In the media, women are regularly objectified and sexualized for the satisfying gaze of white, hetereosexual men. One example that comes to mind is the difference between the character Rita Vratowski in the novel All You Need is Kill and the blockbuster film The Edge of Tomorrow. In the novel, Rita is described as a petite, mousy, red-headed 19-22 year old woman. The actress that plays Rita in the film, Emily Blunt, does not share many physical characteristics with the Rita from the novel; Emily Blunt is tall, blonde, conventionally attractive, and much older than 22. In the film, Emily Blunt is the heroine perceived through the lense of the male gaze, whether that be the director, Doug Liman, the protagonist, Tom Cruise, or the intended audience. With popular cinema, it’s usually men who write the films, men who make the films, and men who are the target audience. In the novel, Rita’s appearance is important to her character and the plot as she is often underestimated due to her size. Conventional attractiveness adheres to the male fantasy, so the casting of Emily Blunt fulfills the male gaze while subtracting a part of Rita’s integrity as a character. The male gaze reaffirms the power of the patriarchy by using women as props in the heterosexual male narrative.
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I also agree that the difference between Rita’s portrayal in the book vs her portrayal in the movie perfectly exemplifies how film producers are able to appeal to the male gaze. In the book, visual appearance is much less important because you are simply reading words on a page. However, in movies, there is a reason why conventionally attractive movie stars are so sought after. Producers want their actors to appeal to a gaze, even at the expense of the accuracy of the original story. This movie shows that to the producers, gaze is more important than staying true to the book.