An Introduction to Film studies pg276 by Jill nelmes

Media Theory Laura Mulvey used Freudian theory to explain the male idol-worship of female celebrities (not unlike the cult following of stars like Sigourney Weaver and Angelina Jolie). Freud stated that as a young child the male is overwhelmed by feelings of superiority and fear of castration' when he sees that a female lacks' a penis. In order to overcome this fear the male fetishizes a woman or parts of her body; this fetish acts as a substitute for the (missing) phallus.Media Theory Laura Mulvey used Freudian theory to explain the male idol-worship of female celebrities (not unlike the cult following of stars like Sigourney Weaver and Angelina Jolie). Freud stated that as a young child the male is overwhelmed by feelings of superiority and fear of castration' when he sees that a female lacks' a penis. In order to overcome this fear the male fetishizes a woman or parts of her body; this fetish acts as a substitute for the (missing) phallus.