The representation of class-inflected masculinity in contemporary Turkish cinema

Abstract

This study aims to analyse the representation of masculinity, with a specific focus on disentangling the relationship between masculinity and class in contemporary Turkish cinema, by exploring four movies that have been produced during the last decade and received international recognition. It borrows the concept of hegemonic masculinity to characterize and locate the kinds of masculinities that are represented in the films Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu) (2014) and Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da) (2011) by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Majority (Çoğunluk) (2010) by Seren Yüce and Beyond the Hill (Tepenin Ardı) (2012) by Emin Alper. Pierre Bourdieu’s formulation of cultural and symbolic capital is also employed to demonstrate class denominators. Consequently, the thesis merges practices that stem from class status with masculinities, in order to locate them at the very juncture of class and gender. Through this conceptualization, this study argues that there are certain notions that are intrinsic to class statuses which are incorporated with gender, specifically masculinity. From this perspective, class status is intrinsic to the mode of masculinity in gender relations as depicted in these representative films from the canon of contemporary Turkish cinema.