Representaitons of feminity and masculinity in the texts of American cinema in the period of 1930-1960

Within the scope of the study, open and closed gender definitions in the film texts from the 1930-1960 period of American cinema were examined and representations of men and women built through language were shown. The study was begun after drawing a general framework by emphasizing what language is and examining its relationship with gender and its role in the construct of gender. The focus of the study was that the spoken and written discourse created through language, beliefs, views and values on gender lead to the process whereby these become the accepted societal norms. After explaining the use of implicatures as a means of interpretation which enables the continuous propagation of gender, the linguistic and non-linguistic components of the film texts were discussed. The male and female representations in the textual contexts of the period films, the verbal conduct of male and female characters and the use of linguistic elements in the process of constructing gender opposition were analyzed for the purpose of determining the construct of gender identity. The study was conducted within the textual context and content analysis was used as a method. As a result of analyses carried out under this study it emerges that film texts are directly affected and shaped by society's approach to women and men, behavior of individuals in the context of belonging to a particular gender and gender stereotyping stemming from stereotypical ideas associated with femininity and masculinity. Keywords: Language, American Cinema, Feminity, Masculunity, Gender.