HoW thE theoRY cOUld be usEful for yOU in yOUr IndePENdent StUdy?

"We love ladies, all we do is get laid and get paid" Get Rich Or Die Trying is a film about a young boy and his transition from selling drugs to being a rap star. The roles that women play in this film is split between two roles and that is firstly of being the sexual desire and the other role would be the active, independent women who has the tendency to be conveyed as a sexual desire. The character Charlene would come underneath the second role of women but also, being the only important female in this film places a lot of questions on typical stereotypes of Black females in society and either if her character conforms to it or subverts it.

Women have characteristics to be looked at and are seen as sexual objects. While Marcus, is throwing a house warming party the Black females are dressed in a very provocative way, the camera zooms into certain body parts such as the breasts, legs and also their bums. This allows the audience to fetishized with certain female components and experience a certain sexual arousal from viewing the women. Young female Black females are stereotyped to be promiscuous, during the house party the women are dancing in a very seductive way. The audience are feeling a sense of pleasure and being voyeuristic towards the way the women behave.

Mulvey has also mentioned scopophilla within her theory- which is when an audience is receiving pleasure from looking at certain body parts. This could be associated with the previous point of the females body but also, during one scene the audience are engaged towards the intimacy between Charlene and Marcus. The medium shot of Marcus and Charlene having sex, gives certain pleasures towards the audience, hence the audience being engaged in the act of intimacy. The women is naked and again the camera focuses on her breasts and her legs which is again fethiszed by the audience. Charlene, is seen as a sexual object and desire towards the audience for she is naked in this scene and has the capability of looked at ness.

However, during the film Charlene does not conform to many of the stereotypes that are labelled along side women she is also plays a big part in the film, because she gives strength to Marcus to do well and leave the drug scene. Charlene's character also, breaks many of the stereotypes associated with Black females such as being baby machines and incapable of being in love. As a young female character she is still dominated by her husband Marcus and is part of the patriarchy society but she is independent in her own way. This is shown when Marcus goes to jail and she is left with a young baby and looks after it.

In conclusion the character of Charlene is seen to be a sexual but also, independent character. Mulvey has stated that in films women have the quality to be looked at and the audience are the spectators. However, the other women that are present in the film are allowing the audience to gain voyeuristic pleasures from looking at them but also, the camera highlights certain body parts which is part of the concept of scopophilia, which reinforces the beginning quote "we love ladies, all we do is get laid and get paid".