Mulvey Theory

Mulvey proposed a theory called the male gaze, which focuses on how the media depicts women from a male's perspective. It shows how women are used in films solely as objects of male pleasure, and links in to scopophilia (pleasure in viewing). The male gaze consists of three perspectives;

- that of the person behind the camera
- that of the characters within the representation or film itself
- that of the spectator

In modern Hollywood films, it has become a common convention to place females in the cast that act simply as visual pleasure to draw male viewers in.

Traditional conventions of the male gaze in movies include;

- men playing active roles that drive the narrative
- women play passive roles that just show eroticism and add nothing to the narrative
- men outnumber women
- the women's physical attraction is used to overpower the men and show them as sexually weak (links to femme fatale)




The Wolf of Wall Street is a 2013 crime drama directed by Martin Scorsese, which shows the rise, indulgence and the fall of Jordan Belfort's Wall Street empire. The films is primarily driven by male characters and the majority of women in the film are used as Male eye candy and this reflects the real life story. An example of this is Jordan's Wife Naomi, who in one of the first proper introductions that we have to her is completely naked. Her sexuality is continued throughout the film, such as her using Jordan's attraction to her against him in the scene where she wants to punish him so she doesn't wear underwear.



A lot of the Male Gaze is employed right from the first scene. The scene is a montage style scene with narration from the lead character Jordan. There is a tracking shot of a Ferrari followed by a close up shot of Jordan receiving oral from a woman. Instantly that portrays women through a stereotypical male viewpoint and as a sex object. This is further amplified a few moments later when there is a wide shot, followed by a medium shot and a birds eye view shot of Jordan's wife in nothing but underwear rolling around on a bed and posing for the camera. There is also a point of view shot of her walking to the camera and holding a seductive stare. This all shows her through Jordan's eyes, inviting the audience to a place that is usually kept private (the bedroom). There is also more narration from Jordan saying "Yeah.... she was the one with my c*ck in her mouth in the Ferarri, so put your d*ck back in your pants". This monologue paired with the clips of his wife creates the impression that Jordan sees himself as 'the man' and that he has a lot to brag about when it comes to wealth and women. The film is told through Jordan's viewpoint, which obviously means that we are getting a male viewpoint, hence the male gaze.