Voyeurism in The Master (2012)

Since the dawn of cinema, theorists have focused on its voyeuristic nature. Although the importance of voyeurism in film has been heavily debated, its significance in The Master (2012), directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, is certain. Throughout the film, Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), a mentally ill WWII veteran, embodies the concept of voyeurism, and in doing so, highlights its inherent eroticism. 

            To begin, one first has to understand the concept of voyeurism and its significance in film history. In essence, voyeurism is the act of watching something happen, specifically a sexual act or something which causes pain in others while taking pleasure in viewing it.[1] When applying this concept to film, Stanley Cavell, an American philosopher, articulates its importance well. In The World Viewed (1971), he states that the non-reciprocity of film is significant because presents the “‘ontological status’ of the cinema spectator [as] ‘invisibility’.”[2] Film presents its audience with the world, but permits them to see it unseen.[3] This evokes a voyeuristic tendency from the viewer because they are “displaced” from the film world, not needing to consider the consequences of being seen as they are invisible.[4] In this theory, Cavell attributes the pleasure of voyeurism to the invisibility of the spectator. However, more famously, Laura Mulvey, in Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (1975), argues that voyeuristic pleasure is rooted in sadism.  To illustrate her point, she references Hitchcock films. The validity of using Hitchcock films as the basis of her argument has been criticized, as in “The Vicarious Look, or Andy Warhol’s Apparatus Theory,” by Damon R. Young, who says “These films thematize voyeurism as sadistic – they make sadistic voyeurism their narrative object… Mulvey seems remarkably eager to take those stories at face value.”[5] Despite criticism however, the idea of sadistic voyeurism has remained at the forefront when discussing voyeurism in cinema. Regardless, both Cavell and Mulvey’s theories on voyeurism are relevant when analyzing The Master. Furthermore, other theorists have connected the voyeurism of the character and of the viewer with eroticism. André Bazin wrote that “it is of the cinema alone that we can say eroticism is there on purpose and is a basic ingredient…even perhaps an essential one,” due to the fact that the human body is what is mainly on display.[6] In short, one can see how pervasive the concept of voyeurism has been on cinematic theory.

            When analyzing The Master, one quickly comes to find that the film has many layers of meaning. Nevertheless, one of the most overt motifs is voyeurism. Throughout the film, the viewer sees the world from Freddie’s perspective. This is well established during the beginning of the film, which follows Freddie’s time working as a photographer.  In the film, there are two key scenes which highlight Freddie’s voyeurism and its connection to its erotic nature: The photography scenes (00:09:40-00:14:00) and the dinner party (01:08:00-01:09:30).

            To sum up the first sequence, Freddie has a job as a photographer in what appears to be a mall. He takes the picture of many different people while commenting on how they look. Suddenly, a sultry salesgirl flirts with Freddie and gets her picture taken. They then end up at Freddie’s apartment and engage in sexual activities. This sequence clearly illustrates the connection between the voyeuristic look and its root in eroticism.  Freddie, who suffers from PTSD and mental illness which causes him to be sexually deviant, has trouble viewing things in a non-erotic way. By placing him behind the camera, he, much like the viewer, is subject to the eroticism of the look. The fact that this leads directly to a sexual encounter with the woman shows the audience that they’re connected. In the second sequence, the dinner party, the audience sees another instance of how Freddie views the human body erotically. As the members of The Cause, Lancaster Dodd’s (Philip Seymour Hoffman) cult, enjoy a dance after a get together celebration, all the woman dance with Dodd. In a shot reverse-shot sequence, the audience sees Freddie staring, and then a POV shot where, suddenly, all the women are completely nude. This POV shot lasts for a longer time than the shots proceeding it, and the viewer, like Freddie, has to dwell on the nude bodies. Much like the aforementioned sequence, one once again sees the voyeur embodied in Freddie. Because he sees all the bodies erotically, the connection between voyeurism and eroticism is established once more. Essentially, this film communicates that these two concepts are inseparable from one another; and this can be observed by the viewer through these two scenes in the film. 

            Given these examples, it is safe to conclude that The Master establishes a connection between the voyeur and the erotic. Through Freddie, the viewer sees much of the world through an erotic lens. When viewing this film, the audience enjoys the displacement from the film world, as discussed by Cavell, because they are able to view something forbidden and erotic invisibly. The Master might best be understood when assuming that the theories on voyeurism in film by Cavell, Mulvey, and Bazin are not mutually exclusive. Instead, they work together to provide the enjoyment a viewer receives when watching a film. 

[1]           “Voyeurism,” Dictionary.com (Dictionary.com), accessed February 22, 2020, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/voyeurism)

[2]           Stanley Cavell, The World Viewed: Reflections on the Ontology of Film (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press, 1971)

[3]           Ibid.

[4]           Ibid.

[5]           Damon R Young, “The Vicarious Look, or Andy Warhol's Apparatus Theory,” Film Criticism , December 1, 2014, pp. 25-52, http://web.a.ebscohost.com.huaryu.kl.oakland.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=ef469106-4a36-4dfe-ba07-0177c04a4526@sdc-v-sessmgr03)

[6]           André Bazin, What Is Cinema?, vol. 2 (Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2005)

Bibliography

Bazin, André. What Is Cinema? Vol. 2. Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2005.

Cavell, Stanley. The World Viewed: Reflections on the Ontology of Film. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press, 1971.

Mulvey, L. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Screen16, no. 3 (January 1975): 6–18. https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/16.3.6.

The Master. The Weinstein Company, 2012.

“Voyeurism.” Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Accessed February 22, 2020. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/voyeurism. 

Young, Damon R. “The Vicarious Look, or Andy Warhol's Apparatus Theory.” Film Criticism , December 1, 2014, 25–52. http://web.a.ebscohost.com.huaryu.kl.oakland.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=ef469106-4a36-4dfe-ba07-0177c04a4526@sdc-v-sessmgr03.