Representation of masculinities in the Arabesk films of Orhan Gencebay within the context of 1970s Turkish popular cinema (Yeşilçam)

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study explores the Arabesk films of Orhan Gencebay and their representation of masculinities. It compares their approach with that of other Yeşilçam melodramas within the productive years of the Turkish popular cinema between the late 1960s and 1980, focusing on the treatment of fallen women and men’s corporeal performances in need of female approval. Gencebay’s filmography presents an opportunity to decipher an indecisive, modernized and quasi-authentic masculinity constructed upon the moral dilemmas engendered by the absence of traditional village relations in an urban setting. Although Arabesk masculinities have a generally positive attitude toward fallen women and present a milder approach to tradition, they often fall back on patriarchal modes of thought by putting the emancipation of women down to men, thus finding common ground with other masculinities prone to violence in Turkish cinema of the period.