Eje temático 2.- Resisting the new-turkey woman’s image: the dissident gaze of Basak Buyukcelen

Abstract

RESUMEN Esta investigación analiza la producción cinematográfica y la experiencia personal de la directora de cine turca Basak Buyukcelen, que ha presentado una mirada critica hacia la construcción de la imagen de la mujer en la Nueva Turquía. Aquí el paradigma de referencia esta representado por las imágenes y los discursos oficiales sobre ‘quien es una mujer turca’ y sobre ‘como tiene que ser una mujer turca’ producidos por los lideres políticos del partido AK (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi). Este partido, desde su llegada al poder en el año 2002 ha anunciado la formación de la Nueva Turquía, y a través imágenes, discursos, y practicas sociales ha producido la imagen de la ‘verdadera’ mujer turca. Este paradigma de referencia ha sido criticado por Basak Buyukcelen, que con su producción y proyectos cinematográficos, ha intentado presentar otra imagen de la mujer turca. Su producción de resistencia artística empezó con la película ‘Ikilem’ (Dilema; 2010) y continuo con un proyecto dedicado a la sexualidad femenina. Este proyecto tenia que desarrollarse a través de tres cortos dedicados al la virginidad, la reconstrucción del himen, y la violación. De estos tres cortos Basak produjo en el 2012 ‘Derin nefel al’, y mientras que estaba rodando su segundo corto, uno de los actores principales tuvo miedo de posibles repercusiones políticas y dejo el rodaje. Basak después de un tiempo de depresión se entero que su futuro como artista en la Nueva Turquía se había acabado y se traslado a Canadá donde ahora reside.

ABSTRACT The research focuses on the cinematographic work and personal experience of the Turkish movie director Basak Buyukcelen who, in her movies, has presented a critical gaze on the construction of the woman’s image in the self proclaimed New Turkey. The paradigm of reference is represented by the images and official discourses on ‘who’ and ‘what should be’ a Turkish woman produced by the political leaders of the Justice and Development Party (Turkish: Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, abbreviated AKP in Turkish). Here, this New Turkey Woman’s image is considered as a myth. The AKP, since its arrival to power in 2002 (1) has announced the establishment of New Turkey: and (2) has assembled a new cultural system of reference, has preached, promoted, fabricated, and generated social and normative practices on the nature, essence and identity of the ‘true’ Turkish Woman. These narratives and images (icons) have been spread through official discourses, political rituals, commercial advertisements, TV serials programs news, and movies becoming socially accepted and points of reference. This program, which is in line with the Islamic religion, is antagonist to the principles of secular Turkey. However, to this interpretative paradigm, Basak Buyukcelen, considered until some years ago as a rising star of the Turkish cinema, (1) has opposed her own perceptive and dissident gaze questioning what means to be a Turkish woman nowadays in Turkey; (2) has revindicated and asserted an autonomous woman image, identity, and position deconstructing and challenging the official one entrapped into the AKP rhetoric and social practices; and (3) has showed the effect of this political discourse agenda inside the contemporary Turkish society. Her resistance started with the production of the movi e ‘Ikilem’ (Dilema; 2010), and continued with a project that compromised three short movies dedicated to the woman sexuality inside the New Turkey (virginity; reconstruction of hymen; rape). Unfortunately, Buyukcelen was able to produce only one of the threes shorts she had in mind: ‘Derin nefes al’ (Take a deep breath; 2012). Despite the fact that this short was shown and praised in various international movie festivals, no Turkish movie producer was interested to promote her controversial and nonconformist project. Thus, she raised the money needed for her project through her close friends. However, the turning and traumatic point happened when, while she was shooting her second short which involved the reconstruction of the hymen by a ‘covered’ girl befor e the wedding day, one of the actors, unexpectedly found the script desecrating and afraid of possible political repercussion against him, his family, and his property profession, left the set. Buyukcelen, therefore, was not able to finish the short movies. She realized that her artistic activity was stigmatized, and that her cinematographic life had arrived to an end in New Turkey, then she moved to Canada. The methodology adopted in this presentation is based: on the interviews with the movie director; on Foucault’s discourse on sexuality, power knowledge, clinic politics relation; on the concepts of myth, artivism, habitus, interpellation, and ideology; and draws from the preliminary work of Buyukcelen for the production of her movies.