The Male Gaze

Laura Mulvey came up with the theory called the 'Male Gaze' which is about the objectification of women in film. The audience are asked to take the male 'point of spectarship' in most cinema.

Identification- We psychologically align ourselves to the male lead's point of view.
Objectification- This is the male lead's romantic interest. As we align ourselves with his point of view, the audience desire the female lead also.

The theory suggests that the male gaze denies women human agency, which limits them to narrow and two dimensional roles, and they have no influence on the plot. She says that Freud's scopophilia theory is the key to understanding how film creates such a space for female explotation and objectification through patriarchal order of society, and looking in itself as a pleasurable act of voyeurism

Mulvey distinguishes between two types of women:
The Madonna- They are the ideal women, not sexually desired, they wear a lot of white to represent purity. Usually tend to be mothers and are sexually off limits.
The Whore- The object of desire, promiscuous and sexual object.