Mock Exam Question: How far does a spectator’s gender affect their
viewing experience in contemporary cinema?
Intro
When it comes to exploring how significant gender is to a spectators experience, it can be argued that it may only effect the viewing experience to an extent. This is on the grounds it does not change the viewing experience entirely; gender being only one of many contributing factors. To understand how significant gender is, serval aspects must be looked at such as psychoanalysis, the mirror stage, the male gaze and spectatorship. For a greater insight into how these theories can be applied to determining the significance of the spectator’s gender, these aspects can be applied to the case studies Black Swan, Clockwork Orange and True Grit.
Para 1
The first element which comes into play when examining the significance of the spectator’s gender, is the use of psychoanalysis of the characters and the viewers. This therefore provides us with the ability to understand the mindset of the spectator and how their desires or thoughts align with those found in the characters. The most relevant theorist when referring to psychoanalysis is Sigmund Freud, presenting the idea that we develop our personalities through early childhood experiences. He goes on to discuss how children could grow to have an attraction to their mothers or fathers, dependent upon being male or female; boys being attracted to their mothers, girls to their fathers. From the application of this freudian theory, this raises reasoning for supporting gender as a significant role to the spectator’s experience. Stereotypically it is known that men are more drawn to violence whilst women are seen to focus on narratives that revolve around love.
In reference to the parental influence, this can be found in the film Black Swan. The mother of the protagonist is conveyed as very protective of her daughter. This is demonstrated through her constant observations and paranoia to her daughters previous issues regarding self harm. Nina’s responses to her mother are that of a childlike nature, possibly a result of how she was socialised by her. A scene which reinforces the impact her mother has on her and how big an influence she is in her life, is the scene where she receives the part for the black and the white swan. This is on the basis, the first thing she does is goes to the toilets in order to phone her mum. She wishes to tell her of her success, in order to make her proud and be as good as her, bearing in mind her mother used to be a dancer. Due to the lack of a father figure, it can be seen that Nina tries to look for one in the dancing instructor, made clear to the audience when he uses phrases such as “my little princess”. Although this phrase is spoken to the older dancer, she draws a lot of parallels with her, which can therefore be seen as foreshadowing to an extent. The overwhelming protective nature of her mother reaches the point where Nina leaves the hose with her friend Lily for drinks, in order to get a breather from the pressure she is under. This is reinforced when Lily convinces Nina to stay longer by mentioning the reasoning for her wanting to go, is to get home to her mother.
para 2
Another aspect which contributes in determining the significance of gender to the spectator’s experience is the application of the mirror stage. This is the idea that the spectator can identify themselves as a coherent and omnipotent ego within the film. The spectator can view various sections of the narrative, not needing to have the perspective of one person. This provides the spectator with a feeling of power. This idea links heavily with themes of struggling identity as seen clearly in Black Swan. This refers to how Nina’s multiple personalities are portrayed and the struggles for identity in which she is undertaking. One of the problems she faces in way of her identity can be the idea she is trying to establish herself and find out who she really is, even if she may attempt to do this through taking on board the desires and actions of others. A scene which demonstrates this, alongside the scenes which contain mirrors, is when she sees herself in the face of a passer by. In addition to this, it also conveys the idea that her personality is splintering into multiple ones, the white swan reflecting her innocence, the black swan illustrating her darker hidden side. There is also the dark side and more outgoing element of her personality which comes across when she is with the dance instructor in his office, biting his lip and standing up for herself. She also comes to the office made up with make up, changing her image to achieve her desires within the ballet. The other dancers could arguably be responsible for her struggle for identity, treating her as hostile and therefore isolating her due to the competitive nature that is portrayed in the film.
A micro aspect that is more strongly identified alongside Nina’s struggle for identity, is conveyed through the mirrors in each scene, and how she begins to construct who she is through the experiences and exchanges with those around her. Due to this area of macro analysis being more of a focus on the hardships and problems that are faced by Nina, this has more of a closer connection to that of the female gaze. In way of establishing her sexual identity, we can relate this to the quere gaze. By exploring how her personalities are fragmenting, it becomes cloudy in what is the true Nina. It can be an idea that because she feels so split and unsure of who she is, all these aspects we see are in fact her, but just the different parts, or even at least glimpses of what she wants and does not want to be like.
para 3
Another defining feature which determines genders significance to the spectator’s experience is the Male Gaze. This is the idea that film takes a voyeuristic stance towards woman, due to the fact the majority of directors are male, meaning the camera adopts the persona of a man. As a result of this, woman may feel that when watching a film they need to take on the perspective of a man to interpret meaning. The Male Gaze can be found in Black Swan through allowing the audience to access the dressing rooms of the dancers. This is an area normally only accessible to women, so providing an insight into what the dressing room is like, grants us the ability to see women in an area where they would not expect to be observed by the male gender. It is arguable whether this conveys the women in a environment where they are vulnerable, linking to the idea of the scene being voyeuristic. A scene which links to having a voyeuristic nature and reflection of the male gaze is the sequence where Nina makes out with another woman. Arguably for the entertainment of male viewers, although it promotes relevant points in relation to her trying to establish her identity through adopting an alternative means of sexual stimulation; which is not the primary value consensus in society, regarding sexuality. Quite a lot of the voyeuristic shots and scenes captured by the camera also go hand in hand with having the mirrors present. In scenes such as the dressing rooms, or even private moments with Nina when she is looking over her body in the shower. The camera is also used to focus on areas which promote arousal in sequences when she begins to pleasure her self and make out with the other woman. Capturing facial expressions and shots of the body. Similarly as stated before, this demonstrates both the female and quere gaze, but still conveys a large element of the film being orientated around the male gaze. This can be argued, on the grounds that each of the scenes that are said to reinforce the male gaze may also have an alternative reading into reinforcing the oppositional gazes, such as the scene where Nina engages in sexual acts with another woman; being voyeuristic but also a key features into demonstrating how she does not know what it is she wants, still trying to establish who she is.
para 4
A key aspect of spectatorship is the emotional response we have from a film which can be established partially by the spectator’s gender. This ties in with reception theory, in the way we can determine the success of the experience, from the meaning we assign to it. Reception theory deems the “assigning of meaning” to be impossible without the spectator, due to the fact it is how they interpret the film. The three processes of spectatorship where gender and other factors can be integrated are recognition, alignment and allegiance. We begin by identifying a character, which we then align with; either producing an emotional response or the ability to relate our own lives with that of the characters. The last stage is allegiance in which we find ourselves on the same side as the character, following them on their journey. It can be argued however that it is not just someones gender that constructs the experience of the spectator, but various other factors also. This could include factors such as our experiences, sexuality, age or even ethnicity.
Quite a lot of these other factors are addressed in Black Swan, yet gender remains one of the key factors in relation to determining the experience of the spectator. Although it incorporates the outlook on world from the view of Nina, our female protagonist, it is still arguably viewed as voyeuristic for males having sexual scenes of two women and scenes that captures Nina in scenarios where she is vulnerable. This as a contemporary film is seen to have evolved since movies such as Clockwork Oranges which depicts woman more so as objects and expendable in the eyes of the male protagonist Alex. In this film the woman are used mainly to please the male audience, having them naked a certain points, or merely there to act as sexual gratification for Alex. A film where woman would most likely take a different stance than that of men. It is my belief that gender is still significant in films, but not as much as it used to be, on the basis the other factors that contribute play an equally as important role to comply with that of a postmodern audience.
para 5
A contemporary film that relates strongly to gender, but with the incorporation of the Female Gaze, as opposed to the Male Gaze, is True Grit. The film True Grit promotes woman as having the potential to be equally as influential and powerful as men; whether this is through the art of negotiation, remaining composed or even displaying physical dominance. We are able to draw these conclusion due to several reasons, the first being the protagonist, Mattie, is also a child as well as being female, which puts an even larger emphasis on her abilities as a woman. Another reason is her role in the western genre, where men are stereotypically promoted as the masculine fighters that engage in conflict. By breaking this mould of the protagonist normally being a man, we are brought into a whole new way on how this character is perceived.
conclusion
In conclusion, I believe gender to play a significant role in generating the experience for the spectator, however it is not the only factor that comes into play when determining someones experience of a film. I would say that our individual experiences as people are equally if not more important than that of gender. This is on the basis it is my personal belief that we can relate more easily through the things that have happened to us, than the gender in which we are born with. It very much links to the philosophical quote “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. Only can we determine a spectators experience, once we have taken into account all the factors that apply to the individual.
