Queen’s Gambit and the Male Gaze
The Queen’s Gambit, Tomb Raider, and Atomic Blonde are some of the many female-led stories that have come out in the more recent years, and it’s been absolutely brilliant to see female protagonists be widely explored on screen. Unfortunately, a great many of these films have been directed with a male perspective known as “the male gaze”. While we’ll discuss this further in later paragraphs, it’s first important to note that this in no way suggests that men and women cannot direct opposite gendered protagonists. Instead, we as the directors and filmmakers need to take more time to understand that character’s gender and how they would perceive the events around them.
Objectifies women for the pleasure of men
In 1975, film theorist Laura Mulvey published a paper that discussed one of the most defining media theories of the 20th century — “the male gaze”. Broadly speaking it is the creation of film, tv and any media which objectifies women for the pleasure of men watching. Additionally, she categorized the term as multifocal, meaning that this did not just serve men but in fact altered the way in which female viewers consumed content also. Mulvey cited that women would change the way they perceived content to better suit the male gaze. Ultimately, she identified that not only was content very misogynistic and guided by the male perspective, but it also revealed that we as viewers accept this very one-sided perspective. Since publishing, particularly within the last 10 years, filmmakers, directors, and producers have started to become more aware of this and films have begun to encompass a more inclusive perspective.
However, despite there being more films written with a female lead, we haven’t quite left the male gaze in the past. If you look at films like Tomb Raider — the now and earlier iterations of the film with Angelina Jolie — I think we can all agree it had a very overtly sexualized version of the character.
Now while this is true, it might be worthwhile to mention that for the time, this was in tandem with the video games. Whereas, the more recent version of Tomb Raider features a far less sexualized version of the character and actually tries to buck the tropes from the original film. This shift in portrayal opens a very critical conversation regarding how we represent gender in film.
Recently, I watched The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix, which was both a reinvigorating and interesting look at chess. Yet after watching, my wife and I sat down, and we spotted some conversations happening online about the series. These conversations revealed just how much the male gaze is still influencing our watching habits and whether or not we question the content that we consume. It made me realize, as directors and filmmakers, how much we need to be aware that our content can have real societal effects and consequences. With that said, let’s explore The Queen’s Gambit was affected by the Male Gaze.
Content can have real societal effects
Recently, I watched The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix, which was both a reinvigorating and interesting look at chess. Yet after watching, my wife and I sat down, and we spotted some conversations happening online about the series. These conversations revealed just how much the male gaze is still influencing our watching habits and whether or not we question the content that we consume. It made me realize, as directors and filmmakers, how much we need to be aware that our content can have real societal effects and consequences. With that said, let’s explore The Queen’s Gambit was affected by the Male Gaze.
The Queen’s Gambit depicts the story of a young girl who becomes obsessed with the game of chess and spoiler alert — becomes a prodigy. While the story is pretty self-explanatory, the series deals with topical issues such as a female entering a male-dominated game where she is seen as lesser. Yet what’s interesting here, is that the derision and the way in which the men see her doesn’t seem to affect her as much as her own substance abuse. Particularly, I want to highlight how the show represents its female character throughout her troubled journey. When we witness her sink into the depths of substance abuse and addiction, we really begin to get an idea of how the director has chosen to represent the character. Specifically, one scene comes to mind, where the main character is at the bottom of the hole, she is using alcohol and drugs regularly and ultimately risking her status and career in chess.
However, as many female viewers have pointed out, this isn’t just a matter of her having a drug addiction but rather her poor representation on screen. As she loses herself, she remains rather glamorous with perfect makeup and hair, along with a scantily clad figure. If this is her at her lowest point, then this is an unrealistic portrayal. Many comments online have stated that this is actually how someone would look in their best moment rather than their worst. The representation of the female lead in this series is somewhat obscured by a particular perspective — the male gaze. When we’re telling such stories, we need to interrogate our choices. We have to ask ourselves, “What is this adding to the story and to the overall quality of the content or are we just trying to titillate our audience?”, and if so, “Why are we still trying to do that in this day and age?”
Important Note: By the time we are presented with this imagery, we’re about halfway through the series, so the creators haven’t had to try and keep the audience there. Either we’re already sold on the character or we’re not. Remember, if someone is there for your series and for your character’s journey, within the first 10 minutes of watching, they will make a decision as to whether or not your character is worth watching.
With that in mind, it’s been well documented that Disney Princesses have been showcased under the male gaze — oftentimes dressed in unnecessarily provocative ways. For instance, in Aladdin, Princess Jasmine dons a form-fitting dress and takes it a step further, by bearing cleavage and an exposed flat stomach. This can be incredibly destructive to women; these aesthetic ideals are impossible to match. So, if we’re witnessing a character in The Queen’s Gambit who’s meant to be at her lowest point but still looks so glamorous and beautiful, we automatically say to women, even if you are at the lowest point in your life, you are still meant to look this good. This doesn’t just add unfair pressure onto women, but it also doesn’t add anything to the storyline, and if you’re not adding to the story, then you’re spending time and effort on something that is unnecessary.
In review, conversations regarding the male gaze are happening and our perceptions are evolving. Filmmakers need to be incredibly aware of how we represent characters. We can no longer use the sexualization of women in film to attract an audience. We must ensure the quality of our content and view our characters as fully realized individuals. Once we do our characters justice, we can allow our characters to naturally fall into erotic moments — when used carefully, a love scene in a film can be incredibly intimate, pleasurable, and cathartic for your audience to witness.
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