Film Studies Master
From Daughter to Wife:
Representation of women in Turkish
contemporary Romantic Comedy
Aslı Bildirici | 11775815
Date of completion: 14.06.2018
Name of supervisor:
Dr. Gerwin van der PolTable of Contents
Foreword……….2
1. Introduction………3
1.1 The Topic ...3
1.2 Method ………4
1.3 Corpus ………..5
1.4 Literature Review ……….6
1.5 Overview ……….7
2. Genre & The Turkish Romantic Comedy ………...8
2.1 What is genre? ...8
2.2 The Romantic Comedy as Genre ………..9
2.3 Turkish Cinema & Women ………10
2.4 The Turkish Romantic Comedy ……….12
3. Analysis of Contemporary Turkish Romantic Comedies ……….13
3.1 Love ……….13
3.2 Marriage ………..24
3.3 Family ……….34
4. Reading Against the Grain ………42
4.1 Funny Women………42
4.2 Sexual Female Audience……….44
4.3 Career Women ………..………..46
4.4
Conclusion ………46
5. Conclusion ………..47
6. Notes ………..50
7. Bibliography ………51
8. Filmography ………54
Foreword
Growing up in Turkey, I loved watching films. Ankara, the city that I was living in, was and still is known as a grey civil servant city with no colour or creativity. Films were my only source of
entertainment as well as a way to experience other places and lives. As my taste level was not very sophisticated yet, I often turned to romantic comedies from both Hollywood and Turkey.
Today, as a grown woman, I can see how the romantic comedies that I have watched morphed my ideas about being a woman and romantic relationships. When I look around, I see complicated women who want different things out of life. But when I look at the screen, I see woman who are defined by their boyfriends or partners and who are only driven by their desire to “secure” a relationship through marriage.
With this research, I want to look into the way women are represented in Turkish romantic comedies and how that is different from women I see in everyday life, since there is an obvious gap between the two. Because I believe that it is important for young women, who are turning to movies to escape from the grey cities that they are living in, to be able to see diverse women on the screen.
1. Introduction
1.1. Topic
“She is defined and differentiated with reference to man and not the reference to her; she is the incidental, the inessential as opposed to the essential. He is the Subject, he is Absolute – she is the other.” (de Beauvoir, 1984, 16) From the beginning of Turkish cinema, women have also been represented as the incidental, the other. They were depicted only in relation to the male characters. They were mothers that took care of the family, daughters that carried the burden of the honour of their fathers or wives that suffered silently in the hand of their husbands. They were never just who they are.
This is quite similar to what Turkish women go through in their daily life. But regardless of the circumstances, they have varied personalities and lifestyles that are not always visible on the big screen. Sharon Smith argues that the way women are represented in cinema alters the way the audiences treat them in real life (17). This research extends this idea and aims to analyse how the cultural and political circumstances in Turkey and the representation of women in Turkish films influence one another.
The research focuses on contemporary romantic comedy films in Turkey. There are several reasons for this decision. First of all, genre films created common structures and stereotypes so that the audience will be able to follow the story in the first years of movie going (Johnston, 31-32). However, most of these depictions seem to persist regardless of the more media aware audiences. This makes romantic comedy genre an interesting case to see how these depictions changed, or remained, over time. Furthermore, romantic comedy films often have female leading characters as they are made for female audiences. This is still rare for many movies and provides a chance for more material to assess. Finally, not enough attention has been given to this genre due to its repetitive structure. But for the representations to change, they need to be pointed out (Smith, 19).
During the analysis of the films, I will ask the following questions; “How are female (and male) characters in these films depicted?”, “Are there relationships between female depictions and the social circumstances in Turkey?” and “Are there differences between female representation and female experience in Turkey?” Asking these questions, the research aims to gain an understanding of what limits the representation of women in Turkish romantic comedies. As Smith mentions “Culture influencing film content, in turn influencing culture – this need not continue to be a vicious circle” (19).
1.2. Method
Simone de Beauvoir was one of the first to look into the way women are represented in culture. With her inspiring book The Second Sex, she claimed that women were not born as women. Rather they were made into what they are through their representation in society which was, and still mostly is, controlled by men (285). And her ideas paved the way for many feminist film theorists. For example, Betty Friedan, identified the “feminine mystique’ where women were expected to fulfil their gender identity that was built by the society. But she found that this role did not satisfy them (29). Around a decade later, both Molly Haskell and Marjorie Rosen in their respective books created in depth analysis of the representation of women in Hollywood through the decades.
These leading feminist film theorists started many discussions in the field and this research aims to follow up on some of their initial ideas. However, these theorists were also often criticized for not having a theoretical language to analyse the films with. A few academics such as Johnston were using semiotics and post-structuralism in their work. While, most famously Mulvey started using psychoanalysis as a method. Her work was so influential that many academics that followed used psychoanalysis in their work. Yet Mulvey’s work also received criticism for its lack of accounting for the female spectator. The psychoanalytic method was also found to be too deterministic by many (McCabe, 36).
One of the people who have criticized the psychoanalytic method was Christine Gledhill. She argued that this method was too deterministic and that it was not sufficient to analyse the text on its own. Instead, she offered a method called “pleasurable negotiation” which she explained as;
For the term ‘negotiation’ implies the holing together of opposite sides in an ongoing process of give-and-take. As a model of meaning production, negotiation conceives cultural exchange as the intersection of processes of production and reception, in which overlapping but non-matching determinants operate. Meaning is neither imposed, nor passively imbibed, but arises out of a struggle or negotiation between competing frames of reference, motivation and experience (169).
She suggested that meaning can be gathered by analysing the institutional negotiations such as the negotiation between economic and artistic concerns of filmmakers, textual negotiations meaning the relationship the text has with “a range of economic, aesthetic and ideological factors” and the reception of the film (170). Furthermore, she advised theorists to be open to multiple possible readings of the text as she was critical of feminist film academics that entered the negotiation with a certain outlook. In this research, Gledhill’s method is used to get a better understanding not only of the films but also the culture and conditions that surround them.
Furthermore, this research mainly focuses on the narrative aspects of the texts. Bamberg defines narrative as the way writers give order and try to make sense of experience. Mostly, it is considered that the narrative refers to either the personal experiences of the writer or the
experiences of others (Bamberg, 85-86). Since this research focuses on the representation of women in Turkish romantic comedy films and how it negotiates with cultural conditions that surrounds it, focusing mainly on the narrative aspects of the films will provide entry into the experiences of women or at least the experiences of women as the writers see it.
1.3. Corpus
Seventeen films have been chosen for the research. All films have been produced between the years of 2010 and 2017. This is due to two reasons. First of all, the research is interested in contemporary films and the circumstances that negotiate with them today. Consequently, films that have been made in different cultural and political conditions would not be suitable for this research.
Furthermore, the romantic comedy genre is comparatively new in Turkish cinema with Romantik
Komedi (Romantic Comedy) (Ketche) that was made in 2010 as the first example that completely
follows the structure of the genre.
The rest of the films that have been selected in chronological order are; Ya Sonra (What
Happens After?) (Özcan Deniz, 2011), Evim Sensin (You are My Home) (Özcan Deniz, 2012), Bu İşte Bir Yalnızlık Var (There is a Loneliness Here) (Ketche, 2013), Celal ile Ceren (Celal and Ceren) (Togan
Gökbakar, 2013), Romantik Komedi 2: Bekarlığa Veda (Romantic Comedy 2: Stag Party) (Erol Özlevi, 2013), Bi Küçük Eylül Meselesi (A Small September Affair) (Kerem Deren, 2014), Hadi İnşallah (Let’s
Hope Insallah) (Ali Taner Baltacı, 2014), Patron Mutlu Son İstiyor (Boss Wants a Happy Ending) (Kıvanç
Baruönü, 2014), Hayat Öpücüğü (Kiss of Life) (Şenol Sönmez, 2015), Bana Masal Anlatma (Telling
Tales) (Burak Aksak, 2015), İçimdeki Ses (The Voice Within) (Çağrı Bayrak, 2015), Kocan Kadar Konuş (Husband Factor) (Kıvanç Baruönü, 2015), Dönerse Senindir (She is Yours if she Returns) (Erol Özlevi,
2016), Her Şey Aşktan(Everything is Due to Love) (Andaç Haznedaroğlu, 2016), Kocan Kadar Konuş 2:
Diriliş (Husband Factor: Resurrection) (Kıvanç Baruönü, 2016), Aile Arasında (In the Family) (Ozan
Açıktan, 2017) and Mutluluk Zamanı (Time of Happiness) (Şenol Sönmez, 2017).1 These films have been chosen due their popularity among the audiences, their suitability to the genre and their accessibility. Special attention has also been paid to having an even representation throughout the years. However, due to the rise of the genre, more films romantic comedy films have been made in the later part of the decade and this has been represented in the selection.
A few romantic comedy films made by Hollywood and Britain have also been used in the study in order to draw comparisons between Turkish romantic comedy films and them. When making more general comparisons Notting Hill (Roger Michell, 1999) and When Harry Met Sally (Rob Reiner, 1989) have been used. These films have been selected to due to their status as classics in the genre. Two more contemporary examples from Hollywood, The Break-Up (Peyton Reed, 2006) and The
Heartbreak Kid (Farrelly and Farrelly, 2007) have also been used during the research as unique
examples. However, their singularity has been pointed out to the reader.
1.4. Literature Review
This study places itself between the three fields; Turkish film studies, romantic comedy genre studies and feminist film studies. The study builds on the findings of feminist films theories as discussed in the method section and borrows its method from a theory that belongs to this field. The other two fields are comparatively more limited in their reach. Their shortcomings and strong points are discussed below.
1.4.1. Turkish Film Studies
Turkish film studies is a relatively new field in film studies, becoming popular in the early 1990’s. Even though it has been becoming more popular with the rise of Turkish universities that give education film studies, most of the resources are written in Turkish and are not translated. The resources that are available have been mostly focused on defining a national cinema by writing the history of Turkish cinema (Özön, 1962 and Scognamillo, 1990). There has also been interest in Turkish filmmakers that have found international success such as Yılmaz Güney and Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Agâh Özgüç, 1988; Atilla Dorsay, 1988; Hasan Akbulut, 2005; Aslı Daldal, 2003-2004).
Consequently, women in Turkish cinema has been an even smaller research field. Fetay Soykan’s book Türk Sinemasında Kadın in 1993 has been the most influential in the field by many academics still citing her work today. Yet, her work has been focused on creating a chronology of representation of women in Turkish cinema, with limited analyses of each film. Today, there are academics such as Nilgün Abisel, Nazlı Bayram, Canan Uluyağcı and Eylem Atakav who work on the subject. But Gönül Dönmez-Colin is the most prominent in the field. She analyses movies in depth with a similar method adopted by this research. But she focuses mostly on independent Turkish cinema. As a result, in depth analyses of representations of gender in genre films or film that are popular among the Turkish public has been neglected in Turkish cinema studies.
1.4.2. Romantic Comedy Studies
While many other genre films such as Western or science fiction have been popular subjects within film studies, romantic comedy films have been snubbed for a long time and have not received a lot of scrutiny. McDonald compares this disregard to the way women’s films have also been ignored by the academics for a long time (15).
But since the early 1990’s, more academics have been looking into this subject. In 1990, Frank Krutnik discussed generic rules of the genre in his book Popular Film and Television Comedy (1990). Following his footsteps, Geoff King (2002), Jo Berry and Angie Errigo (2004) and David Shumway have also written about the genre. Ed Sikov (1998) has also analysed “meet cutes”.
Even though the romantic comedy genre has been of interest to many academics, no
attention has been paid to Turkish romantic comedy films. This research aims to place itself between these two fields that has not been combined before with a feminist outlook.
1.5. Overview
The research begins by giving the necessary background information to the reader to be able to make further claims. First of all, as the research focuses on one specific genre, the concept of genre is analysed and defined using the theories of Rick Altman. This is followed by a brief explanation of the romantic comedy genre. The purpose of the first part of this chapter is to clarify how the films in the corpus fit in with the genre. Later, an introduction to Turkish cinema history and how women have been represented is given, as it may not be common knowledge to all readers.
After the background information, the analysis of the corpus begins. This section have been divided to three chapters, according to three main themes of Turkish romantic comedy films; love, marriage and family. In each of these chapters, one film will be analysed in depth while others are used to draw comparisons. Romantik Komedi, Kocan Kadar Konuş, and Kocan Kadar Konuş 2: Diriliş are the focus films of the chapters respectively.
These main chapters are followed by a discussion chapter where the findings of the research are challenged and the texts are read in a method called “against the grain reading”. This chapter allows the research to remain as objective as possible while also following the negotiation method by Gledhill. Finally, all findings of the research will be tied together in the conclusion chapter.
2. Genre & the Turkish Romantic Comedy
2.1 What is genre?
The movies that are of subject to this research could all be associated with the romantic comedy genre. However, others can argue that these film belong to a different genre as the genre of a film is often difficult to define. Rick Altman’s 1999 book Film/Genre offers some insight into how genre works. In the book, Altman highlights some of the common beliefs in genre studies before he makes his own arguments by questioning these beliefs.
One of the most common beliefs in genre studies is that genres are fixed formulas created by the film industry and are commonly used by many parties including film studios, advertisers and audiences (14-16). Nevertheless, Altman claims that he fails to see this structure in the film industry. He observes instead that film studios do not like to share anything with other studios. They prefer to present themselves as unique by creating new products and they achieve this by combining different nouns that the audience is familiar with such as, “romantic adventure”. As a result, they not only create a new product but are also able to appeal to different audiences. For example, the word “romantic” could be more attractive to female audiences whereas the word “adventure” could be more desirable to male viewers. Only if this combination of nouns is lucrative for the studio and is easily imitable, the combination stands the possibility of becoming an industry-wide genre. Still, studios continue to repeat the cycle by creating new combinations. Therefore Altman urges genre to be seen as an ongoing process as opposed to strict formulas that all parties follow (54–62).
Another common belief in genre studies is that genres have clear and stable borders where an individual film belongs wholly and permanently to a single genre (16-18). With the new
understanding of genre as an ongoing process, this belief is already questioned by Altman. Because with the creation of new genres, the definition of relating genres also change (69). Furthermore, Altman points out to the flexibility of the categorization method. He claims that a film could be associated with multiple genres depending on which quality of the film one chooses to find similarities between other films (96-97). Even though the common qualities of films that belong in the same genre may seem apparent, they depend on other films that are associated with the genre and the identity or the purpose of those using them. For that reason, it is an error to treat genres as if they are objectively observable (98-99).
In his effort to question the understanding of genre, Altman also questions how the audience experiences it. He suggests that when the audience likes a certain genre and watches it often, it is possible to observe an effect similar to Pavlov’s dog. With repetition, the audience learns how a genre
works and they start to get pleasure out of it. When they watch a film that could be associated with the genre, they experience what Altman calls “generic crossroads”. These are moments in a film where the audience is made to doubt if the essential parts of the genre, such as the “meet cute” in a romantic comedy, will happen. “Generic crossroads” also commonly contradict with the societal norms. For example, the couple in the romantic comedy may be frowned upon in real life, but in the genre the success of the couple is the desired outcome (145-152). Many genres make use of generic crossroads. Yet movies very rarely end in cross cultural ways. At the end, the cultural norms are always restored. This is what makes movies a great hegemonic device. There is great pleasure in experiencing counter cultural values, which makes the return to the societal norms also pleasurable. The greater the thrill, the greater it is to return to the safety (152-156).
2.2 The Romantic Comedy as Genre
Perhaps the genre whose inner workings have been learned best by the audience is the romantic comedy. It seems like the name romantic comedy brings an image of a Bridget Jones like woman with a bucket of ice cream watching a romantic comedy in her pyjamas into mind. It is a reliable genre to turn to while everything in real life is not working out, since the audience knows there will always be a happy ending. That is also what Jo Berry and Angie Errigo suggest in their 2004 book. The audience loves to watch romantic comedies because they provide easy satisfaction (Berry and Errigo qtd. McDonald, 7-8). They know the formula of a romantic comedy so well that they do not need to give it a second thought. They know the structure by heart; boy meets girl, boy loses girl and boy gets girl back (Shumway, 157).
However, even the romantic comedy genre is not so easily defined. First of all, following the theory of Altman to see genre as an ongoing process, the romantic comedy has been evolved from previous genres such as the screwball comedy genre from early 1930’s, the sex comedy genre from 1950’s and the radical romantic comedy of the 1970’s. All these genres had a couple at the center of the story but they differed in narrative and tropes (McDonald, 18-72). Furthermore, many other genre films involve a storyline of romance and some aspects of comedy which makes it more difficult to define what romantic comedy is (King, 51).
McDonald, however, thinks that a film constitutes as a romantic comedy, only if the storyline of romance and the quest of romantic love is the central storyline of the film. Unlike the boy meets girl formula, the romantic love doesn’t have to be a heterosexual one (9). He also notes that even though the name of the genre involves the word comedy, being comedic is not a crucial part of the
genre. Romantic comedies are light-hearted and may elicit laughter alongside the quest for love, however they can also make the audience cry (McDonald, 10).
Of course, there are other characteristics that define the genre such as visual characteristics, narrative patterns and ideology. For example, many genres have a common iconography which can include locations, props, costumes and stock characters according to McArthur (24). For the romantic comedy genre, these could be urban settings, props such as flowers, chocolate and candlelight, costumes like date outfits and stock characters including the unsuitable partner and the best friend (McDonald, 11).
Films in the same genre also use similar narrative patterns from small to big. While small patterns are often tropes that are commonly repeated, big patterns that can be identified as common story arcs (McDonald, 12). The “boy meets girl” structure as noted by Schumway, “meet cutes”, weddings derailed by a partner running away, masquerades and big gestures can be named as some of these repeated narrative patterns (McDonald 12).
Finally, the films from the same genre have similar ideologies which reflect and contest the desires and anxieties of the time. The main ideologies of the romantic comedy are the preservation of the monogamous couple and the idea that everybody wants to find their perfect partner (McDonald, 13). In reality, romance and marriage have opposing goals. This explains the declining popularity of marriage as a constitution and the reason romantic comedies always end with the wedding scene (Shumway, 21). But the one man for one woman ideology of the romantic comedy tries to keep the structure of marriage and hence the society alive (McDonald 13).
2.3 Turkish Cinema & Women
Since early 2010s, the romantic comedy genre has been one of the most popular genres in Turkey with the production of the genre films on the rise (Orta and Ekici, 301). The ideology of the Turkish romantic comedy is quite similar to the ideology of Hollywood romantic comedy; the preservation of family and marriage. But before getting a better understanding of the representation of women in contemporary Turkish romantic comedy, it is important to look into life in Turkey and representation of women in Turkish cinema so far.
The Turkish Republic was declared in 1923 after an Independence War within the Ottoman Empire. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk had played a big role in the war and the building of the Republic. He had an image in mind for the new country. Alongside the new constitution and democracy, he
brought many other changes such as introduction of the metric system, Latin alphabet, secularity and Western clothing. For many, these changes were difficult to adapt to.
During the same time, Atatürk has also given equal rights to women and made it compulsory for girls to finish elementary school. However, this change remained superficial. Even though, Turkish women were one of the first to have the right to vote and be elected, they have not practised this right for a long time. Ottoman Empire was a conservative country with a conservative gender role structure. The only duties of women were to serve their husbands, raise their children and be practising Muslims. This mentality persisted after the Ottoman Empire. In an effort to become more like the West, new women’s organizations tried to educate the public about equality. Unfortunately, the reach of these efforts were limited to women in bigger cities who had open-minded and literate husbands or fathers (Soykan, 10-22). A combination of these efforts resulted in the uneven
development of the country with vast differences of culture between metropolitans and rural areas. Atatürk also valued and supported cinema. He said “Cinema is such an invention that one day it will change civilisation more than the invention of electricity and the discovery of the continents” (Naci, 89). But Turkish cinema at the time was limited in every regard. Films were basically “filmed theatre”. During the early years of Turkish cinema, women were often depicted as adventurous, sexual and loose. Even though this representation was attractive for men, it was not in line with the conservative family values. As a result, the film audience was made up of mostly men (Soykan, 26-30).
The representation of women changed in the following decades from these early depictions. However, it still remained extremely limited. Until the 1980’s, women were always passive in their pain and were represented as victims of male oppression that remained silent and accepting of their fates (Soykan, 59). In the 1980’s, a more democratic and liberal environment was prompted after the strict regime of the military coup. This motivated more women to get involved in politics. Middle and higher income families started to put more importance to educating their daughters. As a result, Soykan suggests that there was also a new representation of women in cinema. In contrast to the helpless and silent women, there was a rise of city films with modern female characters that were strong without the presence of a man. These women were financially, intellectually and sexually independent and seen as equal to their male counterparts (Soykan, 97-99).
Yeşilçam was the “little Hollywood” of Turkey and mostly produced melodramas that were aimed at larger audiences (Mutlu, 417). The popularity of Yeşilçam came to end after the military coup in 1980 due to increasing social chaos and political violence (Mutlu, 417). But the characteristics of Turkish cinema built by Yeşilçam can still be observed in Turkish cinema today, especially in romantic
comedies. At the same time, it is possible to find similarities between the development of Turkish and Hollywood romantic comedies.
Many melodramas made by Yeşilçam revolved around heterosexual couples from different social and economic classes (Mutlu, 417). They can be compared to the screwball comedies of Hollywood which also commonly included a couple from different classes. In screwball comedies, a women from higher class would be tamed and matured by the man from lower class by the end of the film. These films often looked down on the lifestyle of higher class people and portrayed a “reverse class snobbery” (McDonald, 19-24). The same pattern can also be found in Yeşilçam melodramas.
Yeşilçam films also told similar stories to Hollywood romantic comedies and did not create any alternative narratives (Bayram, 57). They were mainly about the conflict between men and women. Even though the social, cultural and economic inequalities create the basis for the conflict, the narrative was built on the war of the sexes (Bayram, 29-30). This quality is also quite similar to sex comedy genre of Hollywood that depicted couples that battled against each other. The sex comedy was about the battle of the sexes. Even though, both men and women wanted sex, women wanted it after-marriage while men wanted it without marriage. It was in their nature to be different. So the genders were portrayed as opposites (McDonald, 38-39).
Although, there are some differences between actors, narrative and side characters, romantic comedies of today create modern versions of romance stories that the audience is used to from Yeşilçam without creating any alternatives in terms of subject and ending (Orta and Ekici, 302). In this way, it is possible to see the similarities between the development of Turkish and Hollywood romantic comedies. While Hollywood romantic comedy was evolved from preceding genres such as the screwball comedy and the sex comedy, the Turkish romantic comedy was derived from Yeşilçam melodramas who carried the same characteristics as those genres. The only difference between Yeşilçam melodramas and Hollywood romantic comedies was the placement of local elements such as the neighbourhood and stereotypes of villagers and townies (Bayram, 57).
3.1. Love: The Accidental Emotion
3.1.1 Focus Film: Romantik Komedi
What better way to start an analysis of Turkish romantic comedy films than a film that names itself after the genre? Romantik Komedi tells the story of three female friends Esra, Didem and Zeynep. The girls have varying personalities and are at different stages in their romantic life. Esra is shy and cautious. Even though she has big dreams, she is stuck at a dead-end job and has a horrible boyfriend that constantly puts her down. Didem, on the other hand, is a lively girl that is looking for a boyfriend. It is not clarified if she has a job or an education. Lastly, Zeynep, who is a supporting character, is a successful lawyer and gets married in the beginning of the film.
The film begins with Esra working in a cubicle at an office. The first shot shows someone using the copy machine. As the focus is shifted to the
background, Esra is revealed on the right upper corner. She seems stuck. The blue tinted film also adds to the negative mood she exudes (See figure 1). After this sequence at the workplace, Esra rushes to Zeynep’s wedding. With the help of the other girls, she quickly gets ready. In the meantime, Didem writes her name on the sole of Zeynep’s shoe. It is a tradition at Turkish weddings for single women to write their names on the sole of the bride’s shoes. It is believed that, the names that have been erased by the end of the night will have more luck getting married. Usually, several women write their name on a single sole.
However, Didem fills the sole with her name. These first scenes establish Esra as someone who is clumsy and a bit clueless and Didem as someone who is solely focused on getting married.
Figure 1: Screenshot from Romantik Komedi on 00:12. Esra is introduced as not only narratively stuck in her unhappy life but she is also visually stuck in the corner of the frame.
When the ceremony is over, Esra overhears their old friends from high school talking about her. Once again, she is shown stuck in a bathroom stall. The women ridicule her boyfriend and call her an idiot for not being able to find a husband that could take care of her financially. Fuelled by anger, the next day Esra quits her job and breaks up with her boyfriend. As she lets go of the things that
frustrate her, the blue tint of the film is lifted and she is placed center frame. The same evening when Esra has a night out with Didem and their gay friend Erdi to celebrate her new beginnings, they meet two handsome men.
Romantik Komedi was one of the first films to truly follow Hollywood
romantic comedy structure. And it was quite successful at the box office by being the 15th most watched film of the year in Turkey (2010 Box Office). The success was followed by a second film, Romantik Komedi 2: Bekarlığa Veda. For the last few years, there has been an effort for a third movie. But it seems to have died down to the difficulty with production and the higher profiles of the actors (CNN). But films that look up to the Hollywood romantic comedy structure are still
popular among the audience.
3.1.2 The Meet Cute
Recently, the concept of meet cute has started to be more commonly used by public and is one of the most commonly acknowledged qualities of a romantic comedy. It is one of the moves that Leger Grindon comes up with while analysing the way romantic comedies are built (9-10). But before the meet cute, he
identifies the “unfulfilled desire” move in which one or both members of the prospective couple display dissatisfaction over their romantic life (Grindon, 10). In
Romantik Komedi, Esra is clearly not satisfied with her life. The same
dissatisfaction can be observed in Didem in the way she is determined to get married.
So both girls are ready to encounter a possible romantic partner and change their lives. Yet it is common for the potential couple to dislike each other in first glance or get distracted by something else. For example, in American classic romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally, Harry and Sally end up taking a ride together but they immediately hate one another. In British classic romantic comedy Notting Hill, Anna and William meet each other in William’s bookstore. Even though the attraction is immediate for William, Anna is distracted and leaves without establishing any future with William. Since the overarching
question of a romantic comedy is “Will these two individuals become a couple?” it is not out of place that even the moment they meet each other is does not make the attraction certain (Mernit, 13). There needs to be further conflict and
resolution.
The meet-cute in Romantik Komedi is certainly more in line with this sort of encounter. During their night out to celebrate Esra’s new beginnings, the girls do not make a move on the handsome men, even though they find them attractive. Later in the evening, Esra gets extremely drunk. While trying to find her car, she gets confused and falls into a stranger’s car where her arm pushes the hand brake. Parked in on an uphill, the car starts moving down. The owner of the car is one of the guys they have seen inside who happens to be walking out at the same time. He and his friend run behind the car and stop it before it is too late (See figure 2). However, Didem, who comes out of the bar, misreads the situation and starts yelling at them to leave her friend alone.
Once the conflict is resolved and the girls have left, the two men smile at each other as if they know what is to come. The audience is also made aware of the fact that this is indeed a meet-cute. A situation that can be read as alarming in many other ways, as Sinem does, is perceived as fun by the audience due to the way it is presented. The music selection is one of the most important ways this is done. The pop song played in the background during the scene is quite upbeat with the repetition of the lyric “aşk tadında” which translates roughly as “feels like love”. The use of slow motion in several parts of the scene also adds to
this feeling. But perhaps the most effective use of slow motion is when the two men are running behind the car. Their facial expressions, the slow motion and the music create a comedic effect (See figure 2).
Figure 2: Screenshot from Romantik Komedi on 13:54. Mert and Cem run after the car that Esra has fallen into. The slow motion and the funny expressions, as seen by the figure, creates a comedic mood that ensures a meet-cute.
Another important quality of the meet cute is being completely accidental, which can be seen literally in Romantik Komedi and other Turkish romantic comedy films. Yet this seems in contrast to the recent popularity of marriage shows on Turkish television. People that go onto these shows give a description of
themselves and list out the qualities of the person they are looking for. Good looks and charisma are often part of the list of requirements, although more logical demands also find their way on them such as having a job, owning houses and maybe even cars. The approach to finding romantic partners in this show is a lot more conscious compared to the coincidental value of the romantic comedy meet cute.
Furthermore, a considerable amount of Turkish people are much more proactive about their love lives. With the international rise of the popularity of dating applications and websites, people are much more effective in finding partners. This has also shown itself in the increased partnership rates (Rosenfield and Reuben, 523). In this case, there is almost no negotiation between the text and real life circumstances as there are no characters in the chosen romantic comedy films that use these methods, let alone act proactively in meeting a
partner; except in Mutluluk Zamanı (2017) in which the man makes a move on the woman in a gallery opening. At first glance, featuring characters that are more active in their love life would not be against the ideology of the romantic comedy that wants to ensure monogamy in society. However, the genre also has economic concerns. McDonald claims that due to the idea of romance that is produced in romantic comedies, the audiences are motivated to buy a lot of products such as clothes and gym memberships to become more attractive potential partners (13-14). But with the idea of love and partnership in real life, as seen by these television shows, these products are not requirements for potential partners. Thus it would not be beneficial for the romantic comedy to alter this representation to be more in line with reality.
3.1.3 The Flirting & Falling in Love:
Love has been a popular subject for scientists in the last 30 years. During these researches, academics have found various different versions of love (Atak and Taştan, 522). One of the most influential studies in these versions is the triangle of love by Sternberg. According to him, eight different versions of love are created by different combinations of three elements; intimacy, passion and commitment. The perfect romantic relationship is created through a combination of equal amounts of all three elements (Sternberg). In common depictions of love in romantic comedy films, two of the three elements are clearly visible. The couple often feels passionate towards one another as shown by kissing (or rarely sex scenes). They also are committed to relationship since the story arch requires them to fight for their love. Yet the feeling of intimacy seems to be lacking which is defined as “feelings of closedness, connectedness and bondedness” mutual understanding, communication and being emotionally attached by Sternberg.
On the other hand, Lindholm’s theory of love is more fitting to how love is depicted in romantic comedies. He claims that romantic love has two primary characteristics. The first is the idealization of the other person who is the object of love (58). In Romantik Komedi, this idealization can be observed in both girls. They both see their romantic partners in a bar and start to develop feelings without even properly having a chat. They are immediately seen as perfect partners without any knowledge of further compatibility. This is a common depiction in Turkish romantic comedies and lacks the depictions of intimacy that is required by Sternberg for successful romantic relationships.
On the contrary, the match often lies in the dissimilarities of the couple. Cem is attracted to Didem because she acts differently from the women who are attracted to him for his fame. Similarly, Mert is attracted to Esra because she is more caring and emotional than his business-driven self and surroundings. This can be extended to other films of the genre. In Mutluluk Zamanı, Ada lives her life with her family in focus as opposed to Mert who values success and money. These differences in lifestyle and core values would be considered a poor match in real life, yet the seemingly uniqueness of the new person in the leading character’s life, creates an image of a perfect match.
The idealization of the other and the apparent differences in the match also lead to a common thread of transformation in the films. Instead of looking for a more natural match, one of the couple tries to change themselves to be a better match to the idealized. Didem is completely aware of Cem’s fame and tries her best to make herself attractive to him. For Didem, the transformation is more conscious. However, for most characters this transformation happens more naturally.
In every couple, each person symbolizes certain values. For example, Esra symbolizes a love and relationships driven life whereas Mert symbolizes a
success and business driven life. At the end, Mert is the one who changes by leaving his firm and focusing more on his relationship with Esra. The same transformation takes place in Mutluluk Zamanı as Mert realizes the value of family. The transformations happen because of their experience of love. However, this is also a convenient way for movies to confirm societal values. In both
examples above, love, relationships and family are placed above success, money and career.
It is a commonly acknowledged fact that Western countries tend to be more individualistic while Eastern countries are more collectivist. Whereas the highest individualism index value belongs to the U.S. with 91, Turkey has an individualism index value of 37. (Hofstede, 215). Turkey also scores on the lower side of the masculinity value which is another scale that indicates how much stress a society puts on competition, achievement and success. With the score of 45 that is considered on the feminine side of the scale, values such as levelling with others, sympathy for the underdog and consensus are considered more important (Hofstede Insights). Combined with the collectivism, this means that the Turkish society is driven more by building strong family relationships than
money and success which mainly benefits the individual. So this representation is a more balanced negotiation between the cultural factors and the narrative.
Furthermore, an economical factor in this negotiation is the potential reception of the audience. In Turkey, the richest 20 percent of the country receive the 46.7 percent of the total income of the country while 14.3 percent of the population live under the poverty line (Radyo Televizyon Üst Kurumu). As a result, it is more likely that the average audience will get more satisfaction out of a film that romanticizes their own lifestyle and values, instead of things that seem out of their reach.
3.1.4 The Obstacle
Another move required for the romantic comedy structure of Grindon is the obstacle. According to him, the obstacle rises twice and defeats the couple before the final epiphany of one of the people in the couple and the happy ending (9). He determines three different kind of conflicts that could arise; conflicts between parents and their children, conflicts between the man and woman, and internal conflicts of individual lovers (3). It is possible to observe all of these categories in Turkish romantic comedies as well.
Conflicts between parents and their children usually arise from the disavowal of the potential partner by the parents. In İçimdeki Ses, the main character’s mother is very religious and wants her son to stop drinking. Yet his girlfriend is a very modern women. So conflicts between the mother and the girlfriend arises about how the girl drinks, how she behaves or dresses herself. At the end, the conflict is resolved when the mother grows to like the girl because she turns out to be more similar to her than the man’s liking. Even though in
Mutluluk Zamanı, the parental figure is replaced by the brother due the parents
passing away, the conflict arises from problems between the brother and the prospect partner.
Secondly, conflicts between the men and the women are also common. In
Celal ile Ceren, the couple has a fight about the man lying going out on a
bachelor party. When the photos of the night are posted online, the couple break up. Comparably, in Ya Sonra the wife leaves the husband after he doesn’t respect her career and puts his own needs first.
The final category of internal conflicts seem less common, at least among the films that were selected. Yet it seems more interesting in the way that the conflict points at the values of the society. In Bi Küçük Eylül Meselesi, Eylül is a rich and spoiled girl. During vacation in a small island, she falls in love with a local artist Tek. And the love transforms the way she behaves. She becomes more humble and loving. But one morning, when she sees herself in the mirror, she gets scared of the change she has went through. She immediately leaves and from then on acts as if she is in not in love with him. The class difference and the idea of how her friends would see Tek is an important element in how she reacts here. Her conflict is internal, but it is a reflection, of the fear of what others would think.
A similar reflection can be seen in İçimdeki Ses, once his girlfriend turns out to be too much like his mother, the male protagonist starts to act too much like his own dad. Quickly after, they break up due to his behavioural change.
In Turkey, there are sharp differences between religious and liberal groups since the mid-1980s due to globalization, European integration and liberalized economy. These differences also reflect themselves between generations since the Turkish youth had more opportunities for social differentiation. As a result, post-1980s youth are more in charge of creating and enacting their identities and relationships (Özyeğin, 105). This can be observed in İçimdeki Ses. The leading male character here is much more modern than his parents. He even says that he has done everything in his power to not become like his father. Thus the idea of going back to that and becoming similar to his dad, scares him personally and because of what his liberal environment will think.
As a result, the categories suggested by Grindon are not sufficient. While some films can be suited for multiple categories such as İçimdeki Ses, a common obstacle in Turkish romantic comedy films cannot fit in with this categorization. The unfit partner also often shows itself as an obstacle between the couple. In
Romantik Komedi, Bu İşte Bir Yalnızlık Var, Hadi İnşallah and Patron Mutlu Son İstiyor, one of the future couple is depicted to have a girl/boyfriend, fiancé or
even a husband in Bu İşte Bir Yalnızlık Var. Yet, even in these films there are never really a look into an unsuccessful relationship as the unfit partner is never in a relationship with the character who the story is told through, regardless of gender.
Similarly to the transformation, the resolving of the obstacle also confirms the societal expectations. Abisel claims that if there are differences, especially in class, it is always the women who chooses the lifestyle of the men weather he is poorer or richer (Abisel, 83). In Bi Küçük Eylül Meselesi, Eylül chooses the lifestyle of Tek, even though he is poorer. Because his life is depicted as a better way of living. Yet, in the aforementioned examples of Romantik Komedi and Mutluluk
Zamanı, it is the man who changes into the values and the class of the woman.
As mentioned above, due to the low masculinity value of the Turkish society, it is common to feel sympathy for the underdog and the less privileged (Hofstede Insights). As a result, the values that the person symbolizes and the likeness to feel sympathy for them is more important than the gender of the character unlike Abisel’s claims.
3.1.5 Men versus Women
On the other hand, gender does impact the way characters are represented in Turkish romantic comedy films. Women commonly adopt a more passive
approach to life whereas men are active and in charge of their lives. The actions of women are merely reactions to her surroundings (Abisel, 185). For example, Esra only quits her job and leaves his boyfriend as a reaction to what she has heard people talk about herself. Furthermore, she is only able to get her dream job because she walks into the wrong room for the interview and she gets invited to Mert’s house where they get intimate because she is locked out of her
apartment. Most importantly, she gets a happy ending because Mert has an epiphany at the end and chases after her.
This can be contrasted with Didem’s seemingly more active approach to find a husband. Yet, her approach it is not active at all. She follows the steps advised by a book to manipulate Cem into proposing to her. But these advises such as; not to talk about marriage and presenting herself as a good mother and a sexual partner are passive , instead of actually being active such as talking to him about her desires or even proposing herself. The same false activeness can be observed in Kocan Kadar Konuş, Kocan Kadar Konuş Diriliş and Celal ile Ceren. Even though the women in these films want to get married and “actively” work on achieving it, they are passive in their approach and the active part of the process is left to the men while they wait.
A more specific way women and men are represented differently is their outlook on romantic relationships. For women, relationships are trial marriages and if the relationship is going well they expect to be proposed. In comparison, men run away from marriage until they are convinced by a woman and the society around them. If they do not propose after a while, they are condemned for “wasting the time” of the woman.
This mentality is possible to observe in Romantik Komedi. But Celal ile
Ceren depicts this quite well. Celal and Ceren have been in a relationship for 6
years and they have been “promised” to each other for 4 years which is a step prior to being engaged in Turkish culture. Celal wants to go out to the bachelor party of a friend of his but Ceren is strictly against it. After being convinced by his friends, Celal lies to Ceren about staying home and goes to the party regardless. The next day, the videos of him partying with other women are posted on
Facebook and both Celal and Ceren are shown talking to their own friends separately in one scene. Celal’s friends believe that Ceren pressured Celal into marriage and lying. They also convince him that this is a good opportunity for him to be a bachelor. In comparison, Ceren’s friends are condemning Celal for lying and not having already getting married during the four years of their
relationship. Ceren also expresses her disappointment in term of her own efforts in the relationship; how he has been her first boyfriend and first sexual partner as well as how long she has been waiting for him. The influence the friends have during these conversations is also made visible. Set up in similar manners, both Celal and Ceren sit alone on a couch, surrounded by friends. The scene goes back and forth between a medium close up of both of them sitting individually and a wide shot of them sitting in a circle with their friends.
Influenced by his friends, Celal calls Ceren to break up with her. He says “I don’t want to waste any more of your time.” He invites Ceren out to a dinner to break up with her face to face. Ceren accepts the offer against the advice of her friends, believing he is going to propose instead due to the ambiguity of his words. At the end, Ceren is shown individually having opposed her friends while Celal is shown in the circle, having been influenced by his friends (See figure 3).
Figure 3: Screenshot from Celal ile Ceren on 20:10 and 20:14. At the end of the telephone discussion, Ceren (on the left) is left alone in the screen as opposed to Celal (on the right) is surrounded by his friends.
3.1.6 Sex and Intimacy
Another big difference in the representation between men and women is their sexuality. As seen by Didem’s list of things to do to have Cem propose to her, one way to see female sexuality is a tool for them to persuade men to marry them. As exemplified in Celal ile Ceren, the fact that Celal has had sexual relations with Ceren is seen as a reason for him to marry her.
However, the depiction of sexual relationships between the couple is still relatively rare in Turkish romantic comedies. This also has to do with expectations of virginity of the women. Women are expected more commonly to be virgins before marriage whereas men are free to have as many sexual partners as they would like. In Celal ile Ceren, after their break up, Celal has sex with a multitude of women, while Celal only dates one guy. However, more emphasis is but on her date with the man than his sexual relationships with other women. Celal gets extremely jealous of Ceren and becomes obsessed with the idea that she might have kissed him. So even though they are broken up, the idea that she might have kissed another guy is depicted as a bigger betrayal on the love that still exists between them. Women are expected to keep and gift their virginity to their one true love while it is acceptable by men to have sexual relationships without feelings of love.
Turkey is a secular country as dictated by the constitution. According to government research, 99.2 percent of the country is Muslim (Türkiye'de Dini Hayat Araştırması). Yet the result of this study can be questioned, since the religion of the person is automatically recorded as Muslim unless they change it themselves. Regardless, religion plays a big part in shaping the values of the
country. And according to the Quran, the religious book of Islam, the women who are lewd are supposed to be locked away in their house until they die of natural reasons (an Nisa’ 4.15) while men are allowed to have relations with any women they want if they pay their dowry (an Nisa’ 4.24) or repent after their sins (an Nisa’ 4.16). This could explain why there is such a vast difference between expectations of sexuality between men and women even in the 21st century. In relation to the relationship between religion and romantic comedy depictions, it is also interesting to note that there are no leading ladies with headscarves even though the government research claims 71.6 percent of women wear
headscarves (Türkiye'de Dini Hayat Araştırması).
While the virginity of the woman is expected and taken seriously, there are a few cases with virgin men as comedic side characters. In Mutluluk Zamanı, the leading lady’s brother is a divorcee. Midway through the film, it is revealed that he has never had sex with his ex-wife or any other women. In order to help him, the leading men teaches him how to behave towards women. The rest of the film shows the man’s efforts to lose his virginity and these events are always
comedic. Finally, he loses his virginity to a woman he has been pining over for years. But in the morning, it is revealed that she is not as pretty without her hair extensions, make-up and butt enhancers. A similar storyline is seen in Hadi
İnşallah.
Yet, any kind of depiction of sex is still rare. Many of the romantic comedies do not even refer to sex in the relationship of the couple. On the other hand, it is almost always recognized that the woman needs to put effort into looking
attractive for the man. The woman is pressured to look sexually attractive by her friends and family, yet her own sexual needs are never fulfilled. Between these contradictions, women develop a character that is centred on being desirable to men (Coward, 175).
This can be tied to the expectations of female virginity. However, since the mid 1980’s with access to international media, the Turkish youth also started to reject this idea. Both young men and women move away from traditional ideas of female virginity and reject societal sexual restraint (Özyeğin, 107-109). But due to the differences between generations, this new point of view among the youth brings its own challenges for young women. Both being a virgin and a non-virgin is undesirable for different spaces they navigate. Thus, they must achieve a balance between the two, showing sexual interest but not exuding excessive
sexual experience. Furthermore, sex is still connected to emotion of love for women as women that commit sexual acts without romantic love are condemned even by their friends (Özyeğin, 113).
In this case, in the negotiation for the representation of sexuality of women, the Turkish culture and Islam outweighs the desire of filmmakers to use sexuality as a narrative. In most cases, sex is avoided all together. Otherwise, women are shown to require emotional connection for sexual interactions. They are also aware of the different expectations that are put on to their sexuality more so than their own sexual needs. In Romantik Komedi, when Mert initiates sex with Esra, she stops midway to ask if it is too early. Seeing her discomfort Mert suggest they cuddle instead. After cuddling for a while, they have sex anyways. But this way, they emotional connection has been proven before they have sex. Furthermore, when she tells her friends about the encounter, she tries to justify her decision since she doesn’t want to be seen as prudish nor
uninhibited.
3.1.7 Conclusion
Love and the quest for romantic love is what makes the romantic comedy genre and is often brushed over as pure entertainment. Yet, the depictions of love can show many things about women and their position in the country. This chapter, looked into different elements of the romantic comedy such as the meet cute, the romantic relationship, the obstacle and sexual relationships. Throughout these elements, it was possible to observe the negotiation between several aspects that result in a certain representation. In some cases, the representation is far from the reality in Turkey, such as the accidental quality of falling in love. Here, the narrative requirements of the genre overwhelm the cultural influence. In other cases, the cultural and societal norms outweigh the genre requirements. For example, the sexual conflicts that Turkish women experience in real life are represented well on romantic comedies. Female characters struggle between different expectations, similarly to their real life counterparts. However, this representation is more truthful due to the negotiation between the influence of Hollywood sex scenes and the cultural attitude towards sex. As a result, even a seemingly realistic representation is unable to go further in depth and
Furthermore, it is common for romantic comedy films to emphasize the differences between men and women. This decision may be intended for exaggerated comedic effect. However, these differences are presented as inherent and result in a limited and caricaturized representation of women. The female characters are defined but what male characters are not. They also exist always in relation to men. Because they only react to the actions of the men that surrounds them. Hence the female characters in romantic comedy films are made into “Others” in their own films.
3.2 Marriage: The Natural Goal of a Relationship
3.2.1 Focus Film: Kocan Kadar Konuş
Reading the future from the Turkish coffee ground that is left in the cup has been a long tradition in Turkey, especially among women. Similarly to analysing dreams, the shapes that one can see from the coffee ground have been given different meanings. And the marital future is one of the most popular subjects of the readings. This tradition is how 2015 movie Kocan Kadar Konuş begins. An older woman talks of a great future as foreseen by the cup. However, the owner of the cup, a modern young woman cannot take this tradition seriously, mocking every prediction the woman makes. Finally the young woman is sent to the kitchen to wash the cup as that is believed to seal the predictions.
The young woman is the 30-year-old unmarried Efsun and the protagonist of the film. When she reaches the kitchen, she turns to the camera and starts talking to the audience (See figure 4). She says “Obsession with marriage is the DNA of Turkish women. I’m afraid that’s more intense than ever in our house. If you have a husband, fine. If not, you’re in trouble. You are only as valuable as the husband you have.” The movie takes its name from this quote; “talk as much as your husband” and has been received very well by the audience. In 2015, the film had the 4th highest box office (2015 Box Office) and due to its success, it was followed by a second film; Kocan Kadar Konuş: Diriliş (2016).
Figure 4: Screenshot from Kocan Kadar Konuş on 03:26. Efsun talks to the camera from time to time. This helps the audience to align themselves with Efsun even though she often opposes commonly valued traditions.
As established from the first scene, Efsun is not like the other girls. She does not seem to own the obsession with marriage gene that the rest of the women in the country and her family have. She works at a publishing house, dresses modestly and has a history of relationships that never worked out. Her best friend is the writer of her favourite book, whose imagination she talks to from time to time. Even though the identity of the writer is not confirmed by the film, the book he has written is depicted as Kürk Mantolu Madonna (Madonna with a Fur Coat) by Sabahattin Ali, which tells a tragic love story. Efsun desires to experience passion and love as depicted by the book, but fails to find it.
3.2.2 The Natural Goal of a Relationship
Efsun’s attitude towards finding passion and real love contradicts the more marriage-oriented attitude of her family who are more interested in her marital status than the romantic experience. However, in cinema marriage is often depicted as an important part of the romantic love, especially in the romantic comedy genre. Romantic comedy films follow Shumway’s “boy meets girl, boy loses girl and boy gets girl back” structure (157). And the final step of “boy gets girl back” often equals to marriage.
In classic British romantic comedy film Notting Hill (1999), after William wins over Anna during a press meeting, their smiles are followed by a montage of their life together which includes a wedding scene. Similarly, classic American romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally (1989) ends with
the couple talking about how they fell in love and how they got married. In both films, marriage is the natural follow-up to the successful romantic relationship of the couples.
A similar representation can be found in Turkish romantic comedy films. Marriage is depicted as the end goal of romantic relationships. According to Abisel this could be related to the importance of family in Turkish society. Family is the elementary unit of the society and it is built through the marriage of a man and woman. Consequently, films work to confirm the place of marriage in the society (Abisel, 183-184).
3.2.3 The Norm Defying Women
Efsun from Kocan Kadar Konuş seems to think differently about marriage. While everyone around her pressures her to get married, she declares “I’m as single as can be and quite happy.” But her attitude quickly changes after she hears that her much younger cousin is getting married. The family declares a “state of emergency” for the wedding preparations while Efsun decides to transform her love life with a makeover and a night out with her sisters.
During the night, she drinks excessively after seeing that it seems to give everyone
confidence. She walks around the club, embarrassing herself, even mistaking a popstar with her high school teacher and feeding him grapes. However, the comedic scene created by her action, the high tempo music and the quick editing is suddenly over when she sees her high school crush Sinan. The music switches to a slow romantic melody and a modest slow motion is applied to the shots of both of them as they notice each other. The scene is completed with Efsun’s voice over narration in which she tells the audience about how Sinan has been her first and only love as they walk towards each other. Finally, they meet in the same frame which moves in towards the couple slowly. But the romantic mood is ruined quickly when Efsun vomits on Sinan and the diegetic music of the club is heard again. This switch between comedic and romantic is made quite often throughout the film between the romantic scenes with Sinan and the scenes where Efsun embarrasses herself.
Next morning, she is surprised by Sinan at home who wanted to check up on her since she did not seem well the previous night. His interest in Efsun delights the family and they start
strategizing to get him to propose to her. Surprisingly, Efsun who previously stated that she is happily single, accepts the advice and meddling of the women in her family. In order to achieve their goal, they teach her how to behave with him as well as lying to him about her cooking and household skills. Her grandma even throws a slipper at them when they are about to kiss after their first date. Because according to them, you can “let him look but not touch”.
After Efsun listens to the many advises of her family, during her cousin’s wedding, Sinan accuses her of only being interested in marriage. He claims that she is not interested in him but only in getting him to marry her. When he leaves before Efsun can say anything, she realizes her mistake. As she stand there staring into the camera with regret, the set behind her starts to rotate with every object falling down and breaking apart. The scene is again narrated by her voice-over which and she asks herself “When have I become a hysterical girl in search of a husband?”
The highly stylized scene puts a lot of stress on the realization of her mistake. That is why the way the penultimate scene contradicts this scene is especially striking. In the final scene, Efsun does a grand gesture in order to win Sinan back. She runs to his apartment in the rain complete with the fur coat as described by her favourite novel. Sinan however, seems unimpressed by her declaration of love and the confessing of her mistakes. Though Efsun doesn’t take no for an answer. The scene is similar to the scene they meet in many regards. She runs after him in slow motion with a dramatic music in the background. The audience is made to question the happy ending after Sinan’s rejection. However, the mood quickly changes again when Efsun catches up to him in an elevator. The slow motion stops and the music changes to an upbeat rhythm. She passionately pushes him to the wall and kisses him. They suddenly stop when the doors of the elevator open, worrying that they may be seen by the neighbours. In contradiction to every other conversation it follows, Efsun asks Sinan to marry her. The camera pans out while the two of them look into the camera, smiling (See figure 5).
Figure 5: Screenshot from Kocan Kadar Konuş on 01:40:45. As discussed before, Efsun often looks at the camera throughout the film. However, this ending is the only time another character acknowledges the camera. As he was opposed to the idea of marriage just second before this shot, the look into the camera is a recognition of the fabricated nature of the film and
This contradictory character development in Kocan Kadar Konuş is in line with Rick Altman’s theory of “generic economy” in genre films (152-156). Marriage has an important place in Turkish society because it is a sexual unity among adults that has been approved by the society (Giddens, 148). It ensures the continuation of a lineage (Güneş, 29). In this regard, Efsun’s claims that she does not want to get married is against the norm of the Turkish society and would be looked down on in real life. However, in the romantic comedy setting it is accepted and even enjoyed by the audience because it drives the story forward and creates an obstacle to the happy ending. Will the girl who is doesn’t know how to act in a manner that is attractive to men be able to get the boy? It makes the audience doubt the expected happy ending because she seems so clueless about love even though she is conventionally attractive and adored by Sinan for who she is.
Yet the final scene ends up upholding the romantic comedy structure. The boy and the girl get the happy ending, solving (or perhaps forgetting) all the problems that kept them apart. It was enjoyable for the audience to watch the journey, but it is more satisfying to see the approval of the societal norms. The couple is in love and thus they will get married.
A similar example can be found in Romantik Komedi. Zeynep, the side character who gets married in the beginning of the film, is very verbal about not wanting kids. This is contradictory to the norms of the society that expects married couples to have and raise kids (Giddens, 617). Soon she gets into a fight with her husband who wants to become a father as soon as possible. But after she becomes too drunk in a night out with her girlfriends to make her feel better, all is forgotten when her husband comes to pick her up. The film ends with Zeynep giving birth to a daughter. There is no sign of doubt on Zeynep’s part anymore as quickly adopts to the role of motherhood. She might have been diverging from the norm of the society throughout the film, however she conformed to it at the end. More importantly, she was happy to conform. Similarly to Efsun, her unwillingness to conform was interesting for the storyline but it is established at the end that the societal norms are what is best for everyone and what will make everyone happiest regardless of what they might think. Comparable female characters can also be found in Hayat Öpücüğü (2015) and Romantik Komedi 2
(2013).
The consistent approval of marriage and the expectations surrounding it is especially striking today since people are choosing less and less to abide by these standards. Many are getting married less and later in their life (Güneş, 39) and women are having less children (Doğum İstatistikleri 2016). There are several reasons for these decisions including the desire to focus on career, to have more sexual experiences or simply to have more freedom for themselves (Peter Stein qtd. Giddens, 177).
