Usually the woman portrays herself on two levels: First being an erotic object for the characters with the narrative, and secondly being an erotic object for the spectator in the auditorium (Mulvey, 1975). Erotic object is when an object enhances one's sexual fantasy. In this case of the opening credits of Barbarella, it applies to the latter as there aren't any other male character for the audience to identify with in the sequence therefore she is being fetishize by the spectator in the auditorium.
The use of bright colours in her spacecraft emphasises on the psychedelic era of the 1960's. From a semiotic perception, it triggers a "make love not war" theme for the audience. Film enables us to project our fantasies on to the screen, as it allows a release from our repressed unconscious state (the Id) and our fantasies (Hayward, 2002). In addition, the shot from under her transparent bed while she gets to sleep as she wears a skin tight, shiny black leather suit with fishnet stockings instantly sexualises her for the audience to gain voyeuristic pleasure. Using skin tight clothing defines the curves of Barbarella's body and with the help of the shiny black leather suit improves the visibility of her being a sex goddess. Fishnet stockings are used to reveal some body parts of hers. These are probably Roger Vadim's ways of portraying Barbarella as the sexualised object in the narrative.
Camera framing and movements played a crucial role in emphasizing the male gaze in the film. Much use of close ups of Barbarella's body parts and constantly keeping her the subject of the frame builds up the voyeuristic aspect. With Barbarella encountering the men in the film, the camera always uses the points of view shot from the men. This enables the mirror phase to take place, hence giving the audience access to identify with the male character of the film within the respective scenes. .
The mirror phase, theorised by psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, takes place at a time when the child's physical ambitions outdo his capability, resulting in his recognition of himself as joyous in that he imagines his mirror image to be more complete, more perfect than his experiences of his own body (Mulvey, 1975).