Laura Mulvey Major Lazer

The group that consisted of three members created a music video to the song major lazer. It didn’t involve it was a dance video.

Laura Mulvey’s theory talks a lot about the “male gaze” how the audience is forced to see the men in films from a man’s perspective and how woman in media are objectified by a stereotypical heterosexual culture. This theory was later adapted into the “spectators gaze” which is the same basic concept but is indiscriminate of gender.

When applied to the Major Lazer video the “male gaze” can be used to a very large degree. The song features a number of dancers of both gender, but the key difference is how the camera moves and is positioned when viewing female dancers to if it is a male dancer. The camera a zoomed in on certain aspects of the females body (legs etc.) so that we are meant to be admiring their bodies rather than their dancing. This is the complete opposite when a male dancer is the focus having a more zoomed out perspective which makes it easier to showcase their dancing technique so the audience is drawn to admire their dancing. While woman are on screen it is a “male gaze” which will switch to a “spectator gaze” when there is a male dancer on screen. This is evidence that the audience is expected to identify with a male heterosexuals perspective.