Stereotypes in Turkish-German Film - Essay Example

German Film German Film: Turkish-German Film The essay examines the reinforcement and/or dissolution of gender stereotypes in the development of the Turkish-German films. In addition, the essay focuses on illustration of the alignment of gender and ethnicity in accordance with the information in chapter five and seven of the text. When people watch a film, they have the tendency of stepping into a world relating to plot, climax, and resolution. Nevertheless, in every movie or film, there seems to be various cultural nuances, which have the potentiality of repossessing the ability to shape the perceptions of the target audiences in the development of the plot, as well as characterization in accordance with the thematic issues. These cinematic tones have the ability and potentiality to bolster the negative perceptions or ideologies concerning the ‘others’ of societies. From this perspective, such films have the tendency of confirming, as well as creating ethnic and gender stereotypes. In this essay, the focus is on evaluation of two popular and recent films, which can influence the stereotypes of the Turkish Germans: Gegen die Wand (drama) and Kebab Connections (comedy). These films have been essential in reinforcing and deconstructing the stereotypes existing in Germany of the Turkish Germans. Stereotype refers to the oversimplified, as well as a standardized image under the influence of the special meaning by group members within the commonplace (Ames, 2012). There are various elements of stereotypes with reference to race, gender, ethnicity, and social clique. Like Germans (and each culture, race, and ethnic group), Turkish Germans have the tendency of facing critical judgement in accordance with the existing stereotypes. Nevertheless, as a minority within the context of Germany, Turkish Germans tend to have specific stereotypes, which play critical roles in ostracising them from the majority of Germany. The two films have critical implications in the course of understanding various aspects of stereotypes relating to the Turkish people. In the first instance, the films are essential to the illustration of the existing stereotype relating to patriarchal community and perception among the Turkish Germans. The stereotype attached to the Turkish Germans’ patriarchal structure relates to harsh fathers, who in most cases come out as physically abusive with the intention of expressing their prowess or dominance in comparison to their female counterparts with the society. According to various feminist practitioners and scholars, the social structure relates to the interpretations of the Qur’an, which provides substantive information on issues such as marriage, divorce, and inheritance. These conceptualisations have great implications for the conclusions from the readings that women are different from and inferior to their male counterparts within the society. All the males have the tendency of coming first in the family, a situation, which is essential in the development of the platform for understanding the second stereotype of gender relating to the Turkish Germans (Kerns, 2011). The films have been essential in the reinforcement and deconstruction of the gender-based stereotypes with reference to the generation of the submissive females within the Turkish Germans society. This stereotype is essential in the generation or development of an image of the silent or docile woman walking behind her husband or remaining at home because of inability to secure employment opportunities under the influence of their gender. In the idealistic Muslim society, a woman has the obligation of demonstrating submissive aspects to the male authority (Kerns, 2011). The male authority must play a critical role in the careful monitoring and controlling of the submissive woman under the influence of the gender constructions. It is critical to note that most people have the tendency of depicting this stereotype in their head. An effective illustration of this concept is the existing of the perception of the German media and cinema on the young and independence-seeking women of the Muslim families as elements of ‘black sheep of the family’. The third aspect of stereotypes among the Turkish Germans is the expression of the society members, especially women as Muslim conservatives. For instance, women have the tendency of wearing a hijab, which relates to a scarf wrapped tightly around her head. In addition, Turkish Germans come out as individuals from a desert with camels in the background, as well as palm trees in the western media. Nevertheless, it is critical to note that camels do not exist in the case of Turkey. From this perspective, women have the obligation of adhering to the principles of the Muslim community (Yeşilada, 2008). In the respective families of the relevant society, it is critical to note that fathers have the obligation and rights to make vital decisions concerning the affairs of their children, thus expression of autocratic leadership approach with little or zero input from their wives. In the case of the children, they have the status of objects, thus the ability and potentiality of their parents to trade them off in marriage in accordance with the highest price possible. From this perspective, it is critical to note that the position of women proves to be unconditional subordination to their fathers and husbands. It is critical to note that such societies focus on justification of the male authority in terms of the man’s honour, as well as the principles of Islam, which have the tendency of handicapping and oppressing women because of the gender construction issues. In the case of Gegen die Wand, the existence of submissive female, under the influence of gender, relates to the harshly patriarchal stereotypes. In addition, the existence of the submissive female in the media or the film is evident under the influence of the familial identity, which is essential in the generation or construction of the roles and appropriate execution mechanisms. The males in the two females (and other relevant media outlets) have the tendency of demonstrating the patriarchal features because of the implications of the typical roles in relation to the conservative Muslim perceptions (Vierra, 2006). Director of Gegen die Wand, Fatih Akin, focuses on the usage of his knowledge in relation to the Turkish Germans society with the intention of understanding the construction of stereotypes within the society. He has the moral thought of him belonging to each culture with reference to the Turkish and German cultures. In the development of his film, Akin focuses on summing up his perception or philosophy in relation to the need to change the world rather than accepting the things it reflects. From this perspective, Akin believes that whatever individual perceive in the cinema is essential in the course of shaping his or her perception of the world or society. In the development of the plot, the director of the film (Gegen die Wand) focuses on the utilisation of the serious platform while characterizing events of the real life and the emotional implications of these perceptions on the characters. The film expresses two perspectives: Cahit and Sibel. In this context, it is critical to focus on Sibel’s perspective. It is essential to demonstrate our understanding the conflicts by Sibel in relation to the constraints by her family with the intention of forcing her to remain a ‘faithful Turkish daughter’. In addition, the plot of the film is serious in the process of dealing with issues of suicide attempts, murder, love, rape, and issues of escape to Turkey with the objective of avoiding such conditions (Kerns, 2011). The fights against her family’s resistance in the course of gaining an independent life in Germany lead to a life-threatening situation. From a critical perspective, it is critical to note that Gegen die Wand is a women’s film, which revolves around the critical self-consciousness of her life, as well as identity. Gegen die Wand is essential in understanding the aforementioned stereotypes in relation to the concept of gender among the Turkish Germans. For instance, Sibel comes out as a submissive female under the oppression of her Muslim beliefs. The film focuses on the usage of such stereotypes to force the audience to realise the stereotypes, thus the platform for effectiveness and efficiency in the deconstruction of their implications of the Turkish Germans. This is through being in, as well as breaking of the genre barriers. The plot of the film expresses this aspect through enabling Sibel to fight effectively and efficiently to free herself against the confines of the oppressive family (Kerns, 2011). She attains her goals through marrying Cahit. The film also focuses on using and deconstructing the concept of submissive female stereotype through reasoning of Sibel to stay within the family until marrying Cahit. At the first glance, it is possible to perceive that she is obeying her father, but various scenes with her mother demonstrate different perspectives. Sibel enjoys a strong connection with her mother, which is beyond the cultural implications by the stereotypes. Closeness is essential in making leaving the family and breaking her mother’s heart an impossible mission. The film focuses on the usage of cinematic effect in the course of deconstructing the stereotype with reference to the submissive nature of women relating to Sibel. Mostly, the man is the one who sees while the woman is the one seen (subject vs. object perception). It is possible to father this notion from the camera angles, which are essential in focusing on the man’s reflective gaze from the close shot, as well as female’s shot from a distance (Kerns, 2011). Moreover, Sibel’s mother focuses on demonstrating various characteristics unlike the traditional roles of the Turkish females in most cinemas. This perception is essential in the deconstruction of the stereotypes within the Turkish Germans society. In the case of Kebab Connections, the film focuses on the usage comedy in the course of reinforcing and deconstructing the stereotypes existing in the Turkish Germans within Germany. The director of the film, Saul, concentrates on the integration of the comedic examples with the intention of making the audience to realise the stereotypes through laughing at the humour of various actions and events resulting from such social constructions. The film concentrates on the demonstration of the notion that individuals have the tendency to laugh at funny concepts while believing on their truthful nature, thus the usage of the jokes to facilitate deconstruction of the Turkish stereotypes within the case of Germany (Ames, 2012). The central focus on this film is on how Ibo seeks to become a kung-fu filmmaker, thus the transnational nature of the film. This expresses the concept of a Turkish German in Germany wanting to direct an Asian martial arts film. The film plays on the stereotype of Macho Turkish male to an over-the-top extreme, thus the holding stereotype to all Turks experience equal exaggeration (Kerns, 2011). One of the major aspects or illustrations of the stereotypes in this context include the father’s relationship with Ibo, which touches on the patriarchal family structure. In the course of the development of the plot, his father threatens to disown him for going against his wishes. The film focuses on dramatizing the reaction of the father’s reactions in the actions by Ibo, thus forcing the viewers to accept the reality that fathers in Muslim communities have the tendency of disowning their children for reasons such as having relationships with individuals outside the ethnicity or community (Ames, 2012). The film also touches on the stereotype relating to the conservative Muslim family structure. The film focuses on the usage of a positive ending with the intention of deconstructing the stereotypes relating to the Turkish Germans society (Kerns, 2011). Conclusively, films have the tendency of generating implications on the perspectives of the audiences in relation to the minority representations concerning gender, race, ethnicity, and other relevant social constructions (Ames, 2012). It is the obligation of the directors of such films to adopt and implement appropriate mechanisms to deconstruct or reinforce such stereotypes while aligning them to the issues such as gender or race. References Ames, E. (2012). Ferocious reality: documentary according to Werner Herzog. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Kerns, C. C. (2011). Representation and Deconstruction of Turkish German Stereotypes through Gegen die Wand and Kebab Connections. Retrieved from http://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2407&context=utk_chanhonoproj Vierra, S. T. (2006). Representing Reality: Literature, Film, and the Construction of Turkish- German Identity (Doctoral dissertation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). Yeşilada, K. E. (2008). Turkish-German Screen Power–The Impact of Young Turkish Immigrants on German TV and Film. German as a foreign language, 1, 73-99. Read More