The Male Gaze in Inside Amy Schumer

“A woman’s life is worth nothing unless she is making a great man greater”  

sneers Amy Schumer in her Inside Amy Schumer skit “The Foodroom.”  Her character tirelessly supports the heroic male manager as they navigate the trials and tribulations of running the fast food joint coined “McDalmond’s.”  Schumer’s satirical skit points out the persisting theme of the male gaze in mainstream media. As Laura Mulvey points out in her piece Visual Pleasure and Narritive Cinema “Traditionally, the woman displayed has functioned on two levels: as an erotic object for characters within the screen story, and as erotic object for the spectator within the auditorium” (p. 33). The comedy sketch exemplifies Mulvey’s conclusions on the portrayal of women through its use of common patriarchal motifs, for example:

The woman motivating the man through a declaration of love, exemplifying Mulvey’s conclusion “She holds the look, plays to and signifies male desire” (p.33).

The man being the one to validate the woman’s authority, when JJ makes Amy a manager, harkens back to Mulvey’s statement “the man’s role as the active one, of forwarding the story” (p.34).  

And finally, a triumphant kiss between the man and his supporting woman at the end.  

It is evident through the acting style, and the context of the clip that the sketch is satire, and its demonstration of these themes is Schumer’s way of criticizing them.  As a viewer, one can laugh at how outrageously sexist the content seems and feels comfortable watching knowing the skit is satirical. However looking closely at this comedic interpretation shows just how similar the comedy is to real portrayals of women in film.

Sources:

The Foodroom Skit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDk5wDBR3hA

Laura Mulvey, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema– Class Reading