Liberated Arts:

A Journal for Undergraduate Research

Volume 8, Issue 1 Article 5

2021

On Subversion: A Critical Assessment of

the Male Gaze in Contemporary Film
and Video Games
Duke Mwedzi
Rhodes University

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Recommended Citation
Mwedzi, Duke (2021) “On Subversion: A Critical Assessment of the Male Gaze in
Contemporary Film and Video Games,” Liberated Arts: a journal for undergraduate research: Vol. 8:
Iss. 1, Article 5.

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 On Subversion: A Critical Assessment of the Male Gaze in Contemporary
Film and Video Games
Duke Mwedzi, Rhodes University

Abstract: In a world saturated with entertainment that relies on tropes and clichés, subversion
has quickly become a popular technique for filmmakers. Feminist ideals which were previously
restricted to underground cinema are now implemented in major, mainstream releases. Many of
these releases defy Hollywood conventions like the male gaze in order to subvert and undermine
their influence on gender relations in the real word. These attempts at subversion vary in their
success, from simple gender role reversals to the creation of nuanced, independent female
characters. This paper argues that simple role reversal is not an effective technique for
subversion because it simply reaffirms sexist conventions from a female perspective. Rather, the
development of fully realised female characters is better equipped to be a subversive tool, and it
is being implemented with some success in the increasingly female video game industry.
Key words: Male Gaze; Popular culture; film; video games; feminism

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In a world saturated with entertainment that relies on well-trodden tropes and clichés, subversion
has quickly become a popular technique for filmmakers. This is especially true of feminist concerns
which were previously restricted to alternative cinema. Since the turn of the century, many feminist
ideals have been incorporated into mainstream film and media during what some have called a
fourth wave of feminism (Rivers, 2017: 7). One film technique in particular that has long been
critiqued is the male gaze, originally theorised by Laura Mulvey. The male gaze is a method of
depicting women onscreen as aesthetic objects of desire, both for male characters in the narrative
and for male spectators in the audience (Mulvey, 1975: 9). Since the end of the 20th century, the
entertainment industry has expanded into interactive mediums such as video games, which take
many of their stylistic cues from the more established norms of film. Among these norms is also
the male gaze, which has been problematised for contributing to a culture and community that is
hostile to women. Contemporary film and video games have attempted to subvert the male gaze
and its effects, and these attempts vary in complexity, from simple role reversal to nuanced
narrative focus on independent female characters. While Mulvey initially wrote about the
heterosexual gaze of a man after a woman, discussions have begun to consider the existence of a
non-heterosexual gaze as well. What most attempts to subvert the male gaze share in common is
the goal of portraying female characters whose meaning is not in their visual erotic appeal, but
rather in their agency and contributions to the narrative. These attempts have varied in their
meaningfulness, and this essay will critically consider their success as subversive tools by reviewing
scholarly literature on subversion in film and analysing subversion in recent major video game
releases.

1. Understanding the male gaze

In a subversive act of her own, Mulvey (1975: 7) interprets depictions of women in film by
appropriating Freudian psychoanalysis. Using the concept of the subconscious, she argues that
depictions of women onscreen are a manifestation of unconscious male desire (Mulvey 1975: 6).
For this reason, female characters in film and media exist primarily to be looked at and play little
or no meaningful role in the plot of a text (Mulvey, 1975: 11). Instead, female bodies are coded as
inherently sexual in a way that male bodies are not (Mulvey, 1975: 11). As a result, female characters
in film become bearers of meaning and not creators of it (Mulvey, 1975: 7). They bear the meaning
and expectations that are placed on them by male filmmakers and characters, rather than creating
meaning by making important choices. As an example, Mulvey (1981: 13) points to the Greek
myth where female character Andromeda sits tied to a rock, waiting idly for the male hero Perseus
to slay the monster and rescue her. Andromeda bears meaning as a helpless victim; Perseus creates
and projects this meaning onto Andromeda by taking action to go and save her. Mulvey observes
that this pattern plays out in film, and more recent examples like The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
continue to reinforce the notions of male activity and sexualised female passivity.
An important outcome of the male gaze is the unequal power dynamic that it creates. As active
gazers, male characters and audience members project their desires and expectations onto women
whose bodies and personalities are styled accordingly (Mulvey, 1975: 11). In this way, the gaze of
a man becomes a tool for controlling women’s behaviour. Female characters who are
conventionally attractive gain affirmation and attention while ‘unattractive’ or uncooperative
female characters hardly exist in film at all. There are three gazes that achieve this effect. The first
is the gaze of the camera, which is usually operated by a man and sexually frames female body
parts (Jacobsson, 1999: 7). These close-up shots often use body doubles and post-production
techniques like airbrushing to maximise their utility as scenes for male interest. The second is the
gaze of male characters in the film after female characters (Jacobsson, 1999: 7). This is usually the
protagonist of a film, and as the audience identify with him, they also adopt his desires for the
female character (Mulvey, 1975: 12). The third gaze is the that of male spectators in the audience

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who take on the main character’s desire for a female character, but also gaze upon the actresses
playing the role (Jacobsson, 1999: 7). In this way, the gaze of the audience is twofold. The result
of these gazes is that female spectators must identify with either a male protagonist, or with a
passive, objectified female character (Mulvey, 1981: 12). Neither is ideal, but the latter risks
undermining women’s agency in the real world by reinforcing the idea that a woman’s value is
determined by how she relates to men. The male gaze suggests that as passive meaning bearers, a
woman’s worth is validated by male attention, and in order to receive this attention she must
cooperate with dominant male expectations of femininity. Feminist thought resists this notion and
filmmakers have attempted to promote female agency by subverting the male gaze.

2. Subversion as a creative technique

The word ‘subversion’ usually carries negative political connotations (Cieślak & Rasmus, 2012: 1).
In simple terms, subversion is resisting the political and social status quo with the goal of
undermining its power (Cieślak & Rasmus, 2012: 1). For established authorities, subversion is
associated with dangerous revolutions that threaten their position. For creatives like filmmakers,
subversion is a method of creating culture that critiques dominant norms and promotes radical
ideals. This means that in film and TV, subverting the male gaze operates on two levels. First, on
a technical level, creating a film that does not use the male gaze can be said to be subversive
because the male gaze as a technique is such a widespread and established norm in the film
industry. Filmmakers who choose not to use it are pushing against the status quo and what is
expected of them as creatives. Secondly, critiquing the male gaze is subversive at a cultural level.
By creating a film that resists established techniques, filmmakers also resist the dominant ideals
that are reinforced by those techniques. This means that while the male gaze perpetuates notions
of male activity and female passivity, subversive pieces can undermine the authority of this belief
and affirm female activity in the real world.
In order to gauge the success of a text, subversive pieces can be measured against two primary
goals. The first is whether or not the film affirms female agency. The male gaze reduces female
characters to ornaments onscreen whose impact on the plot is insignificant, so in order to
successfully subvert it, female characters must exercise agency and contribute meaningfully to the
narrative. The second goal of subversion is creating entertainment that women can enjoy without
having to identify with a male character or be subject to depictions of passive femininity. For the
purposes of this essay, these two goals will be used to measure the effectiveness of attempts at
subversion.

3. Simple role reversal

The first and most obvious way to subvert the male gaze is by simply reversing the gender roles.
This can be done by inverting the gaze of the camera so that its focus is on male objects of female
desire. Reversing the gaze to objectify male bodies is a popular technique in ‘chick flicks’, romantic
comedies that cater almost exclusively to female audiences (Perfetti-Oates, 2015: 18). To this
effect, Perfetti-Oates (2015) discusses the objectification of male bodies for the enjoyment of a
female audience to examine whether a female gaze exists in contemporary cinema. Among the
films she discusses are The Proposal (2009), Magic Mike (2012), and The Twilight Saga: New Moon
(2009). The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, reverses real-world gender
stereotypes by presenting Bullock’s character as a high-powered female editor-in-chief with a male
assistant, played by Reynolds (Perfetti-Oates, 2015: 21). In an inversion of the cliché shower scene
which would typically feature close ups of a woman’s body as she exits the shower, the film instead
focusses on Reynolds’ body as he removes his clothes to enter the shower (Perfetti-Oates, 2015:

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22). As is to be expected, a misunderstanding between the characters ensues, but the scene is
notable in that the gaze of the camera objectifies a male actor for the amusement of a heterosexual
female audience. Another example of male objectification by simple role reversal is the sitcom
Broad City (2014-2019) which features two female protagonists, Ilana and Abbi. In a trailer titled
‘Hot Guys’, Ilana and Abbi are lounging in a swimming pool when three muscular male characters
arrive and start posing suggestively for the camera which focusses on different parts of their bodies
(Comedy Central, 2014). The trailer inverts the pool scene cliché in which one or more male
characters gaze lewdly at an attractive woman in swimwear. What Broad City and The Proposal share
in common is that they both reverse the male gaze, but for comedic effect. These scenes exist as
a parody of Hollywood clichés scenes that use the male gaze, but they do not necessarily subvert
or undermine the male gaze in a meaningful way. Rather, they serve as a humorous critique of the
male gaze by highlighting the strangeness of focussing on a character’s body.
A more serious attempt to sexualise male bodies can be found in the comedy-drama Magic Mike
(2012). The film stars Channing Tatum as the titular character, a male stripper. Because of its
subject matter, male nudity is not only a feature of the film but central to the plot (Perfetti-Oates,
2015: 24). In this instance, the gaze of the camera and the gaze of the audience are directed towards
male bodies. To a lesser extent, the male characters are also under the gaze of female characters
who watch the performances of Mike and other male dancers onstage (Perfetti-Oates, 2015: 24).
From this perspective, Magic Mike is a more complete reversal of the male gaze in a slightly more
serious film, but the reversal is not perfect. This is because while Tatum and his character are
objectified, Mike is still the protagonist of the film. Women in the audience must identify with him
in order to enjoy the film, even as they gaze upon his body. This is unlike the male gaze in a film
like The Wolf of Wall Street where objects of the gaze do not influence plot. In Magic Mike, male
characters are erotic objects of pleasure for female spectators, but they still exercise agency as the
main characters. This complicates the binary of active male subject and passive female object that
Mulvey initially presents (Perfetti-Oates, 2015: 25). The character Mike demonstrates that it is
possible for a character to be both an object of desire and an active protagonist. Another reason
why Magic Mike is not a perfect reversal is that the sexuality of Mike’s character acts as an obstacle
to long term female desire. Mike’s profession as a male dancer is initially off-putting to female love
interest Brook, whose interest in him is only sexual and not romantic (Perfetti-Oates, 2015: 27). It
is only once Mike quits his job as a stripper that Brook agrees to go on a date with him. This also
is unlike the conventional male gaze, where a female character’s sexuality serves to heighten male
desire, not repel it.
While Magic Mike inverts the gaze upon a male protagonist, The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)
sexualises male bodies with a female protagonist. Over the course of the film, a love triangle
develops between a mortal woman Bella, the vampire Edward, and a werewolf, Jacob. This makes
New Moon a direct reversal of the gaze because it features a female protagonist whose desire is for
male characters. The most explicitly sexualised character in the film is Jacob, who appears in most
of his scenes shirtless (Perfetti-Oates, 2015: 23). As a result, Jacob is the object of all three gazes:
the gaze of the camera, the gaze of an almost entirely female audience, and the gaze of main
character Bella. This is in contrast to Edward, who only appears shirtless once in the film and is
characterised more by his brooding demeanour and tender interactions with Bella (Perfetti-Oates,
2015: 26). For this reason, it is possible to argue that Jacob only exists in the narrative to create
friction between Bella and Edward. This is shown by the fact that Jacob does not exercise much
agency in the plot; in the end, Bella chooses to stay with Edward. Much like Mike in Magic Mike,
Jacob is an erotic object of female sexual desire, but not of long-term romantic commitment. What
Magic Mike and New Moon demonstrate is that if a female gaze does exist, it is unlike the male gaze
in that it discriminates between objects of sexual desire and of romantic commitment. Characters
like Mike and Jacob are coded for visual, erotic pleasure, but female characters are hesitant to
commit to them romantically in favour of more sensitive, less sexualised characters. The plot of

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New Moon also indicates that a female gaze is not necessarily subversive. Even though the audience
identifies with a female protagonist, the film does not affirm female agency that exists independent
of male characters. Bella’s character drives the narrative forward, but only in relation to choosing
between two male love interests. This does not resist the notion that female meaning comes from
male attention as Mulvey (1975) originally observed; it only reaffirms it from a female perspective.
Perfetti-Oates (2015) suggests that films that reverse the roles of active male gazer and passive
female object do indeed create a female gaze which is more complex and selective than the
conventional male gaze, but such a gaze does not necessarily subvert the male gaze and what it
communicates. Like ‘Andromeda on the Rocks’, male characters and actors remain the creators of
meaning which is projected onto female characters, with the narrative being told from the
perspective of a female character. In order to meaningfully subvert the male gaze and its effects,
more nuanced and subtle approaches are needed than simple role reversals.

4. Creating nuanced female characters: trends in the video game industry

A notable area of popular culture where the male gaze is being challenged is the video game
industry. Interactive entertainment has become an increasingly significant cultural phenomenon in
recent years, generating more revenue than both the film and music industries (Bloomberg, 2019).
65% of adults in the US report playing video games, and most of them state that a game’s premise
or story influences their purchasing decisions (Entertainment Software Association, 2019: 4). This
is likely because most major video games take their cinematic and narrative cues from film,
meaning that the gaming industry has built on the legacy of film to become an influential medium
for the propagation of popular norms and ideals. These games feature photorealistic visuals,
traditional camera techniques, and Hollywood-style action adventure plots, clearly demonstrating
their heritage in Hollywood as a medium for storytelling. As a stereotypically male form of
entertainment, the gaming industry has also been criticised for catering to a male gaze the same
way cinema does. However, as more women become interested in playing and creating video
games, this has begun to change.
An interesting example is the reimagining of Lara Croft in the rebooted Tomb Raider game (2013).
The Tomb Raider games and film adaptations have long been criticised by fans and scholars alike
for hypersexualising Lara Croft’s body (Ahwesh, 2001: 77). However, Tomb Raider (2013) focusses
on her origin story as she and a documentary crew are stranded on a tropical island. While her
slender, athletic character model is still normatively attractive, Lara’s character is not sexualised in
the extreme like her original incarnation in 1996 (MacCallum-Stewart, 2014). The 2013 game
instead presents Lara as a character to be empathised with as she goes through the traumatic
experience of having to kill in order to survive (MacCallum-Stewart, 2014). This does not mean
that she is weak or a victim, though. By the end of the game, she has single-handedly rescued all
of her crewmates and lead the effort to escape the island (MacCallum-Stewart, 2014). In this way,
Tomb Raider depicts Lara as an active female character by having all the narrative momentum of
the game swing around her actions. This is effective because while Lara does exist to be looked at
because of her conventional attractiveness, the plot of the game depends on her decisions and
development as a character. The nuance of Tomb Raider is also in the fact that unlike Bella in New
Moon, Lara acts with no need or even desire for male romantic attention. This makes Tomb Raider
subversive of the male gaze by depicting female agency independent of male influence. The success
of this subversion is also indicated by the fact that the rebooted Tomb Raider series is one of the
most popular action adventure games among female players, who make up 46% of video game
consumers (Entertainment Software Association, 2019: 14). The depiction of an active, female
protagonist who creates meaning rather than having it projected onto her by a male character has
resonated with female players and this is reflected in the popularity of the game among women.

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Tomb Raider is a meaningful subversion of the male gaze because it presents an empowered, sexually
independent protagonist that female audiences can identify with.
Another example of nuanced female characterisation in video games is Mary Jane in Marvel’s Spider-
Man (2018). Much like Tomb Raider, Marvel’s Spider-Man is a reimagining of the franchise and exists
independently of the films. However, unlike Lara Croft, Mary Jane is not the protagonist of the
game and her romantic relationship with Spider-Man/Peter Parker is a major part of her role in
the narrative. It is not her only role though, as an investigative journalist she uncovers dangerous
crime in New York City and works closely with Spider-Man in solving them. This stands in contrast
to Mary Jane’s character in the Spider-Man film (2002), who was constantly in danger and in need
of Spider-Man’s help, a typical ‘damsel in distress’. As an object of the male gaze, the film also
placed much emphasis on her physical appearance by depicting her as an aspiring actress. In the
game, however, Mary Jane is not onscreen for most of her interactions with Peter and
communicates with him mostly via phone calls. This is a creative subversion of the male gaze
because it forces players to engage with Mary Jane’s words and thoughts more than her physical
appearance. As a result, Mary Jane’s role is more as Spider-Man’s partner than his love interest.
This characterisation is also nuanced because it affirms female agency by making her actions central
to the narrative, but at the same time depicts a healthy, cooperative relationship with a male
character. Mary Jane does not need Peter’s attention to influence the game’s narrative; as a journalist
her work is useful to Spider-Man whether they are romantically involved or not. However, she
chooses to associate with Peter professionally and romantically. Marvel’s Spider-Man effectively
subverts the male gaze by having Mary Jane strike a balance between the extremes of obsessively
craving male validation and isolating oneself from male characters altogether. Within Mulvey’s
framework, Mary Jane can be said to be creating meaning in the narrative by making choices
without which the story cannot continue, regardless of whether or not Peter acknowledges it. The
game is also notable because it indicates that it is possible to have a nuanced female character
outside of the protagonist role.

5. A queer gaze?
Marvel’s Spider-Man subverts the male gaze between heterosexual characters, but there have been
attempts to depict a non-heterosexual gaze in film as well. An interesting example is the Brazilian
film The Way He Looks (2014), which tells the story of a romance between blind teenager Leo and
the new boy at his school, Gabriel (O’Sullivan, 2014). Their romance is complicated by Leo’s
childhood friend Giovanna, who also has romantic affections for Leo. A love triangle of sorts
develops, but the film largely focusses on the homosexual relationship between Leo and Gabriel
(O’Sullivan, 2014). The Way He Looks does not necessarily affirm female agency or create especially
nuanced female characters, but it does subvert the male gaze by resisting the idea that objects of
male desire are always female. By rejecting Giovanna’s advances in favour of Gabriel, Leo’s
character undermines heteronormativity in Hollywood and in the real world. The film is also
interesting because as a blind protagonist, Leo directly challenges the notion that male desire is
strictly visual. This creates a complex dynamic because the audience identifies with Leo’s non-
visual desire for Gabriel, but still benefit from the gaze of the camera. The audience can gaze upon
Gabriel’s character and assess his physical attractiveness, but Leo cannot. As the audience identifies
with Leo they are forced to consider the non-visual ways that Gabriel can be an object of desire.
The result is that male sexual desire is picked apart and reconstructed without visual pleasure,
making the audience reflect on which elements of sexuality are visual and which are not. While
Marvel’s Spider-Man made players engage with Mary Jane primarily through her voice, The Way He
Looks pushes this to the extreme by eliminating sight altogether. This creates a romantic
relationship that is marked by sexual desire but not dependent on physical appeal.

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6. Conclusion
Patterns in contemporary entertainment show that subverting the male gaze is a difficult task. The
initial impulse is to reverse the gaze and focus it on male bodies, but films like New Moon and Magic
Mike show that this is neither helpful for men nor empowering to women. What they do show is
that if a female gaze exists, it is much more complex than the male gaze. Male objects of female
desire are either purely sexual, or long-term romantic companions, and female characters tend to
favour the latter. More nuanced attempts at subversion are also emerging from the video game
industry which has long been criticised for being hostile towards women and catering to a male
gaze. Games like Tomb Raider and Marvel’s Spider-Man depict female characters who are capable and
exercise agency with no need for male approval. Contemporary popular culture has also begun to
challenge the heteronormativity of the male gaze. The Way He Looks is one of many films and TV
shows that feature non-heterosexual romance, and the film goes further to consider sexual desire
without visual pleasure. These efforts show that contemporary creatives have become much more
aware of how their work depicts women, and many of them are wilfully pushing against what is
expected of them.

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Author Bio:
DUKE MWEDZI is studying his Bachelor of Arts Honours in Sociology at Rhodes University in
Makhanda, South Africa. His research interests include development studies, quantitative methods,
and higher education access. Aside from Sociology, Duke also has an interest in International
Relations, acting as Deputy Editor of student content at e-ir.info.