Representations of Heteronormativity and Masculinity Crisis in Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Cinema: Uzak (2002) and Kış Uykusu (2014)

Hatice İlay Karaoğlu

doi:10.5195/cinej.2026.762

Representations of Heteronormativity and Masculinity Crisis in Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Cinema: Uzak (2002) and Kış Uykusu (2014)

Authors

Hatice İlay Karaoğlu ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4009-9813

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2026.762

Keywords:

heteronormative masculinity, cinematic form, Turkish cinema, gender performativity

Abstract

This article examines how heteronormative masculinity is problematized and destabilized in the cinema of Nuri Bilge Ceylan, with particular focus on Uzak and Kış Uykusu. Rather than assuming a generalized “crisis of masculinity,” the study conceptualizes this crisis as a cinematic process produced through emotional withdrawal, spatial isolation, and the erosion of intellectual and moral authority. Drawing on theories of gender performativity and hegemonic masculinity, the article analyzes how silence, duration, bodily stillness, and dialogic confrontation construct male vulnerability and expose the limits of patriarchal masculine performance. By foregrounding formal cinematic strategies rather than thematic description alone, this study argues that Ceylan’s films reconfigure masculinity not simply as a psychological failure but as a fragile social and aesthetic formation. The article contributes to debates on Turkish art cinema by demonstrating how masculinity is reshaped through cinematic form and by situating Ceylan’s work within broader discussions of gender, power, and modernity.

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Published

2026-05-22

How to Cite

Karaoğlu, H. İlay. (2026). Representations of Heteronormativity and Masculinity Crisis in Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Cinema: Uzak (2002) and Kış Uykusu (2014). CINEJ Cinema Journal, 14(1), 164–197. https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2026.762

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Issue

Vol. 14 No. 1 (2026): Spring

Section

Articles

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