Fathers and daughters in Turkish cinema

Although the relationship between father and son and mother and daughter is commonly prioritised in society, the role of the father in the life of the daughter is as decisive as that of the mother. Cinema reflects these relationships within the framework of certain periodical codes by offering a narrative space shaped by social norms and structures. It is observed that the number of films that directly focus on the father-daughter relationship in Turkish cinema is quite low. This study tries to understand the effect of the father figure in the films on the daughter by focusing on the representation forms of the father-daughter relationship, which is in the minority in cinema, and to analyse how this relationship is established throughout the narrative and what meanings are attributed to it in the social context of the period it is in. The study also aims to examine how father-daughter relationships are represented in Turkish cinema periodically and how these representations change. The lack of a study focusing on father-daughter relationships in Turkish cinema in the literature reveals the importance of this study. Accordingly, the films in the Turkish cinema periods, which predominantly deal with the father-daughter relationship, were identified and these films were analysed by text analysis method within the framework of psychoanalytic approach. In the films analysed, it was observed that the father figure was shown in different forms of representation with the changing social and cultural conditions over time. The patriarchal and authoritarian father figure in the early periods was replaced by conflicted and emotional fathers in time. In recent films, on the other hand, fathers are represented as complex figures who are sometimes compassionate and sometimes come to terms with their oppressive aspects. This change has also led to a transformation in the representation of the daughter. Initially passive and silent girl characters have evolved into more autonomous, struggling and symbolically trying to get out of the father's law.