Cultural Studies paper by Varga, Balázs
Problems of Masculinities in Contemporary Hungarian Romantic Comedies (Accepted)
Type of Abstract (select):Abstract (max. 250 words):
This paper, based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis (using data-driven methods and textual examination) will discuss changing trends in post-2000 Hungarian romantic comedies, with a particular focus on two topics: the ambivalent portrayal of masculinity, and how and to what extent the stories are embedded in the local socio-cultural milieu. Scholarly discussions of contemporary Hungarian romantic film comedies usually highlight two distinct features. On the one hand, these films target male (and not female) audiences (which is the global trend), and on the other, the milieu they depict is the upper-middle-class, cosmopolitan world of the entertainment / creative industries. While the first claim highlights the difference in local characteristics from the global trends, the second emphasizes the lack of local specificities. The paper assumes that while the male protagonists of the Hungarian romantic comedies of the 2000s were characterized by a duality of hegemonic masculinity and uncertainty, the heroes of the films of the 2010s are inherently more ambivalent figures, whose character development and self-seeking journey is more hesitant. The analysis will examine what factors might be responsible for these changes in the representation of masculinity in Hungarian romantic comedies, and how these romcoms (and their evolution) can be related to the local social and cultural climate.
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Balázs Varga is an Associate Professor of Film Studies at ELTE, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary. He writes and lectures on modern and contemporary Hungarian cinema, contemporary European cinema, production studies, popular cinemas and documentaries. He is a founding editor of Metropolis, a scholarly journal on film theory and history based in Budapest. His recent book in Hungarian Filmrendszerváltások. A magyar játékfilm intézményeinek átalakulása 1990–2010 [Film regime changes. Transformations in Hungarian Film Industry 1990–2010] was published by L’Harmattan, Budapest in 2016. His current project focuses on popular Hungarian and East European screen cultures during and after socialism.