I enjoy watching TV shows when I have the time to do so. Some
of my favorites include Two and a Half Men, The Simpsons, and The Walking Dead.
The media has a way of showing what is socially acceptable in society in
basically everything that gets televised. There are many different gender media
critiques from the likes of Judith Butler, Laura Mulvey, and Joseph Hoffswell.
In the media today, the Gaze theory is clearly evident. This
theory was introduced by Laura Mulvey in 1976. This states that all women on
the screen are subject to the male gaze. This is evident in the movie American
Pie. Women are seen as sexual objects that the four main characters attempt to
dominate. This movie shows these women as their subordinates. This type of
sexual reference goes on throughout the entire movie. The movie is then
followed by several other follow up movies again referencing the male
conquering the female object. (Hoffswell, 2013)
In the movie, Jim, Oz, Finch, and Kevin are four high school
friends who make a pact to lose their virginity before they graduate and head
off to college. The goal for these boys is to accomplish this task before prom
night. Along with advice from Jim’s father, these boys set off on their quest
to accomplish this goal. Eventually all four boys accomplish their goal while
at Stifler’s party on prom night.
While I did enjoy the humor of these movies, it is
alarming at home much sexual references were made. Women were clearly depicted
as objects for these four boys to conquer. It was definitely a movie I enjoyed
but after learning more about the Gaze theory in a communications class, I can clearly
see how woman are portrayed in this fashion. The more disturbing part of the
theory is that everyone is said to adopt the male gaze, because it is the only
way to view woman (Hoffswell, 2013).
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