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-Niambh Maher

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By Tamia Mullaney-Downer

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​Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory exemplifies female objectification through the eyes of a heterosexual male. Women are sexualised which can be portrayed through a range of techniques for example slow motion and close ups of a woman's physical features. In terms of a film, when male gaze is apparent, the audience are put in the perspective of a male, in order for them to see and feel every emotion the male is feeling about the woman. Although male gaze isn't an evident theory embedded in our film, when planning our film we wanted to portray Kyle as a 'ladies man' who Olivia found hard to trust. This meant that Kyle would make sexual references to Olivia forcing her to feel uncomfortable. The audience would get the impression he is with her for her looks and isn't one to trust. Despite this, we chose to present him more as an ignorant character rather than a predator. This is because the audience would feel more sympathy towards him when Olivia dies if he is more of an understanding character rather than an arrogant one. In conclusion, the male gaze theory is demonstrated to deny a woman of her identity, labelling her as an object of desire rather than an individual.

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Gender performativity is when we perform to the gender we are identified as. Judith Butler comments on this by criticizing the fact that it is an'outdated perception of gender'. In our film, there are some evident stereotypes which apply to gender performaitivity, because the characters are fulfilling the stereotypes of their gender. For example, Kyle is seen as the one who domineers the relationship, through his ability to manipulate Olivia into getting his own way. In our society, men are seen as more dominant, therefore he is fulfilling this stereotype. Olivia is demonstrated as submissive and meek at the start of the narrative, because she allows Kyle to get his own way even though she knows he is wrong. She also doesn't stand her ground when confronted by Kyle, demonstrating her subservient and timid persona, a personality trait women are identified to typically obtain. Kyle is also seen to achieve gender perofmaitivity when he raises his voice at Olivia when they  argue. Men are seen to be quite aggressive in order to assert authority and prove their masculinity, therefore the fact that Kyle does this conforms to the theory. However, there are also areas within the plot hat present counter typical takes on gender performativity. When Olivia decides to leave Kyle in order to start her future, she demonstrates a head strong and independent persona, labeling her as dominant within the relationship. When Kyle finds out Olivia has left, he is in a state of panic and has no control over the situation. His strong emotions almost conform to female performativity subverting the gender roles. In the past, media products tended to convey a straight forward message about ideal types of male and female identity, contemporary media products offer audiences a more diverse range of icons and characters allowing them to 'pick and mix' different ideas. The media provides audiences with the resources to allow them to construct their own identities. ​

Feminism - Misogyny/aspirational(post feminism)/Patriachy/objectification 

Patriachy has been an imminent theme throughout history, degrading woman as the inferior race and deeming them as weak and dependent on their husbands. We subvert this image of female inferiority through the character of Olivia, who challenges the stereotype of females being submissive within a relationship. We depicted her to be more focused on her future and life goals than a man when she decodes to leave Kyle for he own personal benefit, despite the hard decision. Kyle is left chasing Olivia because he wants her back and depends on her to be happy. Olivia is an inspiration and presents the aspiration women want to achieve which is making choices that make them happy. Olivia is therefore an emblem of female empowerment, thus making her a relatable character for the audience to follow, as well as an aspiration of what women want to be.

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• Categories and group not an individual 

• Exagerates certain key features of a group

• Has features that are recognised and understood

• Where stereotypes are negative they block the capacity of the audience to be objective and analytical - I disagree with this because in our film Kyle is exemplified the be argumentative, a stereotype fit into the male genders identification. Despite this negative stereotype, the audience can objective and analyse through his anger Olivia has brought this topic up more than once putting her in the position of someone who instigated the argument rather than Kyle over reacting. 

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Representation is the way in which meanings are produced through the signs and codes that are part of the media language.Within our film, there are certain conventions and codes implemented to distinguish the representation of the characters. Hall believes that visual representation is very important, because it allows the audience to understand and relate to the characters as well as the society of the times. It is argued that Stuart Hall  believes, 'communication is linked to power'. In our film when Olivia tries to communicate with Kyle he doesn't listen, exemplifying his power over her and his dominant position within the relationship. Hall then goes on to say that signs and codes are how meanings are produced. In our film, Calamity, there are two clear representations of the two protagonists:

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The character of Kyle is depicted to be very ignorant to wards his girlfriend, Olivia. Although he loves her, he doesn’t appreciate her as his girlfriend and puts his own needs and amusement before Olivia’s. This is exemplified trough the line, ‘(Itching the back of his neck nervously) Ah Liv! Its just, you know my mate Ryan. (Stuttering) he’s been… He’s been in a dark place at the moment… He needs some male support. You understand don’t you babe?’. The stage directions connote his guilt, demonstrating his awareness that he is in the wrong. However, is feeble attempt at an excuse, ‘he's been in a dark place’, exemplifies his want to be with his friends rather than Olivia, further depicting him as unloving. The phrase, ‘dark place’ also presents a form of irony and is used as a foreshadowing tool to exemplify Olivia’s death putting Kyle in a ‘dark place’ of guilt and sadness. The character of Kyle also uses emotional flattery on Olivia in order for her to comply with his decisions. This is epitomized through his actions of, ‘kissing Olivia n the cheek’ and him saying, ‘she is the best’. This flattery further demonstrates how he shows his appreciation when he is benefitting from her decisions. Despite this side of Kyle, when he finds out Olivia is leaving with the baby, he comes to the realisation that he must change his ways and his character is put in the position of a counter typical male, because he is in a vulnerable state. This paradoxes his dominant persona at the beginning of the plot. This juxtaposition exemplifies the development of Kyle’s character making him easier to sympathise and relate to.

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In our film ‘Calamity’, Olivia is exemplified to be a sensitive individual, who thrives on the basis of making her boyfriend happy. She has a kind heart and puts Kyle’s feelings above her own, enforcing her submissive persona within their relationship. This is exemplified through her allowance for Kyle to meet up with his friends after he promised he would attend her family barbeque, ‘No problem babe, the barbeque isn’t even important anyway. You go get Ryan out of that dark place’. The phrase, ‘no problem’ produces connotations of compliance, emphasising her resist to conflict. Her diegetic dialogue about the barbeque being of no importance is an emblem of Olivia within the relationship; a triviality. This emphasises how Kyle puts his best interests at heart before hers. This relates to Strauss theory of binary opposites, exemplifying the concept of dominant vs submissive. Olivia therefore is a stereotypical portrayal of females being the submissive gender within a relationship, due to her lack of self defence. However, when she decides to leave Kyle, she is representing counter typical traits of a typical female, because unlike many women, she diced to leave, in order to benefit herself, depicting her persona to be strong willed.

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By Tamia Mullaney-Downer​

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