Ways of Seeing

There are different ways of seeing such as the "male gaze" and the "oppositional gaze." The male gaze is an active position that men take on as spectators and take pleasure in looking at women for their own satisfaction. According to Laura Mulvey, " The cinema offers a number of possible pleasures. One is scopophilia. There are circumstances in which looking itself is a source of pleasure, just as, in the reverse formation, there is pleasure in being looked at" (835). The women in this case are usually the passive ones and aren't necessarily the victims because they too take pleasure in men looking and fantasizing about them. Perhaps that is due to their low self-esteem, but for what ever reason it is, erotic cinema gives the male gaze a reason to continue to watch as long as there are women who are willing to be the object of the male's fascination.

Bell Hooks on the other hand, offers a different perspective, which is what it is like to be a Black woman hence being the oppositional gaze. Films cater to specific audiences and most of the time they are for men, or Caucasian people before it is for Black women. Hooks spoke about how white supremacy dominates television and mainstream movies caused a lack of representation of African American people. Also, when there were attempts to fill that void, there was failure because the "white representations of blackness" was unrealistic and offensive to many. For instance, the character Sapphire in Amos n' Andy had a mix of reviews from Black women because some were able to identify with her struggles and frustration, but resented the way she was mocked. From the oppositional gaze, it was upsetting because if Sapphire was supposed to represent the Black woman, she only succeeded in embarrassing and portraying them to be "bitches and nags" (Hooks, 120).

As an young African American woman, I wish to see more positive images of women like myself on television. It is also annoying to see that the predominately white casted shows tend to have that one token Black male or female so that it can't be accused of discrimination. Also, when there are television shows by Tyler Perry (as much as I get a kick out of them), showcasing Black bafoonery, that is the one that survives from one season to the next. I rather watch more shows like Girlfriends and The Game which are well written and entertaining.