Research - Contradictions of Mulvey's Theory

Laura Mulvey argues the determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure which is styled accordingly. For those who don't quite get that statement, it means women are present to be looked at in a derogatory manner. Though some argue this problem persists in modern day music, I believe this is not the case. Though I've seen posts attempting to contradict Mulvey's theory, all the examples posted were by female singers; of course they're not going to conform! n order to contradict Mulvey's theory, we must look at music videos from male artists. Luckily, I found two examples: Calvin Harris' track 'I Need Your Love' and Labrinth's 'Beneath Your Beautiful'. Despite featuring female singers, both songs were written by both male artists to convey how much more women mean to them than just object, though both hold similar connotations, both are presented differently, here's as follows:

Labrinth's video looks at Emeli Sandé as a goddess. Using Andrew Goodwin's illustration, the lyrics suggest that she is a respected women who's not easy to 'pull'. This is reinforced in the video by the extreme close-up of Emeli's eyes. Linking in Carole Vernalis - matching the slow pace of the music, most of the video features a close-up of Emeli's eyes suggesting that all a guys attention should be used to focus on a woman's face, not their chest.

Though Ellie Goulding's seen with nothing but a bed-sheet on within the first five seconds of the video, this is used to document the fictional couple's happiness rather the male gaze; Harris' stepping out of the convention of displaying women as whores. Looking at Goulding as a soulmate, this video depicts what it's like to be with someone you love using multiple first-person POVs or better known as 'selfies', something which is considered by the general public as the norm in today's society.