Laura Mulvey - Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema

Mulvey suggests that cinema audiences are forced to observe films from the perspective of a heterosexual male, which involves the gaze of the camera - otherwise referred to as the 'Male Gaze', the gaze of the audience and finally, the gaze of the characters within the film.

This concept is reinforced by Sigmund Freud's allusion to scopophilia, which is ultimately finding pleasure in observing; an expression of sexuality. Freud suggests that from babyhood, we have a natural tendency to fix our gaze upon objects and although we gain more control over what we observe as we grow, it never diminishes completely. Hence, Mulvey argues that the cinema is the perfect location for engaging in such 'voyeuristic fantasies', as a result of the dark, silent atmosphere in which nobody is restricted from viewing with pleasure.

The technical elements in film which significantly enhance the use of a male dominated camerawork include: close-ups, fragmentation, slow motion, focus, lighting/spotlighting and editing style in which we often see the shots cut between the spectator and the spectacle.
The visual elements include tight, or no clothing upon the female subject, some form of analogy between machinery or sexualised objects which is suggestive of ownership over women. All of which can be seen within the film examples below, reinforcing Mulvey's suggestion that the cinema is very patriarchal.