Critique Using Laura Mulvey’s Feminist Lens (The Male Gaze)

     

     Watching the Feliz Navidad Nigeria ad, one thing stands out immediately: the beautiful young woman at the center. She dances, smiles, and moves with confidence, but she is also being watched. The camera follows her in a very specific way. It doesn’t just show her; it studies her. There are lingering shots of her face, her outfit, and how she moves. Laura Mulvey’s concept of the “male gaze” comes to mind here. Mulvey argued that mainstream media often presents women as objects for men to look at, and this ad fits that pattern. Although it is a Christmas ad meant to celebrate joy, it seems to celebrate how good she looks more.

      As the ad continues, her presence dominates every scene. She is clearly meant to be the highlight, beautiful, graceful, and magnetic. However, if we take a moment to ask, “What is she doing?” the answer is: not much. She isn’t leading a story, making decisions, or even speaking directly. She reacts to the moment by smiling, twirling, and existing as a visual centerpiece. This passive role is exactly what Mulvey critiques in her theory. Women in media are often shown not as subjects with power and voice, but as objects of pleasure. While she appears confident, her role is to be seen, not heard or understood more deeply.

      The way the ad is shot supports this interpretation. The camera doesn’t follow the rhythm of a story, it follows the rhythm of her body. Slow-motion shots, soft lighting, and stylized framing create a mood that is more about admiring than connecting. Even when there are other people in the frame, the focus quickly returns to her. It’s as if the ad is whispering, “Look at her. Isn’t she beautiful?” rather than “Listen to her” or “Understand her joy.” This visual emphasis on her appearance over her perspective mirrors what Mulvey described as a common issue in film: women being shown through how they look, rather than what they feel or think. What’s key here is how normalised this is. To many viewers it won’t seem strange that the woman is presented like this because we’re so used to it. In fact the ad might even be praised for featuring a beautiful confident Nigerian woman. But Mulvey would argue that even when the woman is Black or African even when she is stylish and happy she can still be seen through a Western or patriarchal lens that reduces her to a body. Representation isn’t enough, how she is presented matters just as much.

    Another layer to consider is how pleasure is structured. Mulvey said men are the ones with “the look” and women are the ones being looked at. This ad never gives us her view of the world. We never see what she sees or how she feels about the people around her. Instead the camera moves around her keeping us on the outside. We are allowed to look at her but not join her. This is subtle but powerful. It keeps her as an image, not a person. She is the performance of happiness not the experience of it.

    Finally it’s worth noticing there’s no tension or contrast in her character. She’s always happy always smiling always glowing. While that might seem harmless it also flattens her. People are more than just beauty and happiness. They have doubts power personality—but none of that is here. Mulvey believed film often simplifies women into symbols of fantasy or desire. In this ad the woman is happy yes, but her happiness isn’t hers. It’s been written directed and framed for the viewer’s gaze especially a male one.

    Overall, the Feliz Navidad Nigeria ad is charming and stylish, but it also falls into old patterns of visual storytelling. Through Mulvey’s lens, it becomes clear that the woman is not a full character in the celebration; she is a glamorous figure meant to be admired. There is nothing inherently wrong with showing beauty or joy, but the way the camera controls the viewer’s attention suggests that her beauty is the main message. A more progressive approach would have shown her thoughts, her voice, and her community, making her more than just a pretty presence in a festive moment. By shifting the camera’s gaze, the ad could change the story it tells about women.