Honor in the Mediterranean: A Comparative Narrative Analysis of Malena (2000) and Mine (1982)

Abstract

While gender inequality remains to be a phenomenon that impacts women globally, the different challenges women are facing in the Mediterranean region where cultural values of honor function as barrier to women’s emancipation beyond the patriarchal structure is often overlooked in the academic literature. This article investigated the representation of two Mediterranean women in the films Mine (1982) and Malena (2000) by examining the problematic effects of patriarchal fantasy, internalized sexism, and female rivalry on the two main characters within the sociocultural framework on gender. Representation of social norms, and their relationship to codes of honor were analyzed in how they reflect the protagonists’ oppression under the patriarchal structure. Through narrative analysis of the two films, the study investigated whether the codes of honor play a role in the maintenance of gender inequality in the Mediterranean region.

Keywords

• gender
• honor
• Italian cinema
• narrative analysis
• Turkish cinema
• patriarchy