Looking back to look forward to the female gaze: An analysis on the foundational filmmakers and their female protagonists.

Abstract

This thesis examines theories of the female gaze through recognizing the foundational filmmakers and screenwriters who have explored varying female experiences throughout cinema history. Theories of the gaze stemmed from Laura Mulvey’s fundamental 1975 essay, from which her argument posited that mainstream Hollywood cinema constructs male centred subjects who control the gaze of the narrative, whilst female characters are depicted as objects who cater to the desires of the male spectator. Since then, theorists and scholars have explored ideas of a female gaze from which female-centred narratives are explored by filmmakers. Such narratives are explored by female protagonists who control the gaze through techniques crafted by directors and/or screenwriters, reflecting key ideologies and issues that resonate with the female spectator.

This research aims to discover how theories of the female gaze have been reconstructed throughout cinema history by female directors and/or screenwriters through the representation of their female protagonists. Through conducting comparative text analysis, this thesis analysed two films within four key periods in cinema including; the French New Wave, New Hollywood Cinema, the Blockbuster Age, and contemporary Independent Cinema, to explore a range of innovative and nuanced female protagonists who have represented various female experiences on screen.

This analysis showcases the long-standing history of theories surrounding the female gaze, and identifies the socio-cultural contexts that influenced the reconstruction of the gaze by filmmakers across time and space. The results of this research highlights the different interpretations of the female gaze by key filmmakers and/or screenwriters, illustrates similarities and disparities between protagonists by filmmakers during similar periods, and reveals the importance of socio-cultural contexts that underpin various representations of female experiences throughout cinema history.