Marc Webb's 500 Days of Summer, 2009, explores a relationship between two characters; Tom and Summer. The film is portrayed only through Tom's perspective and therefore the male gaze is throughly incorporated into the film. It also means that the spectator must make a conscious decision if he/she wishes to view the film through Summer's alternative perspective. The film explores Tom constantly wanting to develop his relationship with Summer further; from speaking to sex to becoming his girlfriend. However, when it comes to this final outcome, we see that this is only wanted from Tom.
Based upon the theories of Freud, Bellor and Metz, Laura Mulvey focuses on the male gaze and how women are the subject of the film, only there for visual pleasure. She argued that because film is dominated by the male perspective, this results in the spectator viewing the woman through the sexualised male perspective. As 500 Days of Summer is portrayed only through Tom's perspective, Summer is sexualised and is introduced through close ups of her body. The narrator describes Summer as having the average height but with a slightly larger shoe size. Summer is sexualised from the beginning of the film as she is described as completely normal and average, but that there is something about Summer that men are attracted to. We see Summer walk through the bus to her seat, and every single man double taking at Summer's appearance. This therefore makes Summer an object solely for sexual visual pleasure. The narrator describes this as "The Summer Effect" incorporating high levels of voyeurism from the male. This scene also has a strong theme of the 1950s, the scene is filmed in black and white and incorporates Summer in a typical 1950s mid length skirt, her hair tied with a bow whilst riding a bike. This reinstalls an aspect of male control and the sexualised, submissive woman. This is similar in the ikea scene, when Tom and Summer pretend to be husband and wife, typical of the 1950s; the wife who cooks and waits on the husband.
Mulvey's theory of the male gaze can also be seen prominently in the dance scene. Previously, Tom has just slept with Summer, which cuts to the scene where Tom is celebrating whilst walking to work, with other passers by joining in, all celebrating Tom's success in sleeping with Summer. We do not see Summer's perspective on the couple's sex. The mise en scene in this particular scene also incorporates a masculine theme, reinforcing the male gaze further into the film. Tom and the rest of the passers by all wear blue clothing, which is typically deemed as masculine colour through colour psychology.
Kaplan argues that the spectator aligns with the male in the film as the narrative is portrayed through the dominant male perspective. She argues that the spectator must make a conscious decision to align with the female in the film. This theory therefore can link to my previous point as if the spectator wants to align with Summer, he/she must make a conscious decision to do so. For example, in the scene when Summer finally opens up to Tom about her inner thoughts, the spectator will not be able to subconsciously align with Summer as the male narrator speaks over the top of Summer, making it so we cannot hear what she is saying, but instead what Tom feels about Summer telling him her secrets. The spectator can only align with Summer, if he/she makes a conscious effort to do so. For example, one may consciously align with Summer as she does not gain a voice, however if we only view the film through the subconscious male gaze, the spectator may not align with Summer, as the audience cannot hear her perspective.
One may adapt to a negotiated reading of the film; if the spectator is not white, male or straight. Although the film is portrayed through Tom's perspective, if the spectator is not a white, straight male he/she may not feel allegiance towards Tom, disregarding the fact the film is told through his perspective. This may mean that the spectator is more inclined to view the film through alternate perspectives, such as Summer's. Therefore resulting in a negotiated reading as this would not have been the director's necessary intention.
When the female character in film becomes the dominant, she is usually punished as a result of this, usually resulting in her life. In other words, when the male gaze is subverted and film is viewed through the eyes of the woman, she is usually punished in some way. It is therefore usually more difficult to align with this character as she has broken out of her conventional role. One may argue that this is not applicable to 500 Days of Summer as for one, it is not portrayed through Summer's perspective, and two, she is not punished. However, others may argue that Summer is punished through audience response and therefore as a result of this, Williams' theory of the dominant gaze does apply. Another alternative view could be that 500 Days of Summer subverts this theory and reverses it; because the film is told through Tom's perspective, he is punished. This could apply as we see throughout the film that Tom takes on the submissive more feminine role, whilst Summer adapts to the more masculine role. We see this through the scene in the pancake house, when Summer describes the two as Sid and Nancy, then corrects Tom for thinking that he is Sid, when actually she describes herself as Sid. Therefore if we see Tom as the female, the dominant gaze can apply to the film as he is punished towards the end of the film by not getting Summer and going through his torture of her engagement party. Moreover, another interpretation of Williams' theory on this film could be that Summer is actually punished at the end of the film as she ends up caught in a marriage, which she states at the beginning of the film that she does not want.
In conclusion, the film 500 Days of Summer seems to be a male dominated film, if the spectator takes on a preferred reading of the film, not making a conscious decision to view the film through the eyes of the female. We see aspects of voyeurism and the male gaze throughout the film, whilst it being portrayed by a male protagonist throughout. However, a spectator could also take on a negotiated reading of the film if he/she was to take a conscious decision to align with the female character(s) such as Summer. Overall, it depends on the spectator's allegiance and alignment with the characters and whether they adapt to a negotiated or preferred reading of the film.
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