The most common definition of gaze is a type of long stare. When I first heard the word, that is what I immediately thought of. While the former definition may be part of the more specific media definition, the latter is a bit more intricate. The book defines gaze as “concerned with how gendered, raced, eroticized and controlled bodies become visible within media and other texts. A gaze is a type of lens that media can be viewed through based gender, sexuality, ethnicity, etc. In class a month or so ago, we discussed how the BTS video for “Butter” appealed to the female gaze in a variety of ways. This included sexualized dancing, clothing, and lyrics. Historically however, creators of media have tended to appeal to the male gaze when it comes to gender. One movie I have seen that does this is the Wolf of Wall Street. In this movie, women are sexualized and often portrayed to be “objects of conquest” for men. Additionally, the movie appeals to the fantasy that men successful should be rich and powerful. The movie promotes an image of men that many young people desire for their own lives without fully exploring the negative aspects of this lifestyle. In almost all media, gaze is an important factor for producers to consider when marketing their media to an audience.
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I think the idea of women as objects of male conquest is really prominent in media. The male gaze views women as sexual objects, which translates into almost every film and TV show with a male female dynamic. Women as the objects for a man’s conquests is heavily apparent in almost any film or TV show in which men are protagonists, especially in movies that take place in work, college, and high school settings. We can say all we want about how this idea is outdated and that our society has come a long way, but it is still apparent in even new media that’s released.