Curious spectatorship in the age of deep fakes

Oscar, S

Curious spectatorship in the age of deep fakes

Oscar, S

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Publisher:: Co-Action Publishing
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Aesthetics and Culture, 2023, 34, (3), pp. 230-247
Issue Date:: 2023-01-31

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Oscar, S https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0543-0811
dc.date.accessioned	2024-04-20T19:41:23Z
dc.date.available	2024-04-20T19:41:23Z
dc.date.issued	2023-01-31
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Aesthetics and Culture, 2023, 34, (3), pp. 230-247
dc.identifier.issn	2000-4214
dc.identifier.issn	1744-3806
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/178120
dc.description.abstract	On social media platforms, deep fakes commonly show users inserting their own faces into figures from the history of Hollywood film and visual culture while reduplicating a range of gender stereotypes to self-represent. This paper considers the resonances between deep fakes and the writing of feminist film theorist, Laura Mulvey on the male gaze and spectatorship. In particular, the paper looks at deep fake production from the framework of Mulvey’s concept of ‘curious spectatorship,’ a term that describes a process of playful spectator interaction with new technologies to remix old filmic media which leads to decipherment of the screen. By moving from a theoretical account of the male gaze to a personal account of spectator identification, I consider how early and late arguments in Mulvey’s writing persist and come to be entangled through deep fake practices. I argue for the creative potential of deep fakes to disrupt the male gaze while underscoring the paradoxical role of photo-filmic media in depicting subjecthood and alterity in the spectator. This position shifts arguments around deep fake technology’s impact on truth to consider how algorithmically generated visual media underscores spectator interactions and identifications with visual culture.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	Co-Action Publishing
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Aesthetics and Culture
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1080/14626268.2023.2248964
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	1901 Art Theory and Criticism, 2001 Communication and Media Studies, 2002 Cultural Studies
dc.subject.classification	3601 Art history, theory and criticism
dc.title	Curious spectatorship in the age of deep fakes
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	34
utslib.for	1901 Art Theory and Criticism
utslib.for	2001 Communication and Media Studies
utslib.for	2002 Cultural Studies
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building/School of Design
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
pubs.consider-herdc	false
dc.date.updated	2024-04-20T19:41:20Z
pubs.issue	3
pubs.publication-status	Submitted
pubs.volume	34
utslib.citation.issue	3

Abstract:

On social media platforms, deep fakes commonly show users inserting their own faces into figures from the history of Hollywood film and visual culture while reduplicating a range of gender stereotypes to self-represent. This paper considers the resonances between deep fakes and the writing of feminist film theorist, Laura Mulvey on the male gaze and spectatorship. In particular, the paper looks at deep fake production from the framework of Mulvey’s concept of ‘curious spectatorship,’ a term that describes a process of playful spectator interaction with new technologies to remix old filmic media which leads to decipherment of the screen. By moving from a theoretical account of the male gaze to a personal account of spectator identification, I consider how early and late arguments in Mulvey’s writing persist and come to be entangled through deep fake practices. I argue for the creative potential of deep fakes to disrupt the male gaze while underscoring the paradoxical role of photo-filmic media in depicting subjecthood and alterity in the spectator. This position shifts arguments around deep fake technology’s impact on truth to consider how algorithmically generated visual media underscores spectator interactions and identifications with visual culture.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/178120