In The Crisis of Gender Identity in the Greek Film Noir: Sexuality, Paranoia and the Unconscious in Efialtis/Nightmare (1961) and O Ergenis/The Bachelor (1997), Fessas and Kosma argue that "The general loosening of patriarchal authority is represented in film through men who have lost their sense of place in this new, modern society…”.[1] This notion is especially prevalent in times of social/political crisis and poverty – once a man is no longer able to consistently provide for his family due to the new social circumstances, he loses his traditional familial authority and thus loses his sense of place in the world. This idea is further illustrated in Aria and Kalinihta. In Aria, the roles of a parent and a teenager are blurred – one can see the father asking his teenage daughter for cigarettes, an act that is usually seen as unacceptable in traditional patriarchal households. Furthermore, teenage Aria works all day as a waitress, while her father drinks at a bar. Aria's father indeed smuggled her into the country, yet left her to fend for herself in the new world she was thrown into. Consequently, the Chinese immigrant becomes a source of parental guidance for Aria, as the illegal immigrant helps her navigate through an uncertain world.
One could argue that the father in Aria feels lost in times of financial crisis, just like the men in Kalinihta experience feelings of existential despair as they speak to each other privately about happiness, ethics, love and depression. In a patriarchal society, it is unusual to see men discuss relationships and mental health, as those things are typically considered to be feminine matters. However, in times of crisis (such as the Greek contemporary crisis), men find themselves confused about their identity and begin to wonder what really matters to them in life for their own wellbeing. In Kalinihta, hegemonic masculinity is illustrated through having power over other men, such as by robbing them for their money during times when everybody is struggling financially. The macho man in Kalinihta, Tasos, justifies his actions by saying “When everybody is hungry, can you eat morality?” – for him, to be a man means violently taking advantage of the weaker ones in order to keep his authority. Similarly, Hadjikyriacou notes that from an anthropological perspective, one of the ways to obtain respect from the community was to engage in a “constant struggle to gain precarious and transitory advantage over each other”. [2] [1] Fessas, Nikitas, and Yvonne Kosma. "The Crisis of Gender Identity in the Greek Film Noir: Sexuality, Paranoia and the Unconscious in Efialtis/Nightmare (1961) and O Ergenis/The Bachelor (1997)." FILMICON: Journal of Greek Film Studies, no. 4 (December 2017): 84-109. http://filmiconjournal.com/journal/article/pdf/2017/4/5. [2] Hadjikyriacou, Achilleas. “Masculinity and Gender in Greek Cinema: 1949–67.” Masculinity and Gender in Greek Cinema : 1949–1967: 1-28. dos:10.5040/9781628928792.ch-002. |