Gendering Turkish Action Films in the Post-2010 Period: “Hey boy, protect me and don’t cry!”

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigates how the post-2010 Turkish action films portray men. Popular cinema positions all other sexual identities as secondary and often Other than (hegemonic) masculinity. In this context, this study examines masculinity in the centre of the narrative in the Turkish action films. The sample of the study consists of three action films with high production and box office hit in Turkey from 2010 to the present day, Kaos: Örümcek Ağı (Chaos: Spider Web, 2012), Çakal (The Jackal, 2010) and Panzehir (Antidote, 2014). Thus, the relationship between masculinity representations in Turkish mainstream action films and reality is discussed. In this study, the male characters can be categorized either fearless to sacrifice themselves for their family and nationality or negative subject men who never have characteristics that are not approved by the society. While there are almost no women in the narratives of these films, it can be classified that Turkish action films, as films that completely reflect the men’s world and become womanless.