The Gendered Gaze of Silicon Valley: Deconstructing Power, Representation, and Superficial Diversity in The Internship (2013)

Abstract

Shawn Levy’s 2013 comedy The Internship, starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, might appear at first glance to be a lighthearted tale of career reinvention at Google. However, this article reveals the film to be a potent cultural artifact that exposes persistent patriarchal norms and the hollowness of corporate diversity rhetoric in Silicon Valley’s technology sector. Grounded in Laura Mulvey’s concept of the “male gaze” and informed by bell hooks’ theory of the “oppositional gaze,” the analysis dissects how The Internship systematically objectifies its female characters, centers male subjectivity, and marginalizes women within the tech workspace. This feminist reading is further deepened with insights from Science and Technology Studies (STS) and intersectional postcolonial critique, illuminating how the film constructs the idea of technological expertise and workplace “meritocracy” while trafficking in racialized, exoticized stereotypes of characters of color. Through detailed textual and discourse analysis of key scenes, characterizations, dialogue, and cinematography, the paper argues that The Internship promotes a tokenistic vision of diversity that masks profound gender and racial inequities. The film symbolically silences women in leadership, naturalizes sexist workplace attitudes, and uncritically celebrates a techno-utopian meritocracy that obscures systemic barriers. Despite its comedic tone and the limited scholarly attention the film has drawn since 2013, The Internship’s regressive representations remain disturbingly relevant, reflecting enduring cultural narratives that hinder genuine equity in STEM fields. By scrutinizing this underexamined text, the study fills a significant gap in the literature, offering the first comprehensive, theoretically integrated feminist critique of The Internship.