OUGD501
Nathan Bolton
BAGD Level 5
To What Extent Is ‘The Gaze’ Theory Still Relevant In Modern Advertising This essay will set out to explore the use of ‘The Gaze’ theory throughout different periods of society, this will include demonstrating how the technique has been developed to being used in todays advertising. “ Advertisements rather provide a structure which is capable of transforming the language of objects to that of people and vice versa ” (Williamson, J. 2010, Decoding Advertisements) Advertisements play an important role in today’s society; they are used to shape our surroundings, the things we buy and the way in which we live. Even if you don’t read the newspaper or watch television, you can’t escape the vast array of adverts used in today’s modern world. Advertisements create structures of meaning; they sell things to us. They have to take the characteristics of the products they are selling and make them mean something to the viewer. In other words they make the viewer think that they need the product and that, that product will improve their lifestyle. One technique used in advertisements is ‘The Gaze’. This is a psychoanalytical term, first brought into use by Jacques Lacan and used to describe the awareness that a person can be viewed upon. In todays language it is used by many theorists to refer how viewers look at images of people, and how the gaze is depicted in visual media. Many philosophers challenged Lacans idea of ‘The gaze’; the most famous for doing so was Michel Foucault. He spoke about the gaze in his book ‘ Discipline and punish’ which adapted the gaze for power relations and discipline mechanisms. “ The Gaze is integral to systems of power and ideas about knowledge” (Foucault, M. Discipline and Punish)
OUGD501
Nathan Bolton
BAGD Level 5
The gaze is not something that someone has or can use; it is a relationship in which someone enters. In 1972, theorist John Berger insisted that women were still ' depicted in a different way to men -‐ because the 'ideal' spectator is always assumed to be male and the image of the woman is to flatter him '. Jib Fowles another theorist backs this idea of Berger’s by saying ' in advertising males gaze, and females are gazed at' (Fowles.J, 1996). Laura Mulvey who spoke about the gaze in her essay ‘Visual Pleasure and narrative Cinema’ in 1975 supported Berger’s theory. Mulvey’s concept of the gaze was that women are objectified in film because men were in control of the camera. They would make the camera linger on the curves of the female body, making them an object on which the males can look upon. “Pleasure in looking has been split between active-‐male and passive-‐female” (Mulvey 1992, 27). Mulvey refers ‘the male gaze’ to the term scopophilia -‐ the pleasure involved in looking at other people’s bodies as (particularly, erotic) objects. This is most apparent when watching a film in the cinema. The darkness of the auditorium makes it okay for the viewer to look upon the women in the film, as they cannot be seen looking back and other members in the auditorium cannot see them doing it. Berger further explored theory he set out in 1972 and wrote a book about his findings of the male gaze -‐ "Ways of Seeing". He observed, "According to usage and conventions which are at last being questioned but have no means overcome -‐ men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at (Berger 1972, 45,47).
OUGD501
Nathan Bolton
BAGD Level 5
By this, Berger means that it is difficult for women not to think of themselves as being looked at, because they are used in this way so much in the media, compared to men. Women are constantly surveying the idea of femininity. Berger argued that in the Renaissance period, European art depicted that women were aware of being seen by a spectator. He later adds that from the seventeenth century, paintings of nude females reflected that the women had accepted they were being viewed in such a way. He recognised that all European sexual imagery within the Renaissance period was frontal because the sexual character is the spectator looking at it. Finally he introduced the idea that the gaze was used within oil paintings and in later years colour photography as a desire to possess the things or lifestyle that were depicted within the artwork or image. This was also the same for the women portrayed. Berger’s theories can be identified by closely examining the paintings of the Renaissance period. At this time the paintings were done by male artists for the male viewers, it was exclusively for males and that could be seen in the direction of the paintings. The women were always nude and often had their body turned towards the viewer, with their head turned away. This direction of the gaze made it okay for the viewer to be looking upon her, as she couldn’t see them looking. The women in the paintings knew they were being used as an object to be looked at by the males, but accepted this, as it was now part of society for men to do so. Hans Memling’s painting of ‘Vanity’ relates to this ideology of the male mind. The composition of the woman in the painting was done in this way because the artist, being a male enjoyed looking at her naked. Often symbols were used within paintings, here a mirror is being used giving the impression the woman is vain– hence the name ‘Vanity’ and making it seem viable for people to look upon her, but really it is seen as a symbol that the woman is looking at herself, just like all the viewer will be looking at her.
OUGD501
Nathan Bolton
BAGD Level 5
“ Almost all Renaissance European sexual imagery is frontal – either literally or metaphorically – because the sexual protagonist is the spectator – owner looking at it” (Berger, 1972) The painting ‘Birth of Venus’ by artist Alexandre Cabanel reflects Berger’s idea. In this painting a women is seen to be a Goddess – Venus, this implies she is high in power and is someone to be looked at as a figure. The status of this person claims that if someone of this class can act in such a way and condone this behavior then it must be okay for us to view her in this light. The position in which she is placed draws the viewers to her body, which is facing us, with her head turned away and covered by her hand. The majority of the painting is taken up by her body itself, focusing the attention on that and not of her face, this makes it easy for the viewer to look at her as a sexual object because this is how she is portraying herself. This same idea and position of the gaze can be seen in the modern advertisement for Opium, which features Sophie Dahl. Here the original photography for the advertisement had Sophie Dahl laid in a similar position as the painting ‘Birth of Venus’, she was naked covering her breasts with her hands. When this was presented to the company they turned it down because they thought it was too sexual. To correct this the designers simply rotated the image, so it was portrait and this gave the composition a completely different meaning. Now the main attention went to the models head and not her body. The direction of the gaze is an important factor to focus on. All paintings and adverts have a direction of the gaze. This is how the model in frame is looking back at the viewer; many theorists can depict a meaning from the way in which they are gazing. To illustrate this we can compare Titians ‘Venus of Urbino’, 1538 and Manet’s ‘Olympia’, 1863. Here both paintings include a model, which is laid out on a chaise longue. Both models are looking directly at the viewer, but the expressions in which they have are both different. In ‘Venus or Urbino’ her head
OUGD501
Nathan Bolton
BAGD Level 5
is positioned looking up at the viewer, she has the knowledge that the viewer is present, but doesn’t want the attention to be on her face. To change this her arm is positioned casually leading you down her body, to where she covers herself with her hand, but it is still in an inviting way and makes the viewer then look to her body. In comparison ‘Olympia’ is more assertive. The model is still in the same position although her head is lifted more as she is acknowledging the viewer and presenting towards them. She is covering herself in the same way except her hand is pressed against her body in a more defensive manner. We can depict from the painting that model is most likely to be a prostitute as it is showing success and wealth through the jewels and flowers that she is receiving – probably from one of her admirers. This painting was seen as modern reality and shocked the society. The Gaze is normally associated with the idea of men gazing upon women, but in some advertisements this can be flipped around and the focus can be on the males, which present the female gaze; females gazing upon men. Paul Messaris comments that “During the past two decades or so, there has been a notable countertrend in male-‐oriented advertising, featuring men whose poses contain some of the same elements – including the direct view – traditionally associated with women’ (Messaris 1997, 45). Take Dolce & Gabbana advertisement from 2007. This pictures a group of males in only underwear in a gym stood around a weights machine. All the males are looking directly at the viewer, just like the paintings and ads that include women. However the way in which we interpret this is much different to that of women. Instead of females looking at the viewer to acknowledge them or entice them in, the males are looking at the viewer in the way of authority, its like they are saying ‘ I know you are looking at me’. The male’s body here is seen as a powerhouse, depicted from the gym and weights, they are the active gender and the cult of fitness. This is showing what all males should look like and that they should have that dominating attitude towards women.
OUGD501
Nathan Bolton
BAGD Level 5
In 1984 Rosalind Coward wrote an essay on the male gaze called‘ The look’. This was another idea taken from Berger’s interpretation of the male gaze, but applied to the modern society. In this essay she has depicted a picture of a women stood in the streets with little clothing, but high heels and sunglasses on. Here it is seen that the camera in contemporary media has been used as an extension of the male gaze. The nudity of the women portrays the theory that it is okay for men to view them in this way, also the use of the sunglasses and high heels adds an element of glamour to the photograph; as women must dress to impress and look their best at all times due to being constantly judged. However this is not the correct image to be using in the media as girls will see this and think it is an acceptable way to dress and act. Rosalind has shown that in todays society women are still being depicted in different ways from men, this is because the ideal spectator is always assumed to be a man and in that case the advertising and images are designed to flatter the male gender. This can be seen in the mass media presence, for example women are viewed in a very glamorous and sexualised way. In todays society this tends to take on the physique of big breasts, long hair and tanned skin. A good example of this is Katie Price. Culture wants women to be and look this way, but it can also be seen as a joke because Katie Price has been pulled into the media frenzy and has used the advertising of an ‘ideal’ woman to become the way she is today. Charles Lewis reports, “From the mid 1980’s onwards and present today American teenagers have chosen to be portrayed differently in there high-‐school yearbooks – the focus of their eyes has shifted from a straightforward, open look to a sideways glance resembling glamour poses in fashion magazines” (citied in Barry 1997, 268). Looking further at the idea of women being sexualised; Lynx often use women within their advertising campaigns. Recently Kelly Brooke has featured in a
OUGD501
Nathan Bolton
BAGD Level 5
campaign. In the advertisement she is in a kitchen pulling a chicken out of the oven with the tagline ‘ Can she make you lose control?’ "The relations involved in looking enmesh with coercive beliefs about the sexual behaviour for men and women" (Coward. R, ‘The Look’) At first view of the advert, you can see that the woman has very little clothing on and this appeals to the male viewer. The model is very attractive and is used to draw to the attention of the male, as this is the their persona of the female gender. This shows that the media present females as sexual objects and the male gender make it acceptable to ‘gaze’ upon her. The position that the model has been placed in the advert, makes it more sexual to the viewer, the first part of the body you see is her long legs and bum, this draws you in and makes you look at her looking back at you with a very submissive face. Again this is appealing to the male gender giving them something to look at, along with the aspect of being able to fantasize about the women, it refers to the idea of a 'Peeping Tom' and the fact that the males can distance themselves from the image and women but still can think about her in the fantasy they create. "Clearly this comfort is connected with feeling secure or powerful. And women are bound to this power precisely because visual impressions have been elevated to the position of holding the key to our psychic well-‐being, our social success and index to whether or not we will be loved" (Coward. R, ‘The Look’) It is believed that women must fulfil the role given to them by a male’s perspective; they must look good and be there as a sexual object because that is their job. By doing this it gives them the attention they seek from males. In the advert you can see that the women is placed within a kitchen environment and is cooking as she is pulling a chicken out from the oven, this again refers back to the idea that males think of women in a particular way and think that they should do certain jobs. Men think that women should be ones that clean and
OUGD501
Nathan Bolton
BAGD Level 5
cook within the household, thus this advert is appealing to that sense of the males mind and making this ideal situation that they can imagine themselves in. The words ' Can she make you lose control' are used in the advertisement to relate to the fact that males see themselves as the dominating gender and want to control how a woman should behave around them. This sentence is used because the submissive woman in the advert is very different to what the male is used to, this is what the males would fantasize about, yet she is there in front of them doing everything they think a women should do. In this sense they have lost control of that. It also has sexual connotations, which links in with the feel of the advert. The quote from Coward, R ’The Look’ describes this idea of the women living up to the expectation of the male. "Some people -‐ those concerned with maintaining the status quo -‐ say that men's scrutiny of women is just part of the natural order " "Advertisements set in motion work and the desire for products; narcissistic damage is required to hold us in this axis of work and consumption" (Coward. R, “The Look”) Advertising throughout the media has played a big part in todays society, we bring up children around the media, watching TV, reading magazines and using the Internet, and because of this they often look up to celebrities and people in the press to base their own lifestyle on. Similar to the Renaissance when you would look up to the high status figure within the paintings. We are led to believe that if these original perceptions of women being ‘gazed’ upon had never been present in Renaissance paintings or latter day culture, then the way in which women are viewed now could have been different. For example, women would not have been used as an advertising tool to attract the members of society, making them think they can have a certain lifestyle if they bought the product.
OUGD501
Nathan Bolton
BAGD Level 5
The same attitudes towards women are still being depicted in modern day advertisements. Women are being advertised with the 'perfect body', making females in society think that they need to be like this. Males are still seen as the ideal spectator, which makes them think it is ‘okay’ for them to view women in a voyeuristic way. This essay has demonstrated how the gaze has been applied throughout different periods in society and that it is still a significant technique used in modern advertising today.
OUGD501
Nathan Bolton
BAGD Level 5
Bibliography Berger, J. 1972. ‘Ways of Seeing’. London: British Broadcasting Corporation. Williamson, J. 1978. ‘Decoding Advertisements: Ideology and Meaning in Advertising’. London: Marion Boyars. Sturken, M & Cartwright, L. 2001. ‘Practices of looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture’. New York: Oxford University Press Inc. Goffman, E. 1979. ‘Gender Advertisements’. London: Harvard University Press. Himpe, T. 2006. ‘Advertising is Dead, Long Live Advertising’. London: Thames and Hudson. Packard, V. 2007. ‘The Hidden Persuaders’. New York: IG Publishing. Coward, R. 1984. ‘The Look’. London: Paladin. Chandler, D. 2000 ‘Notes on the Gaze’ Available from http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/gaze [Accessed January 2013]