With the statement “There is a power in looking” bell hooks emphasizes that looking is far from neutral. Gazes can function as instruments of control and oppression—reinforcing hierarchies, reproducing stereotypes, or confirming existing power structures. At the same time, hooks argues, gazes can be appropriated and reinterpreted as acts of self-empowerment, visibility, and resistance against the very structures that once constrained them.¹

In this sense, the seminar addresses the gaze—not only as a technical function of the camera, but as a social, political, and aesthetic power relation. Building on theories of feminist film thinking, particularly Laura Mulvey’s concept of the male gaze² and bell hooks’ approach to the oppositional gaze¹, we examine how experimental forms of the moving image challenge conventional ways of seeing, reclaim imagery, and develop alternative visual languages. Queer and postcolonial perspectives are also incorporated, expanding feminist notions of the gaze and extending the discussion to include the algorithmic gaze.

The seminar combines theoretical reflection, film screenings, and hands-on experimental practice. Its aim is to develop methods that allow participants not only to analyze existing gaze structures but also to experiment with new forms of vision through their own filmmaking practice.

References
¹ hooks, bell (1992): The Oppositional Gaze: Black Female Spectator. In: Jones, Amelia (ed.): The Feminism and Visual Culture Reader. London/New York: Routledge, pp. 94–105.
² Mulvey, Laura (1975): Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. In: Nichols, Bill (ed.): Movies and Methods, Vol. II. Berkeley/Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1985, pp. 303–315.

Schedule:
Thursdays, 10:00–14:00, biweekly

23.10.2025, 06.11.2025, 20.11.2025, 4.12.2025, 18.12.2025, 15.01.2026, 29.01.2026, 12.02.2026, 19.02.2026
 

Location: GRU 129

Schein: künstlerisch/gestalterisch (3 SWS)

Die Seminare können auch einzeln besucht werden.
 

Participants: max. 20

Registration: via the Fachklasse or in advance by email to: s.labis_ @udk-berlin.de