Abstract
The purpose of this study is to trace the relationship between male, masculinity, and violence in Turkish films after 2000. For this purpose, action, adventure, political, and drama films featuring Kenan İmirzalıoğlu, the pioneering anti-hero of male violence in popular Turkish films between 2000-2010 were focused. Thus, the sample of the study was composed of Deli Yürek: Bumerang Cehennemi (2001), Yazı Tura (2004), Kabadayı (2007), and Ejder Kapanı (2010) films. In all of these films Yusuf, Cevher, Devran, and Celal acted by İmirzalıoğlu use intense violence in the name of honor, power, and virility. Starting from such observation, the study has endeavored to make an interpretation on appearance of the relationship among man, masculinity, and violence based on the type, orientation, perspective and purpose of violence in the films, included the sample since the 2000s. In pursuit of such meaning first, it will be useful to mention the relationship among violence, man, and masculinity.
TopViolence, Man, And Masculinity
In the Classical Anglo-Saxon sense, violence is defined as ‘causing physical injury of somebody’ (Riches, 1989: 14; Rougier, 1989: 71). It can be said that the concept has passed from Arabic to Turkish in the meanings of ‘toughness’, ‘brute force’, and, ‘rude behavior’. Today, its lexical meaning is ‘using brute force, rude behavior, and, toughness towards those with opposite attitude or opinion’ (Ünsal, 1996: 29).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Honor: The quality of knowing and doing what is morally right. A man’s honor is generally his wife, mother or daughter’s chastity or her reputation for being chaste.
Patriarchy: Social system in which men hold primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property.
Gender: Socially constructed definition of women and men. Gender is determined by the conception of tasks, functions and roles attributed to women and men in society and in public and private life.
Sexuality: Identification of individuals in relation to their biological sex.
Revenge: Form of justice enacted in the absence or defiance of the norms of formal law and jurisprudence. Inflict hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong done to oneself.
Violence: The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation.
Masculinity: Set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with boys and men.