IS DESIRE A WINDOW INTO OUR MINDS?
AHMET YILMAZ
In oppressive societies, representations of sexuality in general and sexual identities in particular – in a wide historical range – could only find their place by being covered up and thrown into uncertain areas.
Although the modernization process has been carried out in a West-centrist manner, in Turkey, narratives about sexual orientations and sexual identities have been revealed in artistic productions over the past century, mostly through representations that can be explained by the concept of homo-sociality. In the last decade, the works that have opened queer perspectives on artistic productions are not only related to the fact that today’s culture industry enables studies on sexual identities and sexual orientations, but also because they are the results of the struggle waged by the LGBTI+ movement.
Researcher and author Kivanc Tanriyar says in his book “Aykırı Cinsellikler” (Contrary Sexualities), while tracing the “non-normative” sexualities in Turkish literature from the Tanzimat period to the Early Republic period, he initially resorted to conceptualizations such as LGBTI+ Guy Hocquenghem, author of the book Homosexual Desire, which can be considered one of the first examples of queer theory, said: “The expression of homosexual desire is meaningless. Desire is not subdivided into homosexuality and heterosexuality”. Citing this in his literary criticism published in 2018, Tanrıyar examines many authors of the period and their works in the axis of truth and secret, making use of queer methodology.
Tanriyar states that it does not allow such conceptualizations due to the conditions of the period he is examining, and that he expands his analysis with the concept of homo-social desire. As a literary criticism, Aykiri Cinsellikler (Contrary Sexualities) is a highly qualified work focusing almost a century ago. In his book, Tanriyar draws attention to the fact that, roughly speaking, homo-eroticism or implicit desire relations are mostly processed through certain lines in contexts such as companionship and friendship.
The first examples of the implicit expression of “homosexual desire” in Turkish Cinema are seen in the 60s. In Halit Refig’s 1965 film Four Women in the Harem, we see the signs of such a desire that cannot be “named” between Sevkidil (Ayfer Feray) and Mihrengiz (Birsen Menekseli). Sevkidil caresses her shoulders and kisses her on the neck as she comforts Ruhsan. Director Metin Akdemir’s film, Scenes I Imagine, which is included in the documentary category of the 2020 program of the Istanbul Film Festival, deals with a rather eye-catching subject as an example of queer cinema. Scenes I Imagine, which offers an unorthodox analysis of sexuality, is another study that uses the queer method.
Aiming at a recent period of Turkish Cinema, focusing specifically on certain films, Scenes I Imagine is the director’s first feature-length documentary. After the 80s a lot of women’s stories from this period were told under the effect of rising feminist wave in Turkish Cinema. Also a queer activist himself, Metin Akdemir, focuses on three films that frame women “getting closer” with women, which can be considered as an example of the theme of lesbianism for some people: Atif Yilmaz’s A Widow (1985) and Kadinin Adi Yok (Women Has No Name) (1987) and Yavuz Ozkan’s Iki Kadin (Two Woman) (1992).
The following words we hear from the director in the trailer give clues to the audience about the method and purpose of the film: I have always liked films that tell stories between women. Although we can’t clearly see a queer relationship in some of these films, some of the insinuations in the films make me think that the relationship between female characters is more than friendship. Are these possible queer relationships my readings or relationships that cannot go beyond implication due to censorship? Or just stories about friendship between women? I set out to see the possibility of what might happen when these films are approached from a queer point of view and when I include my dream scenes. I know I’m not going to get anywhere absolute, and that’s the good thing.
During the Film, Metin Akdemir, along with actors, academics, and film critics from the films he addresses, goes beyond chasing questions in his head, doing something that can be considered an omen of the film, re-shooting one scene from each film from his own imagination. He explains these “versions” as follows: I shoot three different scenes of intimacy. I wanted to emphasize the diversity of the notion called sexuality, to show how diverse sexuality can be. Because handing a cigarette, a look, even a lighter grip can be a sexual tension.
The distinguishing feature of Scenes I Imagine is that it deals with a period of cinema in the framework of gender, apart from the usual documentary film watching, and it does this especially through women’s films. Akdemir says in an interview that at the first stage of the film as a project, they set out with Boysan Yakar, an LGBTI+ activist who died in an unfortunate accident, and Boysan Yakar, as a producer, was one of the owners of the project. It is obvious that Yakar, who is waging a unique struggle for the visibility of LGBTI+ in Turkey, has added emotional value to this film. Interested in promoting the film, Zu Pr shares the information that Scenes I Imagine are in an effort to reach a wider audience, they are negotiating with certain digital platforms.
If you come across, it may be essential to watch Scenes I Imagine, which allows you to gain a different perspective. Because the film is not only a window of desire into our minds, but also an important document for Turkish Cinema.