Representation of women in urban space in Yesim Ustaoglu cinema

From the very first moment of its emergence, the art of cinema has reached a point that no other branch of art can reach in terms of mass, and this situation has never lost its momentum over time. Cinema has not only been a tool that entertains people and makes them have a pleasant time, but also has a function that informs people and raises their awareness on various issues. The social struggle of women existed before the emergence of cinema as a branch of art on the world stage, this struggle coincided with the existence of cinema and continued after. It is clear that there is no doubt that the women's struggle, which always insists on getting the support of the art of cinema and benefiting from the power of cinema in its struggle, still has a long way to go. The struggle for women's liberation and the equal sharing of human rights between the two genders throughout history is one of the longest and most persistent social resistances in the history of humanity. Women's quest for freedom has concentrated in cities where people can come together with their different identities, and cities have become the center of women's resistance, as well as all kinds of social struggles. In the history of our geography, especially from the 19th century, when the Western influence began to become evident, the women's struggle began to be visible. As in many social areas, the cinema, which reflects a male-dominated understanding, has begun to transform as a result of the struggle of women. The woman-oriented narrative, in which the feminist understanding is decisive, has made cinema an important area of the women's freedom struggle. Women's quest for emancipation in the cities has gained an important chance of transmission and screening through cinema. In the cinema tradition of our country, male-dominated codes are also decisive. The "New Turkish Cinema" movement, which has been on the rise especially since the second half of the 1990s, did not find the opportunity to create a serious change in this regard. However, Yeşim Ustaoğlu, who we can see as one of the founding names of this movement, stands in a different place on this issue. Although she does not define herself as a feminist, she has made films focusing on women's issues, especially in the last period of her career, and has produced products that deal with the problems women experience. In this study, Yeşim Ustaoğlu's last three films, Pandora's Box, Somewhere in Between and Clair Obscure, were analyzed by content analysis method and it was tried to examine how women's struggle and liberation practices in the urban area were reflected in these films. Throughout the thesis, issues such as women's struggle for liberation in the city, its reflections in cinema, and how it is handled in our cinema in particular Yeşim Ustaoğlu's works are mentioned. Keywords: Right to the City, Feminism, Feminist Film Theory, Yeşim Ustaoğlu cinema