From Being Seen To Resistance: The Evolution Of "the Other" In Gaze Theory

"Gaze" is an important term in contemporary literary theory. By analyzing the "see and being seen"relation from various perspectives, this thesis aims to reveal the historical evolution of the status of’the other" or the "being seen" in such a relation.The first part focused on how "the other" is subordinate to the gazing subject in the theoretical framework of so called "visual centrism", which contributes to the formation of Western rationalism afterwards. Martin Jay uses"Scopic Regime"to summarize the authority possessed by the gazing subject in visual centrism.In the critical theory of Post-colonialism, the colonized,who are either the Orient other or the black people, are subordinate to the suzerain, In the critical theory of feminism, the female other is also in a subordinate status, which is being gazed by the male gaze or male desire.The second part emphasizes the constructing role of "the other"in the formation of gazing subject. Such as, how Kojeve elaborates Hegel’s "master/slave" dialects.Another theorist, the existentialist philosopher Jean Paul Sartre, took the gaze as an example to point out that our identity is created by our awareness of the seeing of the other, but due to Sartre’s concept of "Hell is other people", the relationship of subject and "the other" often conflicts and rarely coexists in harmony. In the critical theory of Post-colonialism, the interdependence and hybridity of the seeing subject and being-seen object produce the colonial subjects. Also, feminist critical theory ceases to regard" gaze "as pure patricentric, on the contrary, the equal status of "the other" relative to the gazing subject is emphasized.The third part focuses on the resistance of "the other" in gaze theory. Lacan pointed out that "the other" in gaze is not always in the subordinate position-status.On the contrary, "The other" or the being-seen may occupy the subject position by gazing the original subject on its own.Because of the resistance "the other", Zizek re-establishes the paradox subject by discussing the "sinthome". At last, the close-reading of the film "Orphan" and "Thelma and Louise" shows that "the other" has the ability to resist the gazing subject by returning from Lacanian "the Real" to "the Symbolic".