Women in Scorcese. Not something that he is known for but let’s get into it, starting with his 1973 solidifying film Mean Streets …
Mean Streets heavily centers around ideas of masculinity and subsequent pressures that stem from these ideals of masculinity on Italian-American men within their neighborhoods. Particularly, the film focuses on the expectations placed on Charlie (played by Harvey Keitel), a pseudo mobster in-the-making. Subsequently the idealized version of masculinity becomes a performance of violence and machismo attitude by the men of the film trying to prove themselves to each other and the neighborhood. It then becomes interesting to analyze how the film portrays and conceptualizes the concept of feminity (the binary opposite of masculinity).
Now, I would argue that masculinity is an exhibition put on put on by the men within the film while the feminity that is evident in the film is an idealized fantasy seen solely through the male gaze. Particularly, through a Catholic male gaze. For my fellow ladies who grew up Catholic I know you know exactly what I am talking about. Within the film women can be seen and are regulated through a “Madonna-whore complex” dichotomy, which (for those who do not know) is a psychological complex “said to” develop in men who see women as either saintly Madonnas or debased prostitues. Men with this complex, more than I care to think about, desire a sexual partner who has been degraded (the whore) while they cannot desire their respected partner (the Madonna).
These starkly contrasting ideals of womanhood of whore to saintly mother figure heavily presents itself throughout Mean Streets, whether intentional by Scorsese or not. Though, I would say, it is not intentional and a darkly ironic coincidence on his part. The film starts out with Charlie saying (in narration) the he pays for his sins in the streets, which conveys to the audience that this film is Charlie’s story and and what the viewer is watching is Charlie’s point of view. This fact is further evident in the continuation of Charlie’s narration for the duration of the film. It is ironic then that Charlie says he pays for his sins in the streets yet minutes later he is in church.
The setting of the Catholic church confirms Charlie’s catholicism, which fuel his beliefs and world view. Subsequently, these beliefs also become the audience's point of view as well. Here, in the Church the first woman of the film can be seen: the Virgin Mary. Literally. As Charlie kneels before the candles after going to confession he stares up at a nearly life-size figurate of the Virgin Mary holding a wounded and bleeding Jesus Christ. Right away the idealized saintly Madonna, the literal Virgin Mary, is the first woman that is seen within the film. Charlie here remarks how he doesn’t believe that prayers can save him but that he “does his own penance for his own sins” and right as he says “whaddya say huh?” the camera reveals the full Virgin Mary. Almost as if he is asking her for reassurance. The Virgin Mary being the first woman that is seen in the film is heavily significant since the Virgin Mary is quite literally the most idealized and romanticized idea of femininity, especially within Catholicism. She was a virgin who conceived the son of God and took care of him with undying and endless motherly love and devotion. She is the woman who could never do wrong. She is the pinnacle of the Catholic faith. Therefore, that is how Charlie views women and what they should be, he subconsciously puts them up against the most idealized and romanticized idea of femininity that exists … what could possibly be wrong with that?
It is no surprise then that no women can live up to the Virgin Mary ideal that is automatically placed on them through the Catholic male gaze. It is then perfectly twisted that the second woman seen in the film is Diane (played by Jeannine Bell), the black stripper who works at Tony’s bar. Within the first 20 minutes of the film the “Madonna-whore complex” is already fulfilled, first the audience sees the literal Virgin Mary and next the audience sees a stripper. The contrast could not be any more clear. The film itself views women’s bodies as something to fetishize and use to satiate male needs.
Essentially, women are viewed as guilty pleasures, something to indulge in but not to invest time in or *scoff* view as equals. This is evident later on in the film as Charlie tries to woo Diane, when she is nearly naked and vulnerable, by telling her about his far-off plans to own a restaurant and that she can be the hostess of this restaurant. Whether Charlie actually wants Diane as the hostess is not clear but the fact that he is using this to have sex with her is. Charlie clearly sexually wants Diane and fetishizes her, remarking throughout the film how beautiful she is, but then is immensely ashamed of her because she is black. This blatant disregard for Diane’s feelings as a person shows how Charlie views her as the whore, something to use for his own sexual pleasures and wants, and then toss aside.
The same treatment of women is true about Charlie’s relationship with Teresa (played by Amy Robinson) as well. She is someone that Charlie is clearly attracted to, and may have feelings for, although he never audibly admits it. However, he is also deeply ashamed of her because of her epilepsy. Not to disregard the fact that he is also extremely abusive and manipulative towards her as well. Charlie sneaks off to hotel rooms to have sex with Teresa, he yells at her when she shares her dreams with him, he doesn’t want anyone to know of his relationship with Teresa. Yet, he is all too eager to watch her dress and undress both through his window and at the hotel, even when she tells him to “look away.”
It is no coincidence then that the first shot of Teresa the audience sees, before she has even spoken yet, is of her breasts as she undresses in her bedroom and Charlie watches her through his window. Before this female character, the main female character of the film (one of maybe two or three), has even had the chance to speak she is seen naked and through Charlie’s gaze, regulating her to a sexual position. Once again reinforcing the opposing ideals of Madonna or whore and in this case regulating Teresa to be the whore, at least the whore through Charlie’s gaze. Teresa is regulated to the whore through Charlie’s actions as well; namely, refusing to be public with Teresa and blatantly disregarding her dreams and emotions as well as being emotionally abusive towards her. He doesn’t respect Teresa enough to be honest with her and kind to her when others are around, though slivers of kindness can be seen at times when they are in private. In secret, away from the eyes of the ever-watching neighborhood.
The catholic male gaze is something that follows Scorsese through all of his works, but I feel is heavily present within Mean Streets. The very few women that are in this film serve no purpose but to be sexual wants for Charlie or holes to fill with his own guilt and inability to do what he truly wants to do. Therefore, the femininity of this film is only used to reinforce ideas and performances of masculinity played out by the Italian American men. There is no deep exploration of Teresa’s psyche, or even Diane’s, like there is for Charlie because Teresa and Diane are just props and concepts of women for Charlie not real people.
