Girl on a Motorcycle
It seemed promising but turns out, Girl on a Motorcycle is just another example of a film filled with phallocentrism, fetishism, and the male gaze. Like Easy Rider, the main character is placed upon a motorcycle on the open road. Unlike Easy Rider, the driver is sexualized and degraded. For Wyatt and Billy, intamacy with the road provides liberation. For Rebecca, a false sense of liberation. She repeatedly refers to herself as "stupid" and "silly" revealing that, in fact, she is not in control or liberated. She is controlled by the men in her life. For example when she tells Raymond that he "ought to tell [her] to shut up and tell [her] what to do." Also, that her thoughts center around Daniel... he is always in control of the relationship: SHE always makes the journey to see HIM and can never get him to commit. There are numerous examples of the male gaze, fetishism, and phallocentrism in this film. The movie is meant to appeal to a heterosexual man. Rebecca is the focus of this gaze. There were countless examples of phallocentrism including the not so subtle sexual inuendos (the gas pump going into the tank, twisting of the throttle). Fetishism was also present for example during her dream, Rebeccca's clothes are whipped off her her body in S&M fashion and she as she dresses she says "skin... mmm... I'm like an animal." It's called GIRL on a Motorcycle for a reason. Rebecca is not free. She is naive and submissive like a young girl... the ultimate victim of the male gaze.