English 2017 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Killing Us Softly, Scopophilia, Martial Arts Film
25 Jan 2018
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2017 - lecture 15: men in general resist the burden of sexual objectification. If male gaze objectifies women then there should be a female gaze that objectifies women. The world of bodybuilding seems to offer a genuinely revolutionary rethinking of the functioning of the gaze. Here men (and in smaller numbers, women) are directly soliciting the gaze (of men and women). Bodybuilders, more than most other groups of males, invite the gaze. The gaze lovingly, perhaps obsessively, at their own musculature. But as with anorexics, who are also obsessively concerned with the gaze, bodybuilders display some puzzling behaviours. They fear negative judgements, often refuse to display their bodies outside of the familiar venue of the contest and may go on dangerous life-threatening diets or take dangerous medication in order to lose weight or build muscle. The film emphasizes that the male pursuit of aesthetic plentitude necessarily homes in on muscle-bulk and muscle definition.
