The Male Gaze

Beyonces music video 'rocket' emphasizes the use of 'the male gaze' in media today. Beyonce may have decided to use the male gaze in her video to increase the amount of views she may get on the video and also to attract male (or female) viewers.




In the first 3 seconds of the video, we see 5 close ups. Beyonce's body is presented in all of the closeups in a sexualized way. As seen in the image above, Beyonce is staring at the camera and therefore 'breaking the fourth wall'. Beyonce is also stroking her lips in a seductive way which viewers would connote with sex.

At about 50 seconds in we see Beyonce on a bed holding bed sheets up around her, in this clip it appears she is only wearing underwear. The underwear Beyonce is wearing accentuates her curves and therefore suggests Beyonce is trying to show off her body in the video in  a sexual way. Also the fact she's holding bed sheets around her suggests Beyonce wanted to create the impression that she had just with a partner.

Water is a common theme throughout the video. Beyonce may have chosen to do this because we connote wet skin with sex. In the image above we see Beyonce's stomach with droplets of water falling on to it. From what we can see she is naked which again emphasizes ideas of sex/pleasure because we connote being naked with intimacy. 

At approximately 1 minute 40 seconds we see an extreme close up/upwards panning shot of Beyonce with a slight grin on her face.  Her smile suggests that she is thinking of a lover because she looks happy but also has a seductive look on her face too. 

At about 2 minutes 20 seconds in we see a low angle Beyonce seductively crawling towards the camera while staring at it. The low angel makes Beyonce seem in power and suggests she's looking down to a lover who's lying on the bed.  They way Beyonce is crawling and the fact she is only in underwear again implies that the director is trying to make the video sexual because the viewer will connote sex with the way she's moving and her lack of clothing. In this clip Beyonce's cleavage is exposed which suggests the director has done this to get the attention of male viewer. 

3 seconds later the audience is presented with a close up of the back of Beyonces head. We see her let her hair down and shake it out. This could be associated with intimacy/pleasure  because the phrase 'letting your hair down' may suggest sex. 

At 3 minutes we see a close up of Beyonce in a shower, her skin is wet and she appears naked. This empathizes the sexual theme throughout the video because wet skin suggests sex. Beyonce is presented with an intense, almost orgasmic expression on her face which creates the image that she is thinking of sex. 

At about 3 minutes 40 seconds we are presented with a long shot of Beyonce walking down what appears to be a hotel corridor. She is again wearing provocative underwear and she is carrying her heals. This clip suggests that Beyonce is walking away from an encounter with a lover. The combination of the hotel and the sexy underwear is connoted with sex.

The video ends with Beyonce looking directly at the camera and then closing her eyes and grinning. 

Is this video empowering or degrading? 

I think the video can be perceived as both empowering and degrading at the same time. On one hand, it may be seen as empowering because it is clear that Beyonce is embracing her sexuality and using it to her own advantage to make money. Beyonce appears to be in control of the video which suggests the video is empowering because she's using her body in a positive way and how she wants to use it.

However the video may also be viewed as degrading because her body is over sexualized throughout the whole video for a mans enjoyment. It may also be seen as degrading because Beyonce is presented in a very sexual way to increase sales and therefore so she can make money.