Gender Stereotypes In My Cousin Vinny And Married To The Mo

As discussed in class, there are three aspects of looks in cinema: the camera that records, the audience that watches, and the characters’ interaction with one another in the film. In any film, the camera especially holds a significant amount of power, often more than viewers tend to realize in the moment. The usage of the camera controls the perception of the audience, with the director and producer deciding what message they want to convey in each scene. In the films My Cousin Vinny and Married to the Mob, the viewer can also understand the time period in which these movies take place, and not just by the visual quality of the film. Both these films cater to gender stereotypes at the time of their releases. The camera work in the two movies

Karen, a stripper, is specifically overly sexualized by the camera work. When she kisses Tony goodbye, the camera shows her naked behind before the end of the conversation. This is unnecessary, as when Karen is on the bed earlier in the scene, the audience can already tell she is nude. Later, when she is awaiting the arrival of Frank to the room, the camera slowly moves closer to her to command full attention of the audience, before revealing her breasts as she sits and smokes in the bath. As said by Laura Mulvey, “What counts is what the heroine provokes, or rather what she represents”. The camera clearly depicts Karen to represent a man’s desire, such as the lust that both Tony and Frank possess for her. Additionally, the film’s main character, Angela, is overly sexualized in the Chicken Lickin’ scene. As the owner looks through the peephole, the camera flips to his perspective, focusing on her body. The audience can see her bra, as she is barely dressed. In another scene, she asks Agent Downey for a foot rub, but the view the audience is provided with is meant to further sexualize her. The camera shows a close shot of her face with her eyes closed and mouth open, before panning back and forth between that shot and a closeup of her feet. This creates a further message that she represents sexuality more than empowerment and independence. Overall, while these female