Masculinidades bajo Pinochet: simbologia y simbiosis en Mala onda y Tony Manero

This essay analyzes the connections between some of the theories about masculinities and the sociopolitical context of Chile under the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet in the movie Tony Manero, by Pablo Larrain, and the novel Mala onda, by Alberto Fuguet. It proposes that the dictator and consequently the ideology of dictatorship are exacerbated representations of masculinity, and this study signals their inherent contradictions and repercussions in this country's social environment during its period of authoritarian regime. From this perspective, the protagonists of both fictional works, who come from different social and economic sectors of the Chilean society, can be considered oppressed individuals and oppressors themselves within this context, establishing different kinds of relationship with it. The oppression that they suffer is not only characterized by the authoritarian practices in force but also "and mainly" by the explicit and implicit guidelines of a "code of masculinity" that is put across by the regime and which affects society as a whole. Additionally, actively or passively and in a more or less conscious way, from the male groups to which they belong, both leading characters dominate (or try to do so) the groups of men from lower levels of the hierarchical social ranking and all groups of women. Therefore, oppression is an effective tool used to help maintain the structure of the dictatorship itself and, as a result, the ideological basis of men's domination.