Voyeurism
A Freudian idea that explains the gendered pleasures of cinema, referring to the idea of looking in order to gain sexual pleasure. It has been argued that the male viewers' gaze at the screen is geared to notions of voyeurism in that it is a powerful controlling gaze at the objectified female on display. In music videos, the female on display has become a staple element, particularly in female commercial pop and modern rap genres.
Goodwin on Voyeurism
He argues that the female performer will frequently be objectified in this fashion, through a combination of camerawork (eg tilts, close ups) and editing, with fragmented body shots emphasising a sexualised treatment of the star.
This is not just limited to female performers: in male performance videos too, the idea of voyeuristic treatment of the female body is often apparent with the use of dancers as adornments flattering the male star ego.
Laura Mulvey
Mulvey argues that there are three forms of 'looking': camera to characters, between characters on screen, and the audience looking at the screen. All of these presuppose a male audience with a voyeuristic purpose; the 'controlling gaze'. She asks if woman learn to be looked at through the construct of music videos.
The Male Body
However, there is also evidence of a 'post-feminism equality' in music videos, where male bodies are also used to elicit a scopophilic pleasure.
Controlling Female Artists
That is not to say that all female popstars have their bodies used for promotion and pleasure. Some are more complex, being simultaneously sexually provocative and also in complete control and power. Similarly, some show almost no evidence of any desire to evoke any voyeuristic pleasure, focusing more on the music than the star. These situations offer a discussion on the range of experiences of music videos and the contradictory conventions and meanings displayed.
