"Believe me, past a certain age, a man without a family can be a bad thing!" : En narrativ analys av maskuliniteter i första säsongen av tv-serien True Detective

This thesis aims at identifying, through Will Wright methods of narrative analysis, how the different masculinities are represented in the first season of the TV-series True Detective via the protagonists Rust Cohle and Marty Hart. Theories about hegemonic masculinity and Will Wright's theories for narrative analysis are further applied to see how these similarities and differences are formed by what Wright calls “the professional plot". Through 32 chosen scenes from the first season, this study examines the narrative of True Detective and the relationship between the main characters Rust Cohle and Marty Hart from a point of view that will highlight their hierarchic positions in the hegemonic masculinity, using Raewyn Connell’s studies as a theory. We have found that there are two separate hegemonic spheres, one within the relationship between the main characters, and one within the society as a whole. In the latter, Marty Hart is displayed as a member of the hegemonic masculinity up to the point where he loses his family while Rust Cohle constantly belongs to the subordinate masculinity. This is due to him being in constant clash with the traditional cultural values of Louisiana where the series takes place. Regarding the hegemony within their relationship, Rust Cohle goes through a hegemonic transformation, from the subordinate masculinity to the hegemonic while Marty Hart makes the journey from occupying the hegemonic masculinity to serve as the participating dito.