Male Gaze Representation In 200 Pounds Beauty Film (Semiotic Analysis Of Roland Barthes)

Abstract

200 Pounds Beauty (2018) is a film by Kim Yong Hwa with a beauty theme. This musical romantic comedy genre film tells the story of an overweight woman called Kang Hanna who has a beautiful voice. Hanna is the actual singer for Ammy's voice. She has been used and become an object of gaze. Until then, she undergoes plastic surgery and gets the opportunity to be a singer. In addition, researchers want to know how the male gaze influences Kim Yong Hwa’s perspective of beauty concept issues. To analyze further, this study uses Roland Barthes’ semiotic analysis method. Barthes’ method defines symbols by connecting denotations and connotations and associating them with myths. Male gaze theory is used to reveal the myths of beauty and women objectification that spread in society. Based on the results of this study, the male gaze assessed in the film is divided into three parts: Women as sexual objects, Standardization of women’s beauty, and Women as commercial object. Women become sexual objects as man thinks a woman is something to be owned and controlled. Standardization of women's beauty generates women incapable of maintaining their self-esteem. Moreover, women's bodies are exploited by men and cause the body parts of women shifting from private space to public space.