| As seen in this scene/image, a certain ideology that is commonly thought to be true is shown. "Ideology is knowledge that is constructed in such a way as to legitimate unequal social power relations." (Rose, 108) This part of the movie expresses the ideological view that money can get you any woman you want. This is a common theme expressed by our media. We see rap artists with tons of women in their music videos with lyrics like "Back then they didn't want me, now I'm hot, they all on me." Male actors always have a beautiful woman on their arm when they are walking the red carpet. Women also perpetuate this idea. It isn't rare to hear women and girls talking about the desire to marry a rich man. Fetishist scopophillia is used in this scene to create the desired woman to a universal male, who is gazing at her. "Her beauty is so overwhelming, often pictured in huge close-ups." (Rose, 160) Fetishistic scopophilia "is when the female figure is represented simply as a beautiful object of display." (Rose, 160) At this point in the film, Jordan is throwing a party due to his recent success and he sees Naomi. Naomi was accompanied by a man who she brought to the party. Jordan is still married to his first wife at the time who, in the movie, is portrayed as a woman who is less sophisticated and overtly nonsexual in looks when compared to Naomi. Here you see Naomi, Jordan's future wife, hand in hand with another man. We could understand this hand holding as intimate, but it seems as if he is leading her away despite her urge to stay. His body is leaned away holding her hand in a pulling motion while she looks back at who we believe to be Jordan. The man who is pulling her hand has an interesting smirk on his face. He is navigating through this party with confidence, as if he fits in. He is leading her, which is a sign that he is attempting to be an alpha male. He also is similarly dressed to the men in his surroundings. We can take these as signs of wealth and status. Naomi is positioned in a way that she is resisting his movement. She is positioned as if she is moving with the man leading her away, but her head is focused in the opposite direction. As she looks back at Jordan while being pulled away, the audience feels as if she is looking into their eyes. The audience becomes Jordan and feels this connection with Naomi. The audience begins to desire Naomi although it is immoral for Jordan, who is married, and Naomi, who is with another guy, to form a romantic relationship. Although our societal norms may have us thinking it is immoral, we begin to overlook this and begin to desire and want this relationship to happen. These scenes represent the mirror stage, the male gaze, repressed desires and fantasies, and fetishistic scopophilia. By contrast, Jordan's friend actively masturbates in the second scene as he looks at Naomi across the room, which represents the acting out of the repressed desires and fantasies. Much of the movie allows viewers to vicariously live out repressed desires and fantasies, as represented in our cultural ideology of wealth, power, and sexuality. In this sense, the movie itself both represents and adds to our cultural ideology. "Cinema is an especially powerful visual medium because a film can create a total world for its audience." (Rose, 151)
The Prostitutes and his second wife are the more obvious representation of fetishistic scopophilia, as well as objects on which to act out repressed desires. They, along with Jordan's second wife, Naomi, also become part of the manipulation of visual tools, and the use of the male gaze to draw the male audience members into the movie. Their experiences in the movie, being used at parties as entertainment and being discarded when no longer wanted or needed, portray their inequality. Naomi is shown as being financially dependent on Jordan. They are the castrated women (Mulvey 1089:14). Less obvious In contrast are the women who work at the company who represent the masquerade of the successful, non-castrated woman. However, the corporate women, when necessary, can flirt and express ultra sexuality when they feel it is required (Riviere 1986). Men seem to fear this and are bothered by a "woman with a masculinity complex" (Riviere, 1986, 37) Both prostitutes and the career women in the movie are well paid for their masquerade, but in the different ways that represent our cultural ideology. The female members of the audience are seduced into the film by the mirror stage, where they both identify with the female characters and the need to masquerade, while feeling alienated by the prostitution and the immoral actions that lead to the career women in the organization being arrested along with Jordan. "In its emphasis on gender play-acting and the sartorial projection of a feminine superego, the masquerade offers a liberatory avenue leading away from biological essentialism: woman can play the woman or not as she so pleases." (Copjec, 57-96) The personal also comes into play as the women in the audience view these ideal women in their situations. Our habitus has created a constant worry of self and image perfection. "Individuals compare their real selves with an idealized self that may be a composite of attributes gleaned from many different sources. (Wykes, 144)  Taking a look at this image of Jordan and a prostitute seeming to engage in sexual acts and drug use, we can see many signs of sexual difference. Besides being told she is a prostitute by the narration, there are many signs of this. A sign is the "basic unit of language." (Rose, 113) We notice these two are in a space with a bed. The items in the room are pretty generic as if they are mass created. The painting on the wall looks pretty stereotypical of mass decoration, also. These are all signified, as we connect these items, it is becomes a signifier of a hotel room, or a motel room. The ring on his finger could be linked to marriage since it is on his left ring finger and it is a basic gold band. He is engaging in a sexual act that you wouldn't associate with most marriages as he attempts to place cocaine in her anal cavity with a plastic straw. All of these signs communicate that he is with a prostitute. The hotel/motel room, and the fact that he is doing an uncommon sexual act with a wedding ring on. You can understand that he is a married man using a prostitute while he is away from his wife through what this image presents to the viewer. Allen speaks about women's roles in movies. "Women do not occupy important roles in these films" (Allen, 153) For the most part, women are mainly used as objects in this film, fulfilling repressed desires and fantasies. We can see that she is in a submissive position. This movie not only shows the power that Jordan possesses by the amount of money and items that he has, but also with his ability to control women. We see him using this woman as an object. He is using her to aid his drug addiction. Her body serves as a surface for his drug use. We often see people snorting cocaine from a table in films, but now she becomes a table. She is objectified and she is submissive, showing his dominance of her. She serves solely as an object and Fetishistic Scopophilia. She is used as to please the male gaze. She is thin and has an hourglass shape, which our society has deemed attractive in current generations. A process of fetishization is created as her body is displayed. Fetishization is "That process by which an object - an inanimate object, a part of a body or the whole of a body - becomes psychically invested with the value and significance of the fetish." (Wright, 117) Through the male gaze and the mirror stage, the audience begins to also desire this woman, although they don't ever see her face. Jordan is also placed higher than this woman, with the camera placed lower, as if it is looking up at him. In his right hand, he holds a little bottle that contains his cocaine. This can be seen as a phallus. "In classical antiquity, the phallus was a representation of the erect male organ and a symbol of sovereign power." (Wright, 318) "'Phallus' and 'penis' are used almost interchangeably." (Freud, 1910, p. 125; 1918, p.204) This scene shows his power over women as he possesses a phallus in his hand, showing that he has the power as she is lacking the phallus and power. He is dominant in this situation and the audience is positioned and conditioned to see this. "A dominant male gaze structures mainstream Hollywood films and invites the viewer to identify with male protagonists and to marginalize and objectify women." (Gibson, 80) Although the actions that Jordan does may go against normal moral beliefs, it is easier to put these beliefs aside as we identify with him via the mirror stage. Through all of the media intake that the average American has taken part in, we have been conditioned to identify with the protagonist. |