Nina Menkes’ analysis of the degrading image of women in film productions – at 11:05 p.m. on ORF 2
Vienna (OTS) – A man behind the camera, a man in the director’s chair. In front of the camera: a naked woman. It becomes an object that can be used at will. Regardless of whether they are blockbusters or Hollywood classics, many films have one thing in common: a degrading image of women and a strong male power structure. Director Nina Menkes analyzes in her documentary “Sex.Power.Manipulation” – as part of the ORF focus on International Women’s Day (details at presse.ORF.at) as a “dokFilm” premiere on Sunday, March 3, 2024 11:05 p.m. on ORF 2 – based on around 70 excerpts the so-called “Male Gaze”: the dominant male gaze in films. In doing so, she tries to prove that the filmic representation of women is not value-free.
More about the content:
In many films, women are seen through the lens of male desire through the way shots are set up and camera movements are choreographed. The image of women and the image of sexuality as they appear on the screen are therefore not the immediate, free expression of equal desire, but are deeply embedded in masculine power relations. The documentary makes visible how much male demonstrations of power and the sexualization of women are commonplace in the cinema – and not just since Harvey Weinstein. What viewers cannot consciously perceive would be consciously controlled by filmmakers using film techniques and lighting.
But the male gaze is not just limited to directors. Female directors would also showcase women using established film techniques. Nina Menkes, for example, uses Sofia Coppola’s opening scene of “Lost in Translation” as an example. Most people wouldn’t perceive this excerpt as degrading, but if you examined it more closely, you would sense the underlying intent:
Lead actress Scarlett Johansson is introduced by the camera’s gaze sweeping over her thighs and then resting on her skimpy panties. In this scene, however, you get to know her film partner Bill Murray as a thoughtful, aging man sitting in the back seat of a taxi.
With the documentary analysis of the “Male Gaze”, “Sex.Power.Manipulation – The Male Gaze in Film” aims to expose the patriarchal viewing habits that dominate the history of cinema.