The Male Gaze
Despite the efforts made by the filmmakers of Girl on a Motorcyle to be progressive and liberating for women, the film seems to achieve the exact opposite goal, by oppressing women as sexual objects. The film presents the ideology of the male gaze, in which the female is viewed as a sexual object and subject for the viewing pleasure of men. As writer Laura Mulvey states in regards to the male gaze, "Each is associated with a look: that of the spectator in direct scopophilic contact with female form displayed for his enjoyment (connoting male fantasy)"... (p.42). This is quite evident throughout the film as the main character, Rebecca, is shown wearing seductive clothing, riding the motorcyle (phallic symbol) seductively, on her way to win the man she thinks she loves. Though she is leaving her husband and liberating herself, Rebecca is merely leaving the "oppressed" lifestlye of marriage, to the "oppressed" lifestyle of trying to please a man that will never fully love her. She is constantly trying to please men throughout this film, and once she finally is able to leave both of them at the end, she ends up dying in an accident. This death symbolizes punishment for her as a woman leaving men, and as a woman attempting to be free. Rebecca is far from being liberated in this film, as she is the object of the male gaze, and ultimately dies as a result of her rebellious ways. She is viewed as a threatening and dangerous woman who ultimately must die.