Voyeurism in Wings of Desire (1987) & Under the Skin (2013)

In this episode our focus is on Voyeurism and our Twin Feature is Wings of Desire (1987) & Under the Skin (2013).

These films take place predominantly from the perspective of otherworldly beings, inconspicuously observing everyday lives in order to understand the human condition. Both take quite a left-field approach to the traditional notion of voyeurism and more specifically the 'gaze', subverting it in similar ways while also being wholly original and unique texts in relation to their contexts of production.

Sources:

Mulvey, Laura. (1975). "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema". Screen

Hayward, S. (2006), Cinema Studies: Key Concepts. 3rd Edition. London: Routledge

Mella, R. (2022). 'To Be Alien: The Cinema of Jonathan Glazer'. Available at: https://www.odgmagazine.com/essere-lalieno-il-cinema-di-jonathan-glazer/

Ellwood, G. (2014). ‘Did Scarlett Johansson really walk around Scotland unnoticed filming ‘Under the Skin?’. Available at: https://uproxx.com/hitfix/did-scarlett-johansson-really-walk-around-scotland-unnoticed-filming-under-the-skin/

Leigh, D. (2014). ‘Under the Skin: why did this chilling masterpiece take a decade?’. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/mar/06/under-the-skin-director-jonathan-glazer-scarlett-johansson