Laura Mulvey - The Male Gaze.

American Beauty:

In the scene from American Beauty there are various different camera techniques. For example when the dancing clip begins the camera starts to zoom in on the two people in the scene. It starts with long shots and gradually works into close ups. Also while the camera is zooming in the rest of the audience is still watching the dance and the man falls into a dream like state because its just him and the blonde female dancer in the room. The man is also sat high up in the stands looking down on the girl which shows his dominance over her. Once the man is in a dream like state some of the movements of the girl has been slowed down so its in slow motion which is objectifying her as the audience are made to look at her body longer, the slow motion effect has been done in post production. Also the camera focuses on certain parts of her body which is called Fragmentation. By focusing on specific parts of her body it is objectifying her for the audience and especially for the male audience which creates scopophilia for the male audience which creates pleasure from looking.