Laura Mulvey Essay

In this scene from Apocalypse Now, we see Playboy girls entertaining male soldiers surrounding them. Already we see the gender positions established as the women are subordinate in entertaining the dominate gender.

In this scene. the men are represented as mainly having a primal instinct, wanting only to satisfy their sexual need (highlighted in Maslow's Hierarchy of needs). Seeing as they are men of war, they would seem to lose themselves playing more into the male stereotype of men who treat women as sex objects.

The lighting in this scene is mainly used from a spotlight perspective, accentuating female assets. As the spotlight suggests that the women are the main focus, it coulds be interpreted that they are sexually objectifying themselves as they would want to attract male attention.
The costumes that the women are wearing encourages a fetishistic gaze as the costumes consits of cowgirl, policewomen and apache dresses. As these costumes demand authority, the women are wearing them given an alternative representation of being dominant as they choose what to show to the male audience.

The diegetic sound in this scene plays the song Suzie Q, a song that reflects the situation in this scene as the lyrics "i like the way you walk" instantly reflect male thoughts and draw the audience more deeper into looking at the women through a male gaze. Furhter diegetic sounds are used when the men use derogatory terms for women such as "baby" and "bitch", anchoring the set roles of men and women in this scene.

Throughout this scene we see many medium-panning shots of the soldiers adorning the women, giving the audience an idea that all these men want the same thing and also gives the feeling that throughout the whole stadium a male gaze is present with all eyes fixated on the women. We also see a few close up shots of the women, highlighting their bodies combined with the spotlight which signifies the male gaze. As the film assumes that the audience viewing this film is male and hertrosexual, the film sets out to exploit the women in this scene as intra-diegetic gaze from a male perspective is present throughout this scene, giving the audience a chance to view the women from a more voyeuristic point of view, appriciating the women's beauty and the power it holds over the men. This scene encourages identification with the soldiers as we only hear male voices in this scene, presenting the male voice as dominant and having the last word. As male audiences identify with these soldier's sexual urges, they too can gain sexual gratification almost as if the strip tease is aimed at them, making a male gaze more present.

The mise-en-scene displayed also gives us more of an insight into how the male gaze is constructed. The clothing that is worn between the men and the women is drastically different as we see the women half naked and the men fully clothed, already showing the audience how these males percieve the women as sex objects. In terms of props, the women are given a more dominant position as they are seem holiding phallic symbols such as guns, immediatly gaining the upper hand over men. The facial expressions on the men's faces blaintently show that they only want these "sex objects", giving them a representation of of a beast who wants nothing more than to fornicate.