Deconstructing the Finnish man : studying representations of masculinities in Finnish war films The Partisans and Ambush

Abstract

The premise of this research is the notion that Finnish war films are an important part of cultural discourse about war, and can thus influence the way we understand and remember this period in Finnish history and its impact for the nation and its people. Because the viewpoint assumed by a majority of these films is masculine, war narratives can be considered important sites for negotiating and constructing norms, ideals, and stereotypes related to Finnish men and masculinity. Using Finnish war films The Partisans and Ambush as material, this research examines how representations of masculinities are constructed in these films, and what kinds of images and notions of Finnish men and masculinity do these narratives produce.

The theoretical framework used to analyse these films consists of feminist film theory and critical studies on men and masculinity, as they are both based on the notion that gender and its representations are historical, social, political, and cultural constructions, and thus subject to change and re-evaluation. Feminist film theory offers useful tools and critical concepts for analysing representations of gender in cinema, whereas Finnish studies on masculinity, the military, and war provide a national framework that allows this research to place these films within a larger context of Finnish history and culture.

Three aspects were identified as central to the construction of masculinities in these films: the masculine environment of the military and war, the masculine body, and male sexuality. The homosocial environment of the military actively excludes women and strives to eliminate attributes associated with femininity, and masculinities in these films were therefore constructed primarily in the relationships between men, which resulted in different forms of masculinities being placed in a hierarchical order. The portrayal of male bodies was examined in terms of the objectification of the body through the gaze of the camera/viewer, and state power and control, but this study suggests that the possibly feminising effect of subjugation and objectification is subverted in Finnish war narratives by shifting the focus away from the military as a disciplinary institution and over to the heroic soldier, who embodies the characteristics of ideal masculinity realised in war. Finally, this research argued that portrayals of male sexuality in these films are used to highlight but also challenge sexual behaviour as an indicator of ideal masculinity.

Although this research’s focus on only two films means that the results cannot be generalised to all Finnish war films, the framework formulated in this thesis can be utilised in the study of other films as well, which is one of the most important outcomes of this research.