Wild and Free? Post-Feminism and the Limits of Liberation in Mustang (2015)
This paper was written in 2021
Post-feminism is often regarded as a ‘contemporary cultural sensibility proclaiming that women are “now empowered”, however Rosalind Gill understands the discourse as ‘a contradictory sensibility marked by elements such as an emphasis on femininity as bodily property.’[1] The dialogue ceases to address issues of structural inequality and instead concerns itself with often limited efforts of liberation that fail to acknowledge national and global systemic disparities of gender. The landscape of post-feminist scholarship also restricts itself to the Western world, lacking the much-needed transnational approach that would incorporate the ‘immense socio-economic inequality in the global South.’[2] Adopting a critical lens of post-feminism can expose the limitations of depicting women’s agency within these paradigms in European cinema. Therefore, in this essay I will critically assess the representation of femininity and female liberation in Mustang (dir. Denize Gamze Ergüven, 2015) by observing the extent to which a post-feminist position is embraced by the film.
Stephen Cleary writes that European cinema ‘does not explain the world to its audience, it comments on it’[3] a quality that is extended by Turkish cinema. Eylem Atakav writes that the work of women filmmakers in Turkish cinema often prioritise issues of political, cultural and ethnic identity[4] and Mustang substantiates this completely. Ergüven is keen to use the film to criticise the imposition of religion and patriarchy in Turkish societies, therefore Mustang follows five young sisters in rural Turkey whose lives are overtaken by restriction and confinement as a result of said impositions. Sonay, Selma, Ece, Nur and Lale are governed by their grandmother and Uncle Erol after having been seen playing on the shoulders of their male school friends, an act which is misconstrued as ‘pleasuring themselves on boys’ necks’ (0:6:44-1:33:04). The mere prospect of this incites rumours and speculation from neighbours regarding the girls’ promiscuity, which is believed to tarnish the family’s image. This introduces honour, which is ‘a recurring motif in Turkish films.’[5] The prevalence of honour is often associated with religious values and Ergüven illustrates this through assessing Islamic fundamentalism and tradition in non-Western settings. The film tends to pander to a Western gaze, constructing an orientalist lens by placing traditional Turkish culture and Islam in complete opposition to Western modernity. Another characteristic of Turkish film is the simultaneous empowering and marginalising quality of female narratives[6], which is also applicable to Mustang. Although the film strives to liberate the sisters, the efforts succumb to conventions of femininity such as objectifying the girls, resulting in a limited exploration of female agency. Both characteristics are deeply associated with female narratives in Turkish cinema itself and along with Ergüven’s chosen method of commentary, the film’s position is often reminiscent of a post-feminist quality. My analysis will demonstrate how Mustang, at times, constructs an orientalist lens and objectifies the sisters, thus embracing a post-feminist position.
Orientalism and the adherence to the Western gaze is most evident through the aforementioned binary of the Orient/the West which the film equates to religion/modernity. Mustang utilises the rural Turkish setting to highlight the enforcement of patriarchy as an exercise of religious fundamentalism, which is supposedly caused by the setting’s distance from the West and in turn, modernisation. In the article Realism as a Tool to Develop Authenticity: Orientalism in Mustang, Zeynep Koçer writes that societies such as this are depicted as ‘oppressive and conservative because people are uneducated and unenlightened.’[7] Ergüven extends this during the dinner scene which incorporates the sexist rhetoric of the Turkish government and how this is enacted by Erol, thereby depicting the deep-rooted presence of oppression in this setting. The remarks of deputy prime minister Bülent Arinc play on the TV, filling the silences with declarations such as ‘women must be chaste, know their limits, and mustn’t laugh openly in public, or be provocative with every move’ (1:00:48-1:33:04). The film is told from the perspective of Lale ‘who questions everything the most’[8] despite being the youngest sibling. Her rebellion is mirrored in the cinematography here as the camera does not show the deputy prime minister onscreen. This illustrates Lale’s disregard for Arinc’s attempts to assert himself over women’s bodies, however Erol is shown listening intently with complete fixation on the TV and confirms his faith in this belief by ordering Ece, Nur and Lale to be quiet. An article on women’s studies notes that the silencing of women is a result of ‘gendered hierarchies and norms [in Turkey] that assume men as the natural political agents while pushing women to an eternal position of silence.’[9] Ergüven explores how this dynamic is often justified through Islamic fundamentalism, which she seeks to oppose through portraying Istanbul as a Western safe haven. The city is mentioned in the opening scene when Lale’s teacher relocates there, introducing a key site of ambition, escape and freedom for the young protagonist. In Koçer’s words, ‘they can either find a way to escape to the big, modern city of Istanbul/the West or remain in this hellish nightmare of oppression in the rural East with a bleak future’[10], which proves the film’s limitations in exploring female liberation. At times Mustang’s orientalist lens fails to consider the prevalence of patriarchy and religious fundamentalism across the globe and instead identifies the two as results of Eastern backwardness. Ergüven’s adherence to the Western gaze is reminiscent of post-feminism’s infatuation with the Western world since the film tends to problematise the East whilst commending the modernity and freedom of the global North.
Nuances of post-feminism can also be traced in the objectification of the girls’ hair and bodies, which also elevates the binary of religion/modernity. Fiona Handyside supports this in writing that Mustang sheds light on ‘how global modern girlhood is constructed as antithetical to Islamic religious belief’[11] across several discourses in Europe. The film combats the enforcement of religion with extreme focus on the sisters’ long straight hair which symbolically opposes the fundamentalist expectation to remain veiled. According to Carol Delaney’s analysis of hair in Turkish society, ‘women’s hair is a highly charged symbol of the power of female sexuality’[12] with a strong association to the West. Therefore, one may assume that Ergüven’s insistence to capture this is an effort rooted in proving a connection between hair and progressive politics in Turkey. This is best illustrated during the football match wherein male supporters are banned due to their disruptive behaviour, leading to an audience consisting entirely of women. Ergüven attempts to highlight that women’s liberation is far less threatening than the effects of toxic masculinity since ‘women know how to support their team’ (0:24:03-1:33:04). Therefore, when Lale and her sisters sneak away to dance and cheer in celebration of their momentary freedom, their hair is central to every frame to prove the strength of female agency. The scene solidifies this with traditional Turkish music, which arguably fuses together culture and liberation and proves the potential for duality. However, I would insist that Ergüven’s plight for displaying freedom is overshadowed by her endorsing of gender conventions. Handyside continues that ‘hair is the visible sign of a girlish version of modernity’ which proves that ‘European discourse constructs the notion of girlhood, feminism and modernity as in conflict with religious belief.’[13] In other words, although some aspects of the scene hints at a possibility for liberation, ultimately Ergüven insists that it is not fully possible within the practices of Islam.
Further objectification and similarity to post-feminism in present in the simple fact that the discourse mostly concerns ‘young heterosexual, able-bodied, thin and conventionally attractive’[14] women. This is heightened by the use of cinematography throughout the film which draws the audience’s attention towards their bare skin. Koçer insists that the camera ‘tilts from the ankle to their waist [and] cuts to their arms, legs and lips’[15] which I would argue highlights Handyside’s remark that ‘religion and secularism become a series of material facts to read off the girls’ bodies, rather than an internal matter of faith and belief.’[16] This displays further constraint in the film’s approach as once again the girls may only fall into the narrow categories of veiled/unveiled or religious/modern. These aspects of Mustang further demonstrate the film’s post-feminist position due to the simultaenous empowering and marginalising quality of the film wherein femininity can be weaponised or more commonly reduced to a heteronormative view.
Although this essay has demonstrated the ways in which the film’s post-feminist position limits the depiction of female liberation, there are moments which oppose the assumption that life outside of the West is devoid of any progress. The presence of solidarity reaffirms the importance of unity amongst women, an idea that is manifested through the passing interactions between the girls and surrounding older women. It should be noted that the primary purpose of these women is to restrict and domesticate the sisters. This is exhibited through their corrupting gossip which exposes the girls to further discipline and the enforcement of the ‘wife factory’ (0:14:40-1:33:04) where learning to cook and clean are mandatory practices. The damaging quality of these acts should not be overlooked but likewise neither should their efforts to protect the girls. During the football match the women collectively attempt to prevent Erol from seeing the girls on TV by whatever means necessary, including cutting the power to the entire block. This should not romanticise the extensive presence of abuse in the film, but instead demonstrate an endeavour of productivity in the exploration of female liberation. Although the scene is followed by further restriction, this solidarity is rooted in the women seeking to protect the girls from the same toxic masculinity that prohibited male spectators at the football match.
This final note proves that although Mustang adopts a post-feminist position, there is optimism for future endeavours in European cinema to expand their feminism to a transnational approach. However even so the overwhelming presence of post-feminism still limits the liberation of these girls and clouds the majority of the film. In seeking to expose the destructive quality of religion and patriarchy in non-Western societies, Ergüven only brings attention to its equal existence in Western societies. Similarly, the attempts to reclaim the female body are only met with further objectification that define women’s liberation in terms of femininity. Koçer’s concluding argument resonates with this analysis, as her commentary on the film’s title criticises both the Western gaze and the marginalising depiction of gender. She writes that ‘the name calls to mind the colonialist strategy; the organised subjection of racialised and feminised groups through animal figures.’[17] Although Ergüven’s intention was to equate the girls’ journey with a plight for liberation that resembles the freedom of a wild horse, the outcome is less poetic and more restrictive.
[1] Dosekun, Simidele. 2015. "For Western Girls Only?: Post-Feminism as Transnational Culture." Feminist Media Studies 15 (6): 960
[2] Dosekun, 963
[3] Finney, Angus. 1997. The State of European Cinema : A New Dose of Reality. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc: 23
[4] Atakav, Eylem. 2013. Women and Turkish Cinema : Gender Politics, Cultural Identity and Representation. London: Taylor & Francis Group: 111
[5] Atakav, Eylem. 2013. Women and Turkish Cinema : Gender Politics, Cultural Identity and Representation. London: Taylor & Francis Group: 109
[6] Atakav, 113
[7] Koçer, Zeynep. "Realism as a Tool to Develop Authenticity: Orientalism in Mustang." Gümüşhane Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Elektronik Dergisi 11 (Ek): 159
[8] Özdemir, Berceste Gülçin. 2017. "The Representation of Female Characters by Women Directors in Surveillance Spaces in Turkish Cinema." International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 11 (5): 1232
[9] Akyüz, Selin and Feyda Sayan-Cengiz. 2016. "“Overcome Your Anger if You are a Man”: Silencing Women's Agency to Voice Violence Against Women." Women's Studies International Forum 57: 4
[10] Koçer, 166
[11] Handyside, Fiona. 2019. "The Politics of Hair: Girls, Secularism and (Not) the Veil in Mustang and Other Recent French Films." Paragraph 42 (3): 351
[12] Delaney, Carol. 1994. "Untangling the Meanings of Hair in Turkish Society." Anthropological Quarterly 67 (4): 165
[13] Handyside, 355
[14] Dosekun, 961
[15] Koçer, 165
[16] Handyside, 352
[17] Koçer, 167
Bibliography:
Atakav, Eylem. 2013. Women and Turkish Cinema : Gender Politics, Cultural Identity and Representation. London: Taylor & Francis Group. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/kcl/detail.action?docID=1092828.
Delaney, Carol. 1994. "Untangling the Meanings of Hair in Turkish Society." Anthropological Quarterly 67 (4): 159-172. doi:10.2307/3317416. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3317416.
Dosekun, Simidele. 2015. "For Western Girls Only?: Post-Feminism as Transnational Culture." Feminist Media Studies 15 (6): 960-975. doi:10.1080/14680777.2015.1062991.
Finney, Angus. 1997. The State of European Cinema : A New Dose of Reality. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/kcl/detail.action?docID=4659852.
Handyside, Fiona. 2019. "The Politics of Hair: Girls, Secularism and (Not) the Veil in Mustang and Other Recent French Films." Paragraph 42 (3): 351-369. doi:10.3366/para.2019.0311.
Koçer, Zeynep. "Realism as a Tool to Develop Authenticity: Orientalism in Mustang." Gümüşhane Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Elektronik Dergisi 11 (Ek): 158-169.
Özdemir, Berceste Gülçin. 2017. "The Representation of Female Characters by Women Directors in Surveillance Spaces in Turkish Cinema." International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 11 (5): 1227-1235.
Filmography:
Ergüven, Deniz Gamze, Charles Gillibert, Alice Winocour, Güneş Nezihe Șensoy, Doğa Zeynep Doğușlu, Elit İşcan, Tuğba Sunguroğlu, et al. 2016. (Turkey/France) Mustang.