Anaconda ‘The Male Gaze Theory’

By Ciara Wall

Nicki Minaj ‘Anaconda’ Male Gaze Theory.

• Throughout this PowerPoint I will be applying Laura Mulvey’s ‘The Male Gaze Theory’ to the music video Anaconda by Nicki Minaj. This theory is clearly demonstrated throughout this video.

The 9 main features of Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze Theory are:• The representation of women in a sexual fantasy and from a heterosexuals

male point of view.• Scopophillia- the pleasure involved in looking at other peoples bodies.• Patriarchal society.• Objectification of female characters.• Active male and passive female.• Men – controlling subjects.• Women as an image.• Needs of male ego.• Men do the looking and the women are there to be looked at.

This screenshot which appears at the beginning of the music video links to the Male Gaze Theory as it shows the representation of women as a sexual fantasy. I can identify this from the clothing that the women are wearing which portrays them in a sexual way. For example, they are wearing very little clothing which is a black crop top and black hot pants which is seen to be highly revealing. Also they are wearing knee high leather boots that has the characteristics which are intended to present a dramatic sexy appearance, and are seen to be worn by a prostitute or dominatrix.

• Scopophillia- the pleasure involved in looking at other peoples bodies is another main feature of ‘The Male Gaze Theory’. This is clearly shown in these screenshots from the music video. Depending on the audience, scopophillia will be linked to these images as many males will get pleasure from watching this video and seeing women in lack of clothing, as they will fantasise over it and enjoy watching it. However it could be argued that some members of the audience may be offended by these images and may not agree with the portrayal of women in this way as it may create a negative view. Therefore this feature of the theory may be argued against by many people. This could be linked with the feature of ‘needs of the male ego’ this is because men will enjoy watching images of women acting ‘sexual’ towards each other whilst wearing pants and a bra. To highlight this there is certain shots which are close up such as the three shots of the girls bum that are shown, this will be used to catch the audiences eye and to ensure that their attention is based on this shot.

• This imagine clearly shows that its against the theory of patriarchal society. This is highlighted throughout the video as the video clip is women based including the main role of the video which is Nicki Minaj and there is one male in the video that is Drake, however he only appears at the end of the clip. The main singer (Nicki) is seen to be important and the attention is mainly on her throughout the video. She is also wearing gold which gives the impression that she has more dominance than all the other females in the clip.

This imagine clearly portrays one of the main features of ‘the male gaze theory’. This main feature is men do the looking and the women are there to be looked at. This is clear to the audience as many close ups are used on the women's bodies to draw the males attention to certain body parts such as her bum. These images are used to emphasise the size of her bum and to get males interested within the video.

• This image main focus’s on the women as an image, the reason I think this is due to the scene that is being used within this part of the video. For example, this part of the clip is based in a gym or a place that they work out, which implies that they care about the way they look and therefore this is portraying the idea that they want to look good and care about the ay they look. The main singer in this clip is based in the middle of the shot and is wearing different clothing to the other people around her this will be to show her importance within the video clip. The reason for this will be to make sure she stands out and to focus on her body. With the other girls around her wearing a lot more clothing than the main singer, this gives the impression that they all aspire to be like her and are trying to get the same imagine as her, therefore she is seen as a role model. This image also thinks with another feature which is objectification of female characters, this is because within this clip the women are used for entertainment for the audience which is mainly focused at the male gender due to the clothing being limited and the clip showing the women seductively.

• Within this imagine there are two features that go against the theory, these are men who are controlling subjects and active male and passive female. This picture which is shown in a wide angled shot clearly shows that it goes against the theory as the man is sat down being a passive male, whilst the woman is being the active female and trying to seduce him. This shot shows just the man and woman in the middle, this will be to ensure all the attention is based on them.