There is some contention surrounding the issue of feminism within Moulin Rouge. The leading female Satine seems to singlehandedly take the fight for feminism back a few decades, the character fitting into almost every aspect that the feminist movement has tried to overcome- which since it's birth twenty years ago has greatly impacted film and literature. For feminist film the issues of representation and spectatorship are a major focus, women within texts becoming distortions rather than true to life representations. Moulin Rouge presents a number of ideas surrounding feminism, the patriarchy, the male gaze and the stereotypes presented.
Feminist theorist Laura Mulvey states the existence of women within films seemingly is for one reason and one reason only 'to-be-looked-at-ness'. The conventional narrative in 'classical' Hollywood film typically focuses on a male protagonist as it is assumed the spectator is male, ‘the spectator identifies with the main male protagonist, he projects his look onto that of his like, his screen surrogate, so that the power of the male protagonist as he controls events coincides with the active power of the erotic look, both giving a satisfying sense of omnipotence.’ Therefore the role of the women is pretty simple, she is passive and desirable for the men in the story and the men in the audience. Simone de Beauvoir states “For him she is sex—absolute sex, no less. She is defined and differentiated with reference to man and not he with reference to her; she is the incidental, the inessential as opposed to the essential. He is the Subject, he is the Absolute—she is the Other.”
This ties into what is known as the 'Male Gaze', the concept developed by Laura Mulvey also. It refers to the way in which visual arts are structured. Predominantly for the benefits of the male viewers. The camera basically becomes a heterosexual man, it lingers over the curves of her body, every time she is on screen she is objectified. Not only do men look with the male gaze, but women have no choice also, in fact have evolved themselves to the point that they look at themselves and other women with the 'male gaze'. John Berger states "One might simplify this by saying: men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves. The surveyor of woman in herself is male: the surveyed female. Thus she turns herself into an object--and most particularly an object of vision: a sight." Satine's first entrance in the 'Sparkling Diamonds' sequence is a perfect demonstration of the Male Gaze, she is shrouded in mystery as she descends from the roof. The camera immediately looks up to her from the male perspective, we see what they see as she is lowered towards the floor, singing seductively in her figure hugging costume. At this moment Satine is the object of everyone's attentions, but that's the thing, she's the object. She's not seen as a person but something everybody wants to have. This is further exacerbated by the camera's close up shots - of her lips, of her figure silhouetted against the light, of her sequined costume - everything to make her something rather than someone.
The distinction between men and women in the film is made predominant as soon as the inside of the Moulin Rouge hits the screen, the men wear black and white suits, the woman wear outlandishly colourful costumes, the men are the viewers obviously and the women are to be viewed. On Satines entrance, eyes are drawn to her on screen and off, her red hair, her red lips, her curves and her costume all tie together, along with the way she holds herself and the way she talks (an almost Jessica Rabbit likeness), her character exists because of her ability 'to-be-looked-at-ness'. Within minutes she is provocative and teasing with her "Come and get me boys!" attitude. She seems like she's in control but the reality of it comes clear very soon. She is controlled by men, wanting only to please them, which is shown with the added symbolism of mirrors and veils, otherwise known as Jacques Lacan 'Mirror Stage' - an age old representation of objectification and realisation. Like Mimi in La Boheme, Satine looks into the mirror to change herself, to be what they want her to be, she is an object controlled by Zidler, "What's his type?" she asks in an effort to impress the Duke for the benefit of the Moulin Rouge "Wilting flower? Bright and bubbly? Or smouldering temptress?" her character willingly changing to fit into what the men want.
As stated above, films are fundamentally patriarchal, based on a time when men ruled their creation. A strong woman is seen as threatening, even just a woman in general is seen as threatening therefore Satine's gender immediately evokes, what is known as castration anxiety; a fear in which the presence of the female figure frightens the male, since he realizes that he, too, could be without a penis, hence a lack of pleasure. However as studies have shown, and Moulin Rouge is no different this 'fear' is resolved through what is known as demystification or fetishistic scopophilia. Rather than being a thinking feeling woman, she is objectified, she is no longer seen as threatening, rather something pleasing to look at through the use of costume, for example high heels, feather boas, costumes, the male is distracted and his attention in regards to the 'lack of penis' is gone. He can now look at her pleasurably and without fear. To allay the threat of castration further, the woman has to be found guilty, and the result either being salvation or punishment, for Satine she was guilty of cheating the Duke, standing up against being a pawn in the games of men, which women cannot do, because she refused to marry him, there was only one other way out - death.
Another of the multitude of stereotypes Satine fills is commonly referred to as Monroe syndrome (Angela Carter), in which women, examples include Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Jean Harlow, perform and impersonate women whose characteristics involve a 'combination of beauty, seductiveness and high sexual charge, together with an air of vulnerability and innocence'. Which is an almost perfect summary of Satine's character also. The Duke, like many men, has an obsession with this idea, blinding him to the reality almost, as in many narratives of those working within the sex industry, the customer needs to feel that he is the chosen one, and that he is the first one to lay claim to the woman’s body (Thorbek and Pattanaik, 2002), and as one of the prerequisites for the Duke's 'investment' in Moulin Rouge is that Satine is a virgin hence the 'Like a Virgin' sequence and his frenzied outburst "I don't like other people touching my things!". He imagines her as pure and his, an object that fits the bill of what he wants and that no-one else can touch. Satine has no say in this, she's just a pretty face. Just like the other woman. All they are is an ideal that men want and in film it's an ideal they can have.
Satine's existence within the film is no different from the roles of women across many film genres and that is to please men and men alone, this has existed since the beginning of time. "The essential way of seeing women, the essential use to which their images are put, has not changed. Women are depicted in quite a different way from men--not because the feminine is different from the masculine--but because the 'ideal' spectator is always assumed to be male and the image of the woman is designed to flatter him." (John Berger, Ways of Seeing, 64) The pure existence of Satine within Moulin Rouge is about men and men only. The men within Moulin Rouge are active and controlling while Satine is passive, an object of desire for both those within the film and those watching, Satine is not allowed to desire herself she even states "I can't fall in love with anyone". The film can only be defined as anti-feminist. The women within the text particularly Satine have no control whatsoever over their lives, beaten down by men, because of age old rules regarding film, which begs the question, is the film just another of your stock standard style or is it actually Luhrmann's attempt at mocking the way we view the world?
'The bird in a gilded cage' is a classic symbol used to represent a beautiful woman trapped in a role she can't escape (this technique is used throughout a multitude of films an example of which can be found in the film Titanic during the 'flying scene'.) Throughout Moulin Rouge, the bird symbolism appears many times, most obviously is during Satine's first meeting with the 'Duke' which beforehand she actually addresses her pet bird in it's gilded cage. Another when Christian is giving his poetry reading the bird features in the background, this scene compared with the later scene when she discovers she is dying and cannot leave Christian which means she has to deceive him shows an important comparison. The bird is not a strong feature in the first scene showing that she doesn't feel trapped, however in the latter scene the bird is in the foreground, a dominant image, showing that she is being forced into this action. When she first enters the film she appears on a swing almost like those used by birds in a cage. Another very strong acknowledgement of the bird in the cage symbolism comes through song also. When Satine sings 'One Day I'll Fly Away' after meeting Christian, when Christian sings "love lifts us up where we belong / Where eagles fly on a mountain high” during the Elephant Love Medley and then later in 'Come What May' a flock of birds can be seen flying over Paris, this represents the brief moments in which Satine believes perhaps she is free, the old cliche love has set you free, however this doesn't last long. The cage returns and is seen in the final scene in it's cage outside Christians garret, with a pale pink wrap that Satine wore while she was with Christian, lying across the top. This helps support the idea that Luhrmann wasn't acting just objectifying Satine, rather he was confronting a common issue of our society.
Luhrmann's film raises issues leaving the viewer thinking - what a chauvinistic film? However maybe this is not the case at all. Luhrmann is a director before his time, his films used to broach subjects that one would not generally approach. When we look at the film it is without a doubt obvious that everything is over exaggerated. But this over exaggeration could instead of undermining feminism within the text actually support it. In my view Luhrmann uses the extremes of costume, symbolism, male gaze to encourage people into recognizing the problem. He seems to be mocking the stereotypes not only of the women but of the men also to a point in which is seems he is actually using this film about the past to advocate the issues of our contemporary society. Male gaze, sexism, and stereotype run rampant within Moulin Rouge, that cannot be argued, but in my opinion Luhrmann is not doing it because of being a misogynist himself rather he creates this over exaggerated world that objectifies woman because he is drawing attention to a problem, the sexism that exists in today's society.
Feminist theorist Laura Mulvey states the existence of women within films seemingly is for one reason and one reason only 'to-be-looked-at-ness'. The conventional narrative in 'classical' Hollywood film typically focuses on a male protagonist as it is assumed the spectator is male, ‘the spectator identifies with the main male protagonist, he projects his look onto that of his like, his screen surrogate, so that the power of the male protagonist as he controls events coincides with the active power of the erotic look, both giving a satisfying sense of omnipotence.’ Therefore the role of the women is pretty simple, she is passive and desirable for the men in the story and the men in the audience. Simone de Beauvoir states “For him she is sex—absolute sex, no less. She is defined and differentiated with reference to man and not he with reference to her; she is the incidental, the inessential as opposed to the essential. He is the Subject, he is the Absolute—she is the Other.”
This ties into what is known as the 'Male Gaze', the concept developed by Laura Mulvey also. It refers to the way in which visual arts are structured. Predominantly for the benefits of the male viewers. The camera basically becomes a heterosexual man, it lingers over the curves of her body, every time she is on screen she is objectified. Not only do men look with the male gaze, but women have no choice also, in fact have evolved themselves to the point that they look at themselves and other women with the 'male gaze'. John Berger states "One might simplify this by saying: men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves. The surveyor of woman in herself is male: the surveyed female. Thus she turns herself into an object--and most particularly an object of vision: a sight." Satine's first entrance in the 'Sparkling Diamonds' sequence is a perfect demonstration of the Male Gaze, she is shrouded in mystery as she descends from the roof. The camera immediately looks up to her from the male perspective, we see what they see as she is lowered towards the floor, singing seductively in her figure hugging costume. At this moment Satine is the object of everyone's attentions, but that's the thing, she's the object. She's not seen as a person but something everybody wants to have. This is further exacerbated by the camera's close up shots - of her lips, of her figure silhouetted against the light, of her sequined costume - everything to make her something rather than someone.
The distinction between men and women in the film is made predominant as soon as the inside of the Moulin Rouge hits the screen, the men wear black and white suits, the woman wear outlandishly colourful costumes, the men are the viewers obviously and the women are to be viewed. On Satines entrance, eyes are drawn to her on screen and off, her red hair, her red lips, her curves and her costume all tie together, along with the way she holds herself and the way she talks (an almost Jessica Rabbit likeness), her character exists because of her ability 'to-be-looked-at-ness'. Within minutes she is provocative and teasing with her "Come and get me boys!" attitude. She seems like she's in control but the reality of it comes clear very soon. She is controlled by men, wanting only to please them, which is shown with the added symbolism of mirrors and veils, otherwise known as Jacques Lacan 'Mirror Stage' - an age old representation of objectification and realisation. Like Mimi in La Boheme, Satine looks into the mirror to change herself, to be what they want her to be, she is an object controlled by Zidler, "What's his type?" she asks in an effort to impress the Duke for the benefit of the Moulin Rouge "Wilting flower? Bright and bubbly? Or smouldering temptress?" her character willingly changing to fit into what the men want.
As stated above, films are fundamentally patriarchal, based on a time when men ruled their creation. A strong woman is seen as threatening, even just a woman in general is seen as threatening therefore Satine's gender immediately evokes, what is known as castration anxiety; a fear in which the presence of the female figure frightens the male, since he realizes that he, too, could be without a penis, hence a lack of pleasure. However as studies have shown, and Moulin Rouge is no different this 'fear' is resolved through what is known as demystification or fetishistic scopophilia. Rather than being a thinking feeling woman, she is objectified, she is no longer seen as threatening, rather something pleasing to look at through the use of costume, for example high heels, feather boas, costumes, the male is distracted and his attention in regards to the 'lack of penis' is gone. He can now look at her pleasurably and without fear. To allay the threat of castration further, the woman has to be found guilty, and the result either being salvation or punishment, for Satine she was guilty of cheating the Duke, standing up against being a pawn in the games of men, which women cannot do, because she refused to marry him, there was only one other way out - death.
Another of the multitude of stereotypes Satine fills is commonly referred to as Monroe syndrome (Angela Carter), in which women, examples include Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Jean Harlow, perform and impersonate women whose characteristics involve a 'combination of beauty, seductiveness and high sexual charge, together with an air of vulnerability and innocence'. Which is an almost perfect summary of Satine's character also. The Duke, like many men, has an obsession with this idea, blinding him to the reality almost, as in many narratives of those working within the sex industry, the customer needs to feel that he is the chosen one, and that he is the first one to lay claim to the woman’s body (Thorbek and Pattanaik, 2002), and as one of the prerequisites for the Duke's 'investment' in Moulin Rouge is that Satine is a virgin hence the 'Like a Virgin' sequence and his frenzied outburst "I don't like other people touching my things!". He imagines her as pure and his, an object that fits the bill of what he wants and that no-one else can touch. Satine has no say in this, she's just a pretty face. Just like the other woman. All they are is an ideal that men want and in film it's an ideal they can have.
Satine's existence within the film is no different from the roles of women across many film genres and that is to please men and men alone, this has existed since the beginning of time. "The essential way of seeing women, the essential use to which their images are put, has not changed. Women are depicted in quite a different way from men--not because the feminine is different from the masculine--but because the 'ideal' spectator is always assumed to be male and the image of the woman is designed to flatter him." (John Berger, Ways of Seeing, 64) The pure existence of Satine within Moulin Rouge is about men and men only. The men within Moulin Rouge are active and controlling while Satine is passive, an object of desire for both those within the film and those watching, Satine is not allowed to desire herself she even states "I can't fall in love with anyone". The film can only be defined as anti-feminist. The women within the text particularly Satine have no control whatsoever over their lives, beaten down by men, because of age old rules regarding film, which begs the question, is the film just another of your stock standard style or is it actually Luhrmann's attempt at mocking the way we view the world?
'The bird in a gilded cage' is a classic symbol used to represent a beautiful woman trapped in a role she can't escape (this technique is used throughout a multitude of films an example of which can be found in the film Titanic during the 'flying scene'.) Throughout Moulin Rouge, the bird symbolism appears many times, most obviously is during Satine's first meeting with the 'Duke' which beforehand she actually addresses her pet bird in it's gilded cage. Another when Christian is giving his poetry reading the bird features in the background, this scene compared with the later scene when she discovers she is dying and cannot leave Christian which means she has to deceive him shows an important comparison. The bird is not a strong feature in the first scene showing that she doesn't feel trapped, however in the latter scene the bird is in the foreground, a dominant image, showing that she is being forced into this action. When she first enters the film she appears on a swing almost like those used by birds in a cage. Another very strong acknowledgement of the bird in the cage symbolism comes through song also. When Satine sings 'One Day I'll Fly Away' after meeting Christian, when Christian sings "love lifts us up where we belong / Where eagles fly on a mountain high” during the Elephant Love Medley and then later in 'Come What May' a flock of birds can be seen flying over Paris, this represents the brief moments in which Satine believes perhaps she is free, the old cliche love has set you free, however this doesn't last long. The cage returns and is seen in the final scene in it's cage outside Christians garret, with a pale pink wrap that Satine wore while she was with Christian, lying across the top. This helps support the idea that Luhrmann wasn't acting just objectifying Satine, rather he was confronting a common issue of our society.
Luhrmann's film raises issues leaving the viewer thinking - what a chauvinistic film? However maybe this is not the case at all. Luhrmann is a director before his time, his films used to broach subjects that one would not generally approach. When we look at the film it is without a doubt obvious that everything is over exaggerated. But this over exaggeration could instead of undermining feminism within the text actually support it. In my view Luhrmann uses the extremes of costume, symbolism, male gaze to encourage people into recognizing the problem. He seems to be mocking the stereotypes not only of the women but of the men also to a point in which is seems he is actually using this film about the past to advocate the issues of our contemporary society. Male gaze, sexism, and stereotype run rampant within Moulin Rouge, that cannot be argued, but in my opinion Luhrmann is not doing it because of being a misogynist himself rather he creates this over exaggerated world that objectifies woman because he is drawing attention to a problem, the sexism that exists in today's society.