Definitions in Cinematic Theory
The gaze is characterized by who is the gazer (viewer):
- The spectator's gaze: that of the spectator viewing the text, i.e. the reader(s) of the text.
- The Intra-diegetic gaze: in a text, a character gazes upon an object or another character in the text.
- The Extra-diegetic gaze: a textual character consciously addresses (looks at) the viewer, e.g. in dramaturgy, an aside to the audience; in cinema, acknowledgement of the fourth wall, the viewer.
- The camera's gaze: is the film director's gaze.
- The editorial gaze: emphasises a textual aspect, e.g. a photograph, its cropping and caption direct the reader(s) to a specific person, place, or object in the text.
Theorists Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen posit that the gaze is a relationship, between offering and demanding a gaze: the indirect gaze is the spectator's offer, wherein the spectator initiates viewing the subject, who is unaware of being viewed; the direct gaze is the subject's demand to be viewed.
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