The Male Gaze - Music Video Task

Analysis of Fountains of Wayne - Stacy's Mom

7 Seconds into the video there's a close-up glamour shot of the character of 'Stacy', which shows her seductive manner with her facial expression and posture.

At 9 seconds, Stacy's Mom arrives and there are several shots focusing on her legs and bottom. She is also wearing a mini-skirt, adding to the sexualisation. This series of shots last for roughly 15 seconds.



At the 0:27, the setting changes to Stacy's room, where she is wearing only a crop-top and pants, further adding to the sexual image portrayed.



Stacy then moves to the pool, where she stares at the male character and strokes her hair, before proceeding to strip off to a bikini and jump in the pool. The stroking of the hair shows a infatuation with the male character and the bikini further demonstrates her sexual image.



At 0:52, after Stacy's Mom re-enters the video, she proceeds to strip down to her underwear, which the camera lingers on in order to sexualise her further.



Around 1:30, the video goes back to the narrative, opening with images of Stacy smiling in a sexual and seductive manner. She proceeds to seductively suck her drink through a straw.

Several seconds after this, Stacy's Mom re-enters, wearing just a towel. The camera focuses on her legs and pushed-up cleavage. She then proceeds to lie down and receive a massage, where many of the more curvaceous parts of her body are focused on by the camera. This segment carries on for 40 seconds.

At 2:10, the video returns back to the narrative. The camera slowly follows Stacy's Mom as she bends over to reveal her cleavage to the camera, which over sexualises her once more.

At 2:25, the video begins to sexualise Stacy's Mom even further. Firstly by making her do a pole-dance, whilst wearing only stockings and a corset. There are several shots that either focus on her desirable features as well as a few glamour shots, complete with blown back hair.

The narrative then changes to the main male character lustily watching Stacy's Mom as she is sitting by the pool, wearing just a bikini. Her actions during this sequence are also of the seductive nature as she seems dainty, just like the female stereotype.

She then proceeds to enter the pool, with a shot of her remerging, dripping wet and smiling, with the shot's focus on her breasts, further adding to her over sexualisation.



At 3:00, there is a segment of the video where Stacy's Mom is standing on a solid black background, wearing her same red bikini. During this, she seductively strokes her body, whilst smiling, before she begins to untie her bikini top. This sequence lasts for the last 23 seconds, intersected with the ending of the narrative.

To conclude, this video is a perfect example of the male gaze, as most of the video focuses on sexualising the two women involved (Stacy and Stacy's Mom), even with the main male character staring in awe, ironically portraying the outcome of the male gaze through another character.