ABSTRACT

One of the most frequent criticisms made of the apparatus models is that they presume a homogeneous spectator-totally a function of Western idealism in the case of Baudry, totally male or male-identified in the case of Mulvey. Even though passivity is traditionally affiliated with femininity, the two criticisms are compatible to the extent that Mulvey’s active male protagonist nonetheless presumes a fairly passive male spectator, and Baudry’s passive spectator is fully consonant with myths of male subjectivity. What is not altogether clear is the critical and theoretical difference that a heterogeneous, as opposed to a homogeneous concept of spectatorship, would make.