apply my knowledge to analyse 3 separate music videos. The first one ‘Spinning Round’ by Kylie Minogue, then ‘She’s so lovely’ by Scouting for girls and finally ‘Get on the Floor’ by Jenifer Lopez. All 3 of these videos present different forms regarding to Male Gaze theory and some of them prove it to be wrong. This is what I will be analysing; how and why it does that.

In Kylie Minogues music video ‘Spinning Around’ the audience is immediately presented with a mid shot of Kylie’s feet walking along what seems to be a dance floor. She is wearing gold heels and no clothing covering the bottom of her legs. This shows sexuality and shows she is confident by her large strides and confident stroll. You see her feet spin which shows connection to the first lyric ‘I’m spinnin’ around’. In the shot other feet are being shown. They are all covered up in jeans and trainers and are mostly male, this exposes she is already surrounded by men. We next see a slow motion shot of Kyle swinging her head. Her hair is down and shows movement which presents her ‘free’ and ‘not bothered’ attitude when she is out. Already w can see features of Laura Mulvey’s male gaze theory. She is surrounded by men and has been from the start of the video. Here, you can see a man staring directly at her whilst she is performing a prerogative dance move – the hair flick.

We then are able to examine what she is wearing. Her top is red which has the connotations of passion and love. It is extremely revealing and covers only a small part of her neck along with her breasts. Her collar bones and cleavage are able to be seen which adds to her appearance of ‘look at me’. Behind her in this shot are a group of females which contradicts the theory of Mulvey. When Kylie is dancing and her front (breasts) are on show, there is no male gazing at one of most venerable aspects. 

Before the actual singing of the song begins we already have an idea of what Kylie is like. We have been introduced to her character by how she moves and what she wears.  The final part of her outfit is revealed, and are some extremely tight, short, gold shorts. Both her bum cheeks are out and it is clear she is proud and will not mind the attention. Otherwise why would she be dressed in such an erotic and revealing outfit?

As the song progresses we see Kylie performing her song. We see a mixture of close-up and mid shots. We are also shown an establishing shot of everybody dancing in a night club which sets the scene. Kylie is placed lying and dancing on top of the bar which is much like the job of a stripper/dancer/performer, however Kylie is just carrying out the performance of her song. This is a very erotic action and in theses screen shots show just how revealing her outfit and dance moves are. We can see the bar tenders watching her which fits into the 

conventions of Mulvey’s theory however, if Mulvey’s theory was completely true, surely all the men in the club, including both bar tenders, would be surrounding the bar with their jaws wide open. 

In the next few shots however Mulvey’s theory completely fits the conventions of Male gaze theory. Here, this long shot shows Kylie is surrounded by men all dancing around her, even though she doesn’t seem bothered and is enjoying dancing, the men are facing towards her and some are staring at her. We can see the men are in the light which allows the audience to focus on them and 

them and what they’re doing/looking at whilst the females at the front are in the dark. In the following shot Kylie is dancing one-to-one with a man. He is behind her and staring at her body rather than at her face or into her eyes. This objectifies the female by seeing her body as something to look at, most likely sexually rather than into her eyes with emotion or passion.

 

Throughout the song when Kylie is singing her song, she is walking through the club rather than dancing. As she is doing so, most men are staring at her as she passes them. This applies to male gaze theory, other than Kylie is acknowledging the men staring at her and rather than being disgusted or offended that men are starting her body she is smiling and enjoying the attention she is getting. In this screen shot we see she has all eyes on her. Whilst resting on the sofa, sitting extremely closely to one of the men, and still singing, men from even nearby have moved out their way to come and look at her. They are intentionally staring at her and most defiantly not making it subtle. 

However in this shot and a few after, we see Kylie leading a man to go with her and dance with her. This doesn't fit in with the conventions of male gaze because it is flipped around. Kylie is not necessarily staring at the man, but she is giving him the attention and making him go with her when it should be him staring at her and thinking ‘I’m going to go and dance with her’ when he was simply relaxing on the sofa with his friends and she has gone out of her way to chose him and drag him to the dance floor.  The lyrics also fight the convention of male gaze. In the shot below we see Kylie dancing with ‘her chose one’. She is grabbing his hand and 

directing him to putting it around her body whilst the lyrics sing ‘Do you like what you see?’ she is asking for a positive response and almost begging for the attention.

Overall I think that Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze Theory does relate strongly to Kylie Minogues music video ‘spinning Around’. Throughout the video men are constantly staring at her. However, it slightly goes against the theory in the way that Kylie encourages the attention and enjoys it. 

The next music video is ‘She’s so lovely’ by Scouting for Girls. Immediately the name of the song and the group singing it indicates they are into females, the word ‘girls’ suggests immaturity and a playful vibe, which is reflected in a lot of their songs! The video stars with a female walking into a bowling alley. A close up shot is presented of her feet/legs. She is wearing red high heels and when we see her face later she is wearing red lipstick. The red connotes love and danger, even though having her legs and cleavage slightly out show objectification she holds some sort of power superiority. As she is walking through the room, a tracking shot is used to show the men who work at the alley and men who attend the event all stop what they’re doing to stare at her. Some are seen with their jaws dropped which completely justifies the theory…’male gaze theory’ – all of the men are focusing and ‘gazing’ at this one female. The lyrics suggest she is an object ‘a fittie’; ‘she’s dirty’ by not even referring to her by her name makes it seem worse. Calling someone dirty, which has a double meaning, both being rude and offensive shows he doesn't have much respect for this woman, especially if has a liking towards her. However, even though the lyrics aren't completely complimentary she is smiling and enjoying the attention she is receiving. We also shots of her encouraging the men to carry on watching. Such as; a close up of her biting her lip and of her bum – where she is slightly bending over as she throws the ball down the lane. Throughout the song the lyrics are referring to the way this woman looks and is dressed, he also mentions "she's got a boyfriend though and that’s a pitty" followed by her kissing in him in front of everyone, fully aware they are all staring at her.

The final video I analysed was 'Get on the floor' by Jenifer Lopez. This video is really not like the previous two. Immediately we are presented with JLo (short for Jenifer Lopez) arriving outside of a club/event in a nice car. However the door is not opened for her nor is she lent a hand to help her get out of the car thus represented her independence and self respect.  

She is fully covered up in black clothing; wearing long trousers, a leather jacket and a hoody underneath which has a hood that she is wearing over her head. There is no flesh on show and nothing to outline her womanly figure (as we know she is famous for her voluptuous curves and to-die-for body in most of her previous videos) therefore there is nothing for any men to 'stare at'. Her body is fully covered as well as he face from the hood. 

She then opens up a Swarovski box containing diamond earrings which has no track of them being giving to her as a gift from anyone; she could have bought them herself which again shows independence in herself. 

A long shot is then used to show JLo in the club, the camera crosses massive diamond chandeliers which represents money and glamour which mirrors JLo as we then see her spread out on a chic long sofa and her diamond earrings we previously saw her out in. She is also above everybody else which shows superiority and power, something not normally displayed in music videos such as Kylies video where she is squashed on a sofa surrounded by men all looking at her up and down. Therefore, JLo's video has not included any of the conventions of Laura Mulvey's theory as of yet.

As JLo starts to perform her song, she is dressed in a tight diamond body suit, which exaggerates her curves as it is skin tight. She is singing and making some dance moves and even though she is performing, there is no obvious audience, which again doesn't prove Laura Mulvey's theory to be correct because there is nobody watching her in the shot.  

However, as we are shown more establishing shots of the night club and a mixture of people all up and on the dance floor (hence the title of the song), there are young woman with elegant figures wearing just bikinis dancing on podiums. They are completely in the open and not high up therefore anybody could easily touch/grab them and they are for anybody to see, this then fits the conventions of Laura Mulvey's theory, even though there is no men openly staring at them, there most defiantly would be because of what they're dressed in and it also suggests that woman are objectified and just there to watch/look at.

Throughout the whole video JLo is seen on her own and very much in control, which again unfortunately mirrors Mulvey's theory - in Scouting for girls video the female is very much objectified, being gazed at by every man in the room and also being publically kissed with force by grabbing her neck - the complete opposite to JLo.

Then we see JLo entering the dance floor. She is dressed in trousers and a bikini/bralet top which explicitly shows her stomach and breast cleavage, unlike in her previous 3/4 outfits the most she has out is only her arms.  Everybody around her seems to be waving their arms and trying to grab her. She seems to be extremely focused and doesn't pay attention to any of them. By everyone reaching for her it shows she is respected and wanted by everyone. 

Then she begins to dance and everybody is following her moves. It is like she is a leader that people, both males and female, inspire to be and look up to rather than simply to look at.

There are men around the club, sitting on sofas supposedly in the VIP area. They are surrounded by woman which shows they must be wealthy and attractive for that reason - this shows low morals of the females and supports Mulvey's theory that they are less important and looked down on by the males.

Then, whilst JLo is sitting on the sofa on her balcony, she is even a drink. the drink is rum or brandy which is not stereotypically what a female would drink on a night out; it is more of a manly drink as it is strong and robust - the opposite to how JLo looks wearing a dress with a lot of make up on and her hair done. It is also a female waitress, which represents a 'girl power 'notion.

As JLo is dancing upon the dance floor (above everybody's else, showing her superiority and high standard) she begins to dance a little more sexually, by shaking her bum and rubbing her hands over her breasts. by making these actions she most definitely giving men, especially, something to look at, or 'stare' at in terms of Mulvey's theory.  

And finally the lyrics to the song aren't suggestive at all. The chorus which is repeated many of time is 'grab somebody'. This implies that it is either a male or female to grab someone possibly of opposite or the same gender which is extremely un-expressive, especially when compared to Scouting for girls which include lyrics such as 'she's flirty, a fittie, she's dirty' which are extremely evocative.