| dc.description.abstract | This study was premised on the notion that feature films by Kenyan women filmmakers
are an important part of cultural discourses about hegemonic masculinity, and has a
bearing on the ways in which practices of hegemonic masculinity are understood in
society. In this regard, it interrogated feature films as sites for negotiating and
reconstructing norms, ideals, and practices of hegemonic masculinity in Kenya today.
Using three selected feature films by Kenyan women filmmakers, the study examined
representations of hegemonic masculinity and how practices of hegemonic masculinity
are reconstructed in the contemporary society. It also analysed aesthetic and technical
filmmaking techniques used in the representation of hegemonic masculinity and ways in
which the female filmmakers reconstructed hegemonic practices thereby providing
alternative modes of being in society. Connell’s (2005) theorisation of hegemonic
masculinity offered useful critical tools for analysing representations of hegemonic
masculinity in the selected feature films, and a social framework that enabled the study to
place feature films within a larger context of history and culture. In this regard, forms of
hegemonic masculinity such as dominant, complicit, marginalised and subordinate were
analysed. Filmmaking techniques such as casting and directing, mise-en-scene, lighting,
cinematography, spectator orientation through editing and sound were examined.
Findings from the study showed the contradictory and declining practices of hegemonic
masculinity in the contemporary society. It is evident from the study that the female
filmmakers relied on context and characterisation to spur social consciousness, advocate
for social change and reconfigure alternative modes of being in society which foster selffulfillment and satisfaction. In this regard, the feature films function as engaging and
informative avenues of discussing social agency as they provide alternative pathways to
emerging issues in society. | en_US |
