A feminist view of women's representations of female directors in Turkish cinema after 2000: Case study of Yesim Ustaoglu and Cigdem Vitrinel

All feminist currents emerged in the process to combat patriarchy with different methods and forms of action. One of the areas of struggle for feminists is cinema which is a practice that affects the socialization process and is used to reproduce the existing sexist patterns in society. Feminist film theorists have produced their own theories and films against mainstream cinema that contributes to this reproduction. They also used cinema as an important medium for the liberation of women and the establishment of feminist consciousness. In this respect, it can be said that they instrumentalized cinema for feminism. In Turkey women's issues has entered the agenda of the cinema too late. Moreover, the dates of female directors' participation in the production of cinema are not very old. In Turkey cinema, especially films that shot by female directors and female characters playing leading roles can be found in post-2000. In this study, movies ,which are shot in 2012, Geriye Kalan and Araf were analyzed according to feminist film theory since they were directed by women and had leading female characters. The aim of the research is whether the films are reproduced as patriarchal order or put forward as a feminist cinema product. In the whole study, from the birth of the women's movement to feminist movements, women's representations in the media and cinema, feminist film theory and women's problems in Turkish Cinema are discussed. Keywords: Patriarchy, feminism, feminist film theory, feminist cinema, psychoanalysis