DECEIT, DESIRE, AND THE FILMS OF ZEKİ DEMİRKUBUZ

This article analyses four flms by Zeki Demirkubuz, Kor (Ember, 2016), İtiraf (Confession, 2001), Masumiyet (Innocence, 1997), and Kader (Destiny, 2006), which deal with the themes of unrequited love, jealousy, and betrayal. Analysis reveals the dynamics of desire in these four flms. Kor and İtiraf, both of which depict the sad plight of jealous husbands who agonize over their wives’ infdelity, illustrate Rene Girard’s theory of triangular desire by introducing a third person in the genesis and perpetuation of the subject’s desire. Masumiyet and Kader, on the other hand, are interpreted as modern takes on the theme of courtly love, in which the lover elevates the beloved to the status of sublime object. Masumiyet and Kader are analysed through the lens of Lacanian psychoanalysis, particularly in relation to Lacan’s and Zizek’s writings on the anamorphic gaze and masochistic contract present in courtly love. The article shows that all four flms demystify the concept of romantic love, thereby demonstrating Lacan’s contention that a spontaneous, unmediated and harmonious sexual relationship between a man and a woman is impossible.