Domestic Violence from the Point of View of Women Directors in Turkish Cinema

Domestic violence is an outcome of male dominated ideology, in other words patriarchy. In this context, when women directors handle domestic violence in their films, important questions arise such as the following: Do the women directors have a different consideration than the male dominated discourse? Do they present the experience of women regarding their own lives from the point of view of women, in a way that women are the agents and without objectifying women? After 1980, there has been an increase in the number of the women directors in Turkish Cinema and it has been observed that women directors make movies of women stories. In this study, while all of the women directors of Turkish Cinema from the beginning are overviewed, the lives of Füruzan, Gülsün Karamustafa, and Canan Gerede are dealt with in details. There are three films directed by the women directors handling with domestic violence: Benim Sinemalar m/My Cinemas (Füruzan and Güslün Karamustafa), A k lümden So uktur/Love is Colder Than Death (Canan Gerede) and Par alanma/The Split (Canan Gerede). The above mentioned movies of 1990’s and consequently the directors are examined within the framework of female characters, presentation of violence towards women, the questioning of male dominated ideology and handling of domestic violence and common points and distinctions of the directors are put forth.