Opposing masculinities. Violence and sensitivities in the construction of main characters in Cesc Gay and Rodrigo Sorogoyen

Abstract

Contemporary Spanish cinema is made up of a large number of varied currents of production, which demonstrates the breadth of proposals that have been developed over the last two decades in the academic writing and analysis of our cinema. Among this variety, and in terms of themes, violence is a focus of interest and a perspective that has included an outstanding number of studies supported from social positions or with the purpose of social representation of contemporary realities, as is also the case in fictional series. But there are also other sensitive issues that are being represented in Spanish cinema, such as the new masculinity. This work links both trends under the approach of narrative analysis of male protagonists, for which a template has been created that addresses the character as a role, as an actor, stereotypes and themes, as well as the construction of the hero/anti-hero protagonist. This analytical incursion has been carried out on a sample of male characters from four films and one series by each of the chosen directors, the Spanish filmmakers Cesc Gay and Rodrigo Sorogoyen. It is concluded how their male protagonists move away from traditional masculinity, the former through the exposure of their insecurities and the latter through the dissection of how social pressure provokes in them situations of violence and vital disorientation, which represents two opposing forms of representation.