Male Gaze Theory- Lara Croft

 

The Male Gaze theory states that most women in media are viewed through the eyes of a heterosexual male. The camera emphasises parts of the female body that appeal to the straight boys. For instance, Tomb Raiders' Lara Croft shot to fame for her sexual appeal; despite being a game creation and not real. During some interviews, Toby Gard has also claimed that he changed the character from male to female because he decided that if he had to stare at the character's backside for hours on end while designing and playtesting the game, it might as well be an attractive female backside—although this is assumed to be a joke on the part of Gard, poking fun at the attention Lara was receiving for her sex appeal and had little if any actual sway into the final decision to make Lara a woman.     
 There was even a 'nude raider' where Lara would lose her clothes and play the game naked, this was developed by fans and admirers of Lara, the game was never officially acknowledged by the original developers of Tomb Raider but proves that the Male Gaze theory is right.
There was even a film made based on the character of Lara Croft. Lara was played by well known Hollywood actress: Angelina Jolie. Jolie is well known for being extremely attractive and sexy, therefore being a perfect match for the role that's famed for the same thing.
We see Jolie wearing the same attire as Croft: Short shorts, tight crop top, high boots and gun holsters.
This could be argued as sexist by some people however, its simply reinforcing the male gaze theory that some women enjoy being looked at and found to be sexually appealing: such as beauty pageants and models. It can also be argued that males are represented in the same way; to be sexually appealing to females and homo/ bisexual males. Examples of these are characters such as James Bond: famed for being attractive and sleeping with lots of women.




In the video clip above, we see through the use of various close up camera angles of Lara how she is being sexualised. Such as when she opens her legs to avoid being hit by the robot. The scene wouldn't have been remembered or be as appealing to audiences if she was wearing loose trousers that hid all body features. There's also the clip where she reloads her guns; the camera is actually getting the audience to focus on her hips and breasts. There's also a mid shot scene that focus's in on her guns however the shot actually reveals the fact that she's wearing short shorts and enlightens the audience on her toned thigh muscles.