The intersection point of Said, Orientalism, painting and cinema: Harem Suare

• Published in: Bilig (Ankara) Vol. 42; pp. 35 - 54
• Main Authors: Uluç, Güliz, Soydan, Murat
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Turkish
• Published: 01-07-2007
• Subjects: Aesthetics; Art theory; Cinema; East-West relations; Orientalism; Otherness; Regional studies; Said, Edward; Self; Turkey
• ISSN: 1301-0549

This article is based on Orientalism's stereotyping point of view. It argues that, related to intention, consciousness and awareness, Orientalism may exist in any era as good or bad intentioned, as conscious or unconscious, and as aware or unaware. This article argues further that not every description of the 'other' and not every building of the 'self' on this description can be judged through Orientalism, which almost always reflects purposeful and malicious intentions. To support this view, this study contends that the description of the 'other' and hence, the building of the 'self' - activities which are already inborn aspects of human nature - may also be made through a latent Orientalism which does not include purposefully malicious intentions. Because of all these, in this study, Harem Suare, a well-known film by Ferzan Özpetek - a director whose movies are consistently regarded as adopting an Orientalist view of the East - has been selected for analysis. In this article, Harem Suare's film squares are compared with the selected paintings of orientalist painters, Eduard Debat Panson, Jean Leon Gerome, John Frederick Lewis and Paul Desire Trouillebert. Reprinted by permission of Ahmet Yesevi University