§ The insecure mirror §
Flipped: The journey of Karabasan and Elkisave
or, the battle of Other
Elif Ozbay
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 1 This thesis was developed and written with the supervision of Ash Sarkar as part of the requirements needed to obtain the MA degree in Fine Art and Design with the program Shadow Channel, Film, Design & Propaganda, at the Sanberg Instituut in Amsterdam, under the direction of Juha van 't Zelfde.
2 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Thank you, to the Madman, the Puncher and the Cosmic Other
&
Thank you Shadow Channel, may we always shimmer in the shadows
Elif Ozbay
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 3 Elif Ozbay
4 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Table of contents:
Introduction: I. 7 II. 9 III. Characters 11 IV. The Storyteller 15
I saw something I knew was not there 17 When the mirror split 25 The unwanted reflection 29 The mirroring face or, that was not me 33 Derealized reflection 39 Disappearing otherness or, unreflectiveness 45 Vampires are people too (I.) 49 Vampires are people too (II.) 57 Vampires are people too (III.) 59
Conclusion: Karabasan and Elkisave watch a fight 63
Bibliography 66
Elif Ozbay
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 5 ‘All is vanity’ - 1892- Charles Allen Gilbert Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. Ecclesiastes 1:2
6 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Introduction I.
If a mirror is 1 foot tall, you can see two feet worth of yourself in that mirror. So, to see your full body, you would need to use a mirror that is half your height. But how much can you ‘really’ see of yourself, reflected? What more is there to see? We watch ourselves act and pose reflected on shiny surfaces multiple times a day, and the mere existence of the reflective self is proven the moment one looks at her/ himself in the mirror, questioning one’s style or thought, looking for perfections or imperfections. Once playful and wonderful observations in the mirror stage, now confronted with the dread of narcissism. Cursed Echo, mirroring only what others say, watched her love Narcissus love his reflected life away. The look is deadly. Vanity is deadly. For it creates a labyrinth of repetition, same gazes over and over again. Is the mirror self to be trusted? Is the eye that ‘looks’ and ‘takes in’ to be trusted? Is it me or you who controls movement through space. The copy is forever captured in the shimmer. Promising as a product, The Looking Glass is uncanny. ‘You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you, you’re so vain.’ A chapter in Pride, the pride that lures you into the abyss. The abyss that keeps the monstrous. The tormentor becomes the tormented. The reflection is either what I love or hate. The maze of mirrors folds into itself when the abyss gazes into thee.
Lodge - Dislodged - Long - Belonging - Missing - Mirroring - Mise en abyme - Doppelganger
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 7 As kids, my younger brother and I used to love wandering around at the library, especially in the back, where they would keep VHS tapes in a very funky bookshelf you could slide open. Weirdly, I always ended up looking at the covers of horror movies, because they looked so incredibly mysterious to me. The liking of these films, logically, was a rebellious act towards the taste of my parents, who would enjoy the most excessively dramatic Turkish movies, which for us was just too realistic and therefore impossible to believe. Living in the borderlands of two worlds (like vampires, if you will) not resembling the homogenous population (white and very catholic) of the conservative town in which we lived and grew up in, also created in some ways, the urgent sense and need to break apart from that reality. I needed the bizarre and the fantastic to cope with my own identity, and these films would teach me how to place myself in this surreal society.
I wanted and needed ‘other.’
Later, the sense of belonging, believing, or the pretending of not belonging, ‘displaced’ or ‘dislodged’, senses of dual, even multiple identities became more tactile and presented themselves to me in very cinematic (and projecting, mirroring) kind of ways. Mirroring philosophies, or the copy of a copy, I saw the beauty in the worst - fell in love with the gore and horror, romanticized the martyr and had troubles with the bad boy. I made a hobby of seeing things that were not there, connected with stories that, in a way, were not meant for me. Struggles and joys of others not like me. So, I reimagined them. Like I was
8 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Introduction II.
the narrator. The Storyteller. Only to make way for me, to see myself reflected and represented. As a response, this way of dreaming created a performative fictional character. My younger brother who joined me to the library found his way of establishing his world as well. His was a place of reenactments and plays. Mostly with Action Man figurines. Like me, a storyteller but, in his case, never the protagonist.
This thesis is a journey. Mine and his.
And, it is precisely this narrative that will prove the urgency and purpose of reflecting the self to the mirror self.
The mirror will be used symbolically to guide our characters through chapters and sequences. All the while not forgetting that the mirror thus becomes a character in itself as well. My character self and my brother’s character perhaps won’t begin at the same start line, but the gunshot is fired right here and now. The characters might end up meeting each other in the end. For now, I will be Elkisave, and my brother will be Karabasan. Known Turkish folkloric night creatures, demons or Jinns, for Elkisave and Karabasan are our monstrous selves, waiting.
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 9 Not To Be Reproduced Portrait of Edward James - 1937 - Rene Magritte
10 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror III. Characters
The Mirror
The mirror is the medium. The symbolical object to reflect in, reflect through, reflect on. It gives shape to the way the story will be told. An oracle sometimes. The mirror is the society. It can be split, broken or liquid. Used as a weapon or a communicative tool. What it reflects, depends on who looks. Sometimes the protagonist can’t see all. It is the abyss, keeper of monstrous selves. It is a symbol for the duality within. The creator of the doppelganger. It is the element for mise en abyme. The demon lives in the mirror. The undead won’t be reflected. The spirit is just a reflection only the viewer gets to see.
The mirror stage spans beyond, leaving us still trying to figure out how to trust the reflection. A paradox is a mirror - it swallows the questions - neglected minority representation - What do we see? • The mirror holds the soul •
With the mirror we start our story, our exploration, developing an understanding of its possibilities, functions and power.
Mirror double, divided • Mise en Abyme •
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 11 ‘The Puncher, Kardes, Brother’ Still from film KARABASAN - 2018 - Karabasan
‘Sivasin Yollarina’ (The Roads of Sivas) Still from film SIVAS - 2018 - Elkisave
12 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror III. Characters
Karabasan
Also known in other cultures as the mere, the one that rides on people’s chests when they are asleep, bringing on bad dreams.
Our Karabasan is a boxer. He is alone, resides in the garage, punching a bag, grunting and screaming, puffing air, in and out, rhythmically to leather meeting leather in volatile ways. MashAllah. Masculine exploitation. The punching bag is a mirror - facing your other self - your evil self - the demon is in the reflection - extreme and reclaiming his stereotyping - afraid of the look and the gazing patriarchy •
Chest puncher - the puncher - punching through mirrors and doors - holes - ripping the flowers out of the ground - frustrated - looking for roots in mud - takes the breath away - conflicting bad boy story - the selfless other - divided and split - unreflective and hit - dissociative derealization - faces fade after a time - disillusions - diasporic •
Elkisave
Or karakura, a creature my mother told me about. It is known specifically to the Sivas and Erzincan regions, where my mother is from.
Karakura is an evil and hungry spirit. Without a specific shape - but light as a cat and known to be vivacious - Prevents sleepers from breathing and has the ability to steal your lungs. The Karakura in Erzincan is a creature with a goat’s head, who kneels down on your chest. The creature is afraid of sunlight - becomes solid in the morning, that’s when you can capture it • If you can make it swear to you, like you’re a god, the Karakura will guide you through horrors •
Looks innocent - like the virgo in horror films - sentimental and nostalgic - hardcore cult and pop - unreflective - undead - shifts like a vampire - mirrors others more - night stalker - divided and split - confronting looks - diasporic •
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 13 “For now we see through a glass darkly”
1 Corinthians 13:12
14 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror IV. The storyteller
The cultural and universal power in the mythological and folkloric knowledge told through a particular way of storytelling is exactly the type of narrative that we should long for. Because the teller of these stories manipulates and re-creates — giving the creature extreme cultural depth and possibilities. Where not only the storyteller will have to face the reflective self, but the listener in his/ her way as well. And that’s precisely the red thread that will connect the dots — looking for the self within narratives — meeting the reflection, joining the monstrous self, which will blur the already very unspecific and personal line between dream and nightmare — a grey space so to speak - like limbo - an undesigned timeline for new narrative architectures.
The latter being also the necessity to own your platforms and stories, to force that reflection back into the given mirror. And, in this context, within the exploration through the parameters of interests and sources, space to experiment within and out of the field of legibility.
Because, this thesis is a journey; a symbolic mirror, personal and therefore a continuing research, an open case, within the topics and frameworks of looking for one’s own identity through the usage of the symbolic mirror. With this thesis my purpose is to reclaim the reflection and its echoing dialects.
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 15 When one watches a film, reads a book or even listens to music, we get to the point where we almost fantasize about how this piece of performative information plays a bigger part in our lives. Sometimes the music you listen to becomes the soundtrack of your day, certain series become something you must watch to unwind. We tend to ease our aching hearts with more drama or light comedy. Some people enjoy the horror and the gore because it holds certain tropes like escapism and very confrontational societal problems in society.
In all cases, we need a little bit of fiction. It is human nature to desire this, because a healthy dose of fantasy sparks imagination and ideas. It is also human nature to emotionally connect yourself with these works, sometimes feel connected to the protagonist, seeing yourself in certain actions or moves, in certain ideas and thoughts, in behaviour and/ or role. It is normal to connect and to want to connect. But, we are looking for certain narratives where it is hard for 'some' connect for some. The ‘other’ misrepresented or not represented at all. How can one still be able to connect with what is out there?
One example.
Dale Cooper, the detective protagonist of Twin Peaks, who, in the last episode of season 2, gets stuck in the Black Lodge (a mythological place reference in the stories of the Nez Perce tribe of northeastern Washington.) It was the name used to refer to a particular extra-dimensional location visited by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper during his 1989 visit to Twin Peaks, which bore the
16 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror I saw something I knew was not there
appearance of an endless, red-curtained series of rooms and hallways. The black lodge is the embodiment of a Lynchian Limbo, where the spirits it holds are speaking backwards, the rooms all look like each other and the black and white, zig zag floor hallucinates. This is the space where secrets are kept.
Cooper’s love interest, will whisper the bad news about Cooper being stuck/ captured in the Black Lodge to a nurse, but unfortunately, this message will never reach the Twin Peaks Sheriff and Cooper’s best friend Harry Truman. We know as a viewer that Dale is captured and that his evil doppelganger, created in this Black Lodge, will take over his place in the ‘real world’.
The quirky and eccentric special agent is now ‘replaced’ by a very dark entity, leaving the legacy of justice and good in the hands of evil. Dislodged from the lodge.
The term doppelganger is described in the Cambridge dictionary as “a spirit that looks exactly like a living person, or someone who looks exactly like someone else but who is not related to that person”. Doppelganger literally means double-goer and is often portrayed as a harbinger of back luck.
In ‘Twin Peaks: The Return’ (2017) we watch the fight between the evil Dale Cooper vs the good Dale Cooper, an archetypal storyline: the true ‘good’ self, fighting against its ‘evil’ self. In the case of Twin Peaks - when we talk about one’s own projection on film/
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 17 Evil Cooper vs Good Cooper Twin Peaks: The Return (2017)
18 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror I saw something I knew was not there
cinema, the mirroring and or connecting to a character, maybe recognising yourself through the journey of the protagonist, one can’t seem to unsee certain elements when the given film is a very obvious, predominantly white universe, created by a director who excludes you from connecting the way he intended it. Meaning, one might see symbols and idioms of misplaced cultures or minority storylines that were not set out to be interpreted like that. Such as: (1) Dale Cooper is an immigrant in the Black Lodge, and (2) Evil Cooper is the bad image of the stereotypical evil immigrant, roaming the real world - much more tanned that the ‘good’ Cooper. Both are not known in the world they end up in, and both have to find their way through a certain set of rules, values, language and, a confusing society.
Perhaps it is too much of an overkill to force this idea upon Twin Peaks, but one could reconsider, especially when most films about the bizarre and weird horrors of life are often well known to be predominantly white and not always welcoming to a character development of ‘the other’. If we look at the root of fear itself, one thing is clear: it’s human nature to be afraid of what is unfamiliar. Here we could state that monsters, vampires, demons and other mythical creatures are ‘easy’ manifestations of “the other”, that’s why they are used symbolically within this thesis as well, beings so alien to behold - that they terrify us; black, foreign, and any cultures not understood by the majority could easily serve in the same capacity.
Elkisave: it doesn’t take an exceptional confluence of circumstances before minorities meet with
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 19 prejudiced encounters.
The success of including or offering an alternative narrative has been proven by Jordan Peele’s ‘Get out’ (2017), where a young African-American man visits his white girlfriend’s parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point. Peele plays so cleverlary with elements out of ‘the real world’, that they become unrecognisable details to some but the majority, now shifted from white to black, feels represented and understood in the details, e.g. Chris, our protagonist, when pulled aside by a police officer, is asked for his ID while his ‘white' girlfriend was driving, aware that putting up a fight is risky business for a black male, he quickly reaches for his ID to comply, while Rose, his girlfriend, refuses to let Chris show him his ID, labels the sitation 'unfair'. It’s moments like these, these details, which Peele weaves throughout the movie, that so expertly illustrate the privilege that most white people typically operate with, and the injustices black people and other minorities are often up against.
Karabasan was arrested today for assaulting a public servant. For his act of showing physical power against racist slurs, he is now imprisoned and awaits trial.
What this film does, is take the almost archaic horror genre, manipulate and re-render it, to explore a topic that is considered problematic: race. Gore Verbinski explains: Good horror should reflect contemporary, societal anxieties, yet nuanced depictions of race and minorities have mostly failed to
20 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror I saw something I knew was not there
enter the mainstream. The horror genre as a platform has a lot of room for taking on themes that could challenge the viewer’s thinking.
Jordan Peele’s Get Out, which is the tale of benevolent, liberal middle-class racism, a directorial debut, has managed to rake in $30 million at the box office on a $4.5 million budget, and holds a 99% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes and A- rating on CinemaScore – the former a rare feat for any movie, and the latter practically unheard of for horrors in particular.
So what took so long for Hollywood to back a film that actually does mirror the racialized climate of modern society? Since the advent of moving pictures, filmmakers have always been inclined to depict the anxieties of their time, and yet black people and minorities have historically served as comic relief, one- dimensional symbols of danger, or disposable characters whose deaths serve as dramatic fodder for the survival of the protagonist(s).
We also began seeing the trend of the haunted Indian burial ground as a recurring motif emerging in films like Amityville Horror (1979), and in adaptations of Stephen King novels like Stanley Kubrick’s seminal The Shining (1980) and Pet Sematary (1989). Yet, while the burial grounds are pivotal parts of the films’ premises, diving into actual Native American history or relations is conveniently sidestepped. In the 90s, we saw films like Candyman (1992) and Tales from the Hood (1995).
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 21 Candyman (1992) Jordan Peele is set for a remake in 2020
Blacula (1972) William Marshall
22 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror I saw something I knew was not there
Candyman saw mainstream success, and its brutal antagonist was one who – given a complex background, undeniably driven by racialized tragedy – was one audiences could actually have sympathy for. The latter, an African American horror anthology tackling topics such as police brutality, corruption, racism, and gang violence, went on to become a cult hit. (Nguyen, 2019)
Serving as a mirror for our contemporary anxieties, the horror genre has breathtaking potential. But with its near-default dichotomy of good-versus-evil, it’s often difficult for the genre to tackle sticky topics with nuance. Making the already slightly opaque mirror, smaller than it has to be.
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 23 The mirror, which both distances and objectifies, but also reveals an unpalatable truth, is a traditional motif in the visual arts, often associated with the sin of vanity. It always retains a double meaning; signifying a split personality. These outer/ inner readings of the mirror are important from a cultural historical perspective: they constitute the basis for the distinction between the classical and the romantic aesthetic. One of these aesthetics and, an often used technique is the ‘mise en abyme’, which is a formal technique of placing a copy within itself, often in a way that suggests an infinitely recurring sequence. In film theory and literary theory, it refers to the technique of inserting a story within a story. The term literally means ‘placed into abyss’. A common sense of the phrase is the visual experience of standing between two mirrors, seeing as a result an infinite reproduction of one’s image.
Mirrored personalities in cinema often are portrayed as a surprising, unexpected confrontation, where the protagonist is faced with its own evil and this in most cases creates a plot twist, or a counter narrative within the film. Unexpected depth to the character is rewarded with complexities of the soul and self doubt of one’s face in the mirror.
This mirror shot marks a moment of rupture and doubling - that simultaneously makes the spectator aware of how fragile the cinematic illusion is and immerses him/ her deeper into the (often split) personality of the protagonist.
24 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror When the mirror split
The function of the mirror character oscillates between an ontological and a psychological one: it points out the psychic inability/ ability of our hero and heroine.
In ‘Unbreakable’ (2000) Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson), adopts a self made fictional and villainous character, created only for the sole purpose that he believes that his glass like bone structure, his many weaknesses are the exact opposite of his also self claimed nemesis David Dunn (Bruce Willis), an indestructible man, a hero. Because Davin Dunn is not convinced of this, we see scenes of him not looking at himself when passing a mirror, or when he’s even standing in front of a mirror; as if he is not ready to face himself with this reality. Non accepting. The mirror serves as a symbolism here, portraying the split and insecure character of David Dunn. There are no shots of Mr. Glass with mirrors for he has accepted his fate and his monstrous self.
The split mirror, symbolizing a split personality within our protagonist is a no brainer. That the viewer will relate to this, is also a no brainer. But if we talk about the split mirror, we could argue what the word split could mean, and could stand for. And instead of researching our protagonist (Bruce Willis), we should look at the antagonist, Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson), who somehow always inspired me. I never understood why up until further research into the multiple symbolic meanings of the mirror. Mr. Glass is a character who, with all his childhood traumas about breaking his bones with the simplest acts, laughed at by kids because he seemed different, or ‘monstrous’, accepted what it is that
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 25 - Two way mirror test - 1. A one way mirror 2. A two way mirror
26 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror When the mirror split
makes him other. He is a black male with high intelligence and a fascination for heroes and their enemies, villains, from his comic books. He puts himself in the role of evil without labelling it evil. Symbolically one could visualise it like this:
If you touch your own reflection in the mirror, you will notice if you look closely, that your finger is not actually touching the reflection. There is something in between. Which is the mirror. We accept that it is there. Try the same thing with a two way mirror and you will see that the real self can actually touch the reflective self. Speculating the idea that this is where one accepts the other ‘dark’ self. But also hinting at where one would end up performing this test; most likely in an interrogation room.
Karabasan touches a mirror like this, and feels weirdly confronted, watched. But also realizes something extraordinary; If the mirror is the society, and my reflection is the bad self, then me being here in the interrogation room, touching this mirror and being able to connect with my evil self is exactly what is unwanted, and perhaps it is why I feel a slight sense of freedom. Because I have accepted my monstrous self and let it out to roam. I have connected with my true self and here I am, incarcerated.
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 27 We reach the end of the film. The protagonist, Nancy, comes home with her mom. Her arm is in a cast. While she apologizes for her wild and unexplainable behavior her mother slowly puts down the keys, ‘I just want you to be safe’ she says. While she puts these words to her mouth, we see the reflection of a CGI rendered Freddy Krueger, Nancy screams to this realization. Freddy’s gloved hand with razors reach out from out of the mirror, through the skull of Nancy’s mother, pulling her back into the mirror in mere seconds. All they leave is a trace of blood on the glass surface and a screaming Nancy. Even the Nazar eye on the keychain, the camera focused on for a while when the mother put the keys down, didn’t protect her from this evil being, whom, as you may or may not know can only kill when his victims dream, symbolically used the mirror as a portal to the real world. Capturing Nancy’s mom and terrorizing Elm Street, again, in 2010.
What is eerie about this scene is not the brutal killing, but the reflection of Freddy instead of the mother’s in the mirror, moving exactly alike when she gets up from putting her keys down. Freddy is an unwanted mirroring. The reflection that we do not want to see. An intrusive presence.
The same goes for the standard thriller jump scare; seeing your own reflection joined with someone else’s, someone who you might know or not know, unexpectedly. Someone unwanted, in every case. When, for example, you take your medication out of the bathroom cabinet, seeing only your face and your own movements until you have to put the bottle
28 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror The Unwanted reflection
back and close the cabinet, tilting back the mirrored cabinet door, showing more than before. Your standard jump scare, always paired with ominous sounds, building up a tension. Preparing the viewer for something ‘uncanny.’
Seeing this unwanted reflection joined with yours, always creates a feeling of unease and unpleasantness. This jump scare is used to create the sense of an intrusion of one’s personal space. Even if it turns out that no one is there, somehow we are used to always expect the unexpected, and therefore always be terrified.
When ‘Arthur’, in the film ‘Thir13en Ghosts’ (2001) inherits an odd glass house from his mysterious uncle, he starts exploring the estate with his two children, Kathy and Bobby. The lawyer who arranged the viewing leaves the house at some point triggering a lever that holds a suitcase full of money. He takes the suitcase and sets the house in motion like a ticking clock, revealing the true structure: a glass house with cells holding 12 ghosts, who are now all free to roam and kill in the mansion. The only way to see these ghosts is with glasses, which coincidentally are scattered around. Only time will tell who will understand to use the glasses to escape from these bloodthirsty ghosts, who are not present before our eyes, but are in fact able to kill you.
In the meantime, Kathy finds herself a suitable bedroom with a big bathroom. The mirror in the bathroom captures her attention.
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 29 The Angry Princess standing behind Kathy. We are the mirror im this scene, Kathy doesn’t see the Princess One of the many jump scares in Thir13een Ghosts (2001)
30 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror The Unwanted reflection
She looks at her face, inspects it, touches it. With just a slightly altered move of the camera, we as the viewer, see something horrifying in the corner. A very sudden jumpscare. The image almost too grotesque and disturbing to process immediately, but we do, and we can, because something is not how it is supposed to be. The bathtub is filled with blood and we see one of the ghosts. The character is the Angry Princess. As Kathy starts to clean her face we get more and more anxious, for Princess starts abruptly changing locations. Once in the bathtub, now right behind Kathy, looking at herself and comparing her own reflection in the mirror to Kathy’s. Kathy can't see the Princess and the bloody bathtub, but we, as viewers, can. I have to add that the Angry Princess is completely naked. An important detail, because the first time I watched this film was at the Islamic boarding school, a Friday night. Scenes with nudity and romantic acts were blocked by our female hodja’s. They didn’t like to get up during films, rushing to the screen, covering the television with their cloaked bodies. To avoid this sudden stress followed by an unwanted sprinting session to the TV, the hodja’s started to rent horror films for us. There is less romance in killing, stabbing, haunting, and hunting. Of course, they couldn’t know about the naked princess, so there they went again, running towards the tv, screaming to cover our eyes. Haram! Haram! We would laugh at this innocent act of censoring. It was a good break from the tension. Our Hodja’s blocking the screen (or the mirror), not allowing us to identify with the nudity. I still remember that scene and it still haunts me, not because of the hysterical hodja’s, and not because of the Angry Princess’s nakedness, but because of the resemblance of the bathroom my parents had. The bathtub in the corner that you can’t really see reflected in the mirror when you stand in front of it. I ran away scared many times at night. Just because of a blocked view in the mirror. Because I somehow expected the unexpected. This is where I, as the viewer, establish a scenic mirroring, and visualise about something that is not there, even though it is not visible, it is very unwanted.
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 31 Morphed face of nurse Alma and actress Elisabet. Persona (1966)
32 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror The mirroring face or, that was not me
Intro; small film projector, non-diegetic sounds. The projector is running fast, just like the edits we are about to see. Image strips of old silent films, children’s hands, an erect penis, a lamb being slaughtered, nails driven into hands, crucifiction, a tarantula, a child in bed, the same child trying to touch the large blurry face of a woman with alternately open and closed eyes. The face of the woman projected on a translucent surface and tentatively touched by this boy is a portrayal of an archetypal relation enacted by the cinema: that of serving as a mirror. Immediately creating the Verfremdungseffekt (distancing effect) between the cinematic text and the spectator, reinforcing the major theme of existential alienation that permeates the film. (Elsaesser & Hagener, 2015)
By making the projector and the film strip visible, the opening sequence of Ingmar Bergman’s Persona (1965) draws our attention to the fact that we are about to see a film: a technology and an artifact which should not be mistaken for real life. (Elsaesser & Hagener, 2015) But, a mirror is presented. Within the narrative, the characters mirroring to each other and subsequently the screen we watch the film on. Meaning, we will at some point relate what we see, back to our own lifes. While we watch nurse Alma emotionally help actress Elisabet, who had a nervous breakdown on stage, now catatonic, mute and sometimes hysterical, back to health– we sometimes wonder who we’re really watching. Both identities often almost disappear within each other, dissolving or swallowing. Alma desires more and more to become like Elisabet and reflects herself onto her and into her life. But also vice versa.
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 33 The mirror motif is often so strongly deployed in ‘Persona’ that even the spectator can at times no longer be sure to tell the two main characters apart. At one point, a composite face is generated by combining one half of each actress’ face, looking into a mirror - or is the face looking at us? (Deleuze, 1983)
A look into the mirror necessitates a confrontation with one’s own face as the window to one’s own interior self. Yet this look at oneself in the mirror is also a look from outside, a look that no longer belongs to me, that judges or forgives me, criticizes or flatters me, but at any rate has become the look of another, or “the Other”. (Luhmann, 1995) In addition, cinema’s fascination with stories of doppelganger and exchanged identities has always implicitly acknowledged the problematic dynamic of identification and self-estrangement, fleshing out into narrative terms of turning into allegory the spectator’s own uneasy or uncanny awareness of the characters as his or her delegates and doubles, ideal selves or dreaded alter egos. Moreover, and aligned to the mirror, the close-up and/ or the image of the human face have entailed film theoretical positions of great subtlety and recurring topicality. (Elsaesser & Hagener, 2015)
Jalal Toufic (2003) writes a great chapter on the importance and the will of the viewer when it comes to recognizing a double or mistaking an identity in his ‘Uneasy essay about the undead’ - a personal conclusion to Vincente Minnelli’s musical An American in Paris:
34 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror The mirroring face or, that was not me
“[..] Whether we are witnessing a doubling, i.e., whether any or all of these participants are the pianist’s doubles, depends on whether the first moment of recognition of striking physical similarity, which intimates the possibility of doubling, is affected with a determined negation and sublated into the viewer’s inability to discern whether the pianist and the others are identical- looking.”
Our character Karabasan knows all too well about this ‘phenomenology’. Karabasan often wears a fur hoodie jacket. In winter the face of our entity is covered, creating a figure resembling a boogie man, often mistaken for others. This jacket which is a certain iconic and apparent stereotypical item, or better put: icon, becomes the bearer of misconception and confusing/ mistaken identities. However in the context of Karabasan, we call it racial profiling.
“Above all, do not mistake me for another!” - Nietzsche
In Persona we are at some point confronted with this concept of misrecognition. When Alma watches Elisabet sleep, analyzing her face and the scars she covers with makeup. She hears a man yelling outside, and finds Elisabet’s husband, Mr. Vogler, in the garden. Mr. Vogler mistakes Alma for his wife, and despite her repeatedly interjecting with “I’m not your wife”, delivers a monologue about his love for her and the son they have together. Alma could be considered as Elisabet’s doppelganger.
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 35 The inability to easily concretize an identity can lead to feeling disconnected and cause dissociative effects like not recognizing your own reflection. Especially if this feeling is validated within the society. Meaning, institutionalized misrecognition and misinterpreting of your identity and/ or struggles identifying one. This can drive you to stare at your own face for too long, wondering who exactly you are and where you actually came from. It occurred to me that this sense of recognition is what most people experience every day of their life. As a result, they don’t feel compelled to look quite as hard in the mirror. This search for reflections in the world around us is an essential impulse that could be answered through the use of storytelling and cinema.
We all live on a shifting frontier between truth and fiction. Memories are collaborations between past and present. The events of our lives are shaped by the dreams, fantasies, and beliefs that circle them and vice versa. For some this hazy boundary between life and narrative takes on an added dimension of urgency, because in some ways ‘we’ (e.g. Karabasan and Elkisare) are forced to self invent from the gate. We have to escape from this invisibility caused by the homogenous narrative and shine the symbolic light on our own mirrors to reclaim what can and could be told by us, the others.
36 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror The mirroring face or, that was not me
What if looking in the mirror for too long makes you misrecognize yourself ? Gazing into the mirror for a prolonged time in a dimly lit room can cause one to hallucinate. Facial features may appear to melt, distort, rotate or disappear. Animalistic and/ or strange faces may appear. This setup, a dimly lit room, with a person staring into the mirror, is exactly what’s required for performing urban legends such as Bloody Mary, where you’re supposed repeat the name slowly, 13 times and Bloody Mary will appear in your mirror. What actually happens is that one loses sense of self because of a slightly hallucinatory induced misconception of one’s own reflection.
Lewis Carroll’s Alice from Alice in Wonderland asks herself: “But if I’m not the same, the next question is ‘Who in the world am I?’ Ah, that’s the great puzzle!” Alice sounds like she is going through a dissociative episode, she accepts this uncertainty and continues her journey, leaving me wondering if she actually did lose her‘self ’ in Wonderland. Could be fun.
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 37 Dale Cooper smashing his head into the mirror, revealing his true self. Twin Peaks, Season 2, episode 22: Beyond Life and Death
38 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Derealized reflection
Getting the mind back into the body always happens through the matter of using a certain horror, violence or pain. When Neo, in 'The Matrix' (1999) is covered with the mirror liquid, after taking the red pill, screams that it’s cold while looking terrified and in pain, almost going into shock. Character Rhoda in the Virginia Woolf novel ‘The Waves’: “I have to bang my hand against some hard door to call myself back to the body”.
Karabasan uses boxing when needed, but when derealization puts him off course it won’t understand nor have in control what will happen next. Karabasan was once seen pulling flowers out of the ground, to look at the roots with disbelief. It may seem more gentle than boxing, or holes through doors and mirrors, but actually, it is much more saddening and terrifying at the same time.
Forcing the psychological self back into the physical self. Or, like pinching yourself to either wake up from dreaming, or to realize the dream is still happening. Or, smashing the head against a mirror, as Dale Cooper did in Twin Peaks after he was supposedly rescued from the black lodge. Dale first empties a tube of toothpaste in the sink, grimacing. This scene looks like Dale is sleepwalking. We wish that was true. The dark entity that took his place looks in the mirror to see Dale Cooper reflected, not agreeing with this mirroring, Dale steps back to forcefully smash his head in the mirror, breaking it, now revealing the evil spirit Bob as his own reflection.
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 39 GG Allin - 1992
GZUZ - 2018 (Wass Hast du Gedacht - official music video)
40 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Derealized reflection
GG Allin comes to mind, who was best known for his outlandish live performances, which included a lot of self-mutilation like smashing glass bottles on his head. What makes this interesting is that his most successful album was titled: War in My Head – I’m Your Enemy. The enemy is the inner me?
Another reference we can make to the act of breaking glass on the head is to the German rapper GZUZ, who in his video, ‘Was hast du Gedacht’, smashes a bottle on his head while rapping. The blood colors his undead like, pale face red, blood dripping into his eyes and mouth. So incredibly violent and performative. Showing something, you as a viewer would never dare. The smash on the head is a confrontation, in the background of animalistic and primal behaviours, this scene is designed to play with the probes of being hardcore, not feeling pain, being over the top masculine, moreover; playing with the stereotype of what this type of a man is capable of. GZUZ is not going through the derealization, the viewer is. GZUZ is not actually hit on the head, the viewer is. Although the description could fit, we will not use the label bad boy to describe men like GZUZ, considering that this label is toxic and unfair, and, is used only for a special kind of man who’s allowed to be bad. We perceive the bad boy as a social, physiological and imaginative/ creative cultural phenomenon, serving as a release for our idic pleasures.
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 41 Jim Stark, James Dean’s character in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), is considered an example of the bad boy archetype. (Jacobs, 2013)
42 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Derealized reflection
The bad boy liberates us from conventional social and moral customs, allowing us to question ourselves. But when the bad boy goes too far, which is relatively personal to each; he repels us, creating a very conservative effect. Driving us back to the security of traditions and social controls. Whether he is altering a stable situation or forcing society to question its standards, the bad boy is always one of resistance and rebellion.
In the case of GZUZ, our rapper might be going too far, with snorting cocaine and shooting guns, leaving us questioning the given statement; When is it too far? And what exactly is rebellious? The bad boy is a cultural archetype, a male who behaves badly, especially within societal norms, but whose behaviour somehow can be forgiven. A label created by a very homogenous society would indicate it would only be used for members of this said society. Could the term 'Bad Boy' describe the complexity of GZUZ and his crew? Would society forgive them for not following the norm? And would the norm follow GZUZ and his diverse crew on their rebellious path? Probably not...
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 43 Neo reflected in the split mirror. The Matrix (1999)
44 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Disappearing otherness or, unreflectiveness
The room we enter has a vintage and quaint feeling. A fast pan towards Morpheus standing in front of the window, with his back turned to us, watching the storm outside, his arms inexplicably folded on his back. He turns towards us just as we enter the room. “At last!” he says with a grin on his face.
Like most scenes we’ve seen so far, we have been presented the ‘matrix world’, the colors saturated green celebrating the Matrix represent itself as the ‘mind world’.
Neo is sitting comfortably but nervous on an armchair, strapped to all kinds of electrical and high tech looking equipment. Cables strapped on his neck and arms. He focuses on the mirror next to him. The mirror is split, broken, cracked. While Neo moves forwards, testing if the reflection he sees is truly his own, he notices himself reflected twice. Presenting the symbolical split personality, or perhaps, in this case, his own doppelganger, because what we see is (1.) Neo’s matrix self, which is a reflection in itself, a coded copy that’s being projected to (2.) his true self, a machine created human, hibernating in a mechanical uterus, drowned in amniotic gue. There are two realities of Neo, therefore we see Neo reflected twice in the ‘cracked’ mirror. Two Neo’s, one split in the glass. When the mirror repairs itself, a chemically fueled visual caused by taking the red pill, it reflects only one Neo. He becomes curious and touches the smooth surface of the once split mirror. Upon doing so, Neo pulls his fingers back, realizing that the natural rules of solidity are overthrown and the mirror is now
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 45 Neo being swallowed by the liquid mirror. The Matrix (1999)
46 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Disappearing otherness or, unreflectiveness
liquid, covering his two fingers. Within seconds it begins to cover his hand, his arm and slowly his entire body, eventually completely eliminating the reflected existence of Neo in this green Matrix reality. His mind and body will now be part of the blue world, the real world. And this, in a sense, is the black and white duality within The matrix; the fight between the blue meat body vs the green data body. And here, it feels just to quote the most famous line from ‘The Highlander’: “There can only be One!” Which in this context is Neo, Neo is the one. The one who’s reflection was momentarily deleted.
But, what does it mean, really, to have no reflection? Even if it is just for a little while. Not reflected in the looking glass, perhaps not represented or hid, the mirror turned opaque, or liquid, swallowing your mirrored self.
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 47 Bram Stoker’s Dracula - Francis Ford Coppola (1992) Gary Oldman as Dracula, licking off Harker’s blood from the shaving knife.
48 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Vampires are people too (I.)
Following up on the question; What does it mean to have no reflection? I now introduce the night creature, the undead being, the vampire. And with the vampire, one encounters an inexistent mirror image hidden by inexistent breath (Toufic 2003), perhaps as a manifestation of the vampire’s lack of a soul. (Spence 1960) The now popular idea that vampires cast no reflection in a mirror (and often have an intense aversion to them) seems to have first been put forward in Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’. Soon after his arrival at Castle Dracula, Jonathan Harker observed that the building was devoid of mirrors. When Dracula silently came into Harker’s room while he was shaving, Harker noticed that Dracula, who was standing behind him, did not appear in the shaving mirror as he should have. Dracula complained that mirrors were objects of human vanity, and, seizing the shaving mirror, he broke it. In the film ‘Dracula’ (1992) by Francis Ford Coppola, we look back at this scene, where Jonathan Harker is shaving, and, accidentally cuts himself. Upon which the blood lures a floating, not walking, Dracula towards Harker’s neck, where the wound is bleeding. While he reaches with his long fingers to Harker’s neck, Harker notices that even though Dracula is standing right next to him, his reflection is not reflected inhis mirror.
Dracula breaks the mirror
DRACULA: A foul bauble of man’s vanity. Perhaps you should grow a beard.
Dracula takes the razor, turns and licks off the blood
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 49 Queen of the Damned (2002) The Vampire Lestat music video on MTV.
50 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Vampires are people too (I.)
The way Dracula breaks the mirror in this scene is without touching it, without seizing it. When Dracula realizes he is in front of the mirror, the realization of him not having a reflection, being undead and being a supernatural creature with certain supernatural powers, the disbelief and the horror of his existence, breaks the mirror. To which he responds: “A foul bauble of man’s vanity. Perhaps you should grow a beard.”
On occasion, in both vampire fiction and the cinema, the idea of non-reflection in mirrors has been extended to film, that is, the vampire would not appear in photographs if developed. (Melton, 2011)
This makes me wonder about the film Queen of the Damned (2002), where the vampire Lestat, we know from literature, becomes a famous rock star, whose music wakes up the queen of all vampires. The martyrdom that comes with the vampire’s duality; feeding on the society, the weak, but also in hiding to protect itself or the clan, is challenged by Lestat, whose music videos are repeatedly shown on MTV. He is challenging the vampires who are roaming the night, ultimately challenging his maker, his master, who left him alone all those years ago. “Come out, come out, wherever you are”.
These videos of Lestat however, interest me the most, since we speculate about the mirror as a character, one could say that the camera is a mirror, under Bram Stoker’s nonreflective vampire law, how does the undead make a music video? Perhaps there are different rules for the post-undead, creatures who found reflection through the usage of video cameras and are now able to manifest and exist within these borders. The way GZUZ raps into the camera, pointing
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 51 GZUZ - 2018 (Wass Hast du Gedacht - official music video)
Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (1976)
52 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Vampires are people too (I.)
his gun at you, topless, tattooed big body, showing off bullets, pouring liquor over anonymous women whose behinds are filmed very closely, smoking weed, sniffing coke and jumping around with his comrades, shows a very interesting flip of the mirror. A character like GZUZ who wouldn’t be able to identify in a different way, forces you to either accepts his reality the way that it is, hustling, or stand back in awe and disbelief. It is no surprise that World Star HipHop, a well known platform, picked up this video, sparking a sensational amount of reaction videos on youtube. Creating a very much mise en abyme like realization, a story within a story, a film within a film, a response within a response. The rawness of the video captivates the viewer, bordering between disgusting and beautiful. GZUZ, is like the vampire Lestat, calling to those who live underground. ‘Come out, come out, wherever you are.’
While researching I came across a very interesting detail about GZUZ. His online existence had put an nteresting twist on the idea of the disappearing identity. When the digital body is replaced with another name, what can be lost? GZUZ, known to me as Kemal Jonas Atillahan, is reportedly known as Kristoffer Jonas Klauß. His Turkish identity now lost in the Wikipedia history. Lost in google or just a mistaken vampire identity?
Karabasan is shocked when the news of GZUZ's German identity comes out, but stays loyal to his enjoyment. He always appreciated the velocity of GZUZ and values the transparency of his thug like behaviour. Because Karabasan sees freedom and diversity in his appearance. Never alone, always with the group., supported. The group of mixed Germans, like an alliance against whatever that crosses their paths. Judgemental Elkisave looks at the young faces of admiration, why play with the given stereotype and why play yourself into the role ‘they’ created for you? Why not be different from what is expected. Why fall for easy and condemn your brothers into these lies of a so called brotherhood.
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 53 Karabasan, in KARABASAN (2018)
54 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Vampires are people too (I.)
One could compare this rapper to Travis, from the film ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976), who talks to his reflection, aggressively pointing the gun to the mirror, which in the context of the memorable scene “are you talkin’ to me?’ could be considered that the mirror is us. Travis is actually talking to us, society, asking if we are talking to him. With a gun pointed at us, are we talking to him?
The boxer, kardes, brother, Karabasan. The Karabasan is not allowed to be a bad boy. As a response, the boxer becomes a different bad. An evil bad. An unchangeable, lost, type of bad. More fragile and damaged sort of bad. Although brother is sensitive and protective, boy is dangerous when pushed. Mother is life. Sister is life. Auntie is life. Protect at all costs. A heavy heart. The only way to go through it all is to go through it all. Only to come out more damaged and harmed. Dual senses of belonging created hybrid id, the mutated self, rejecting reality as it is but forced to live in it the way it always is. Not welcome, profiled, followed, shouted at, persecuted and punished. Mesmerized by the gold and glittering fame, toxicity levels rising. Good life, hustle hard. Always prove your manhood, leads the path of destruction and following nazar eyes, they want you to fall as hard as you possibly can. Which, you do. Again, and again. Always keep that sword underneath your bed, luck doesn’t follow you there. And then, when you least expect it, you realise who put you there, and then, the lights will go off, everything pitch black, your eyes won’t see light, and then, you start punching, punching against something.
But when Robert de Niro’s character in Taxi Driver accepts his own hostile self; the mentally unstable, aggressive loner in the mirror, which we see reflected throughout the film in his car’s side mirror, one could argue that the punching bag our Karabasan is fighting, is exactly like De Niro’s mirror, only more tactile and flexible, free in its movement and capable of meeting ones physicality within the notions of meeting the mirrored ‘bad’ self. No need to pull back the punches, because it can take it, and won’t break or split apart.
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 55 Blade (1998) filmposter. ‘The power of an immortal. The soul of a human. The heart of a hero.’
56 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Vampires are people too (II.)
The metaphor of the vampire is an interesting one. Especially because it is such a mysterious and charismatic character. Undead. Unreflective. Marx’s vampire however is less charismatic and more realistically and unattractively evil, since his vampire shows implications of class struggle—with the capitalist taking on the role of the vampire and the worker relegated to its prey. (Morissette, 2013) He was fascinated by the metaphor of capitalism as vampirism. For instance, in Das Kapital, Marx describes his subject as “dead labor, that, vampire-like, only lives sucking living labor, and lives the more, the more labor it sucks.” (Neocleous, 2003) The gothic creature is now an aristocrat, living in big mansions, literate and values cultural excellence all the while he lets his workers suffer.
It shows how in depth the character of the vampire is and also how the character is a platform in itself where different opinions can be reflected upon.
Mine is somewhat less Marxist, but yes, in modern day, Marx’s type of vampire is still prominent and existent. Although the symbolic vampire I admire has more to offer, giving face to those who don’t have one - the undead of the society - still, the bloodsucking elite plays a role in this version, as controllers of the platform, slowing down the process of a more diverse reflection.
The figure of the vampire is the ultimate individual: predatory, inhuman and anti-human, with no moral obligation to others. Of course, this selfishness leads to alienation. One of the great themes of vampire fiction is the tragedy of the vampire’s inability to connect with life except in a murderous way, or to live for centuries in what is the ultimate gate community. The only escape is the stake through the heart. (JSTOR Daily, 2019) Wrong - the vampire is ultimately a lonely being, but within its clan very protective and caring. Torn within, extreme dualities, forever in between the living and the dead. The Unreflective beings. The first vampire film I remember watching was Blade (2000) and it had an immense impact on me. A black vampire, half human - half vampire, daywalker, refused to suck blood, fought the good fight against evil vampires. A vampire who can resist the sunlight. A vampire who wouldn’t have to hide in the shadows. Somehow his character made me feel good about myself. I am a dark creature, but I can still live amongst you.
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 57 Bushido blowing up a car in Bushido & Sido video for ‘So mach ich es’.
Still from the CCTV footage of terror suspect Mohammed Ahmed Mohammed. (2013)
58 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Vampires are people too (III.)
Karabasan watches Bushido and Sido. Elkisave narrates.
It looks like a summer night, around sunset, the sky pink set, we watch Bushido, a German rapper walking in a very tall building, holding a tesbih. He makes a phone call to Sido. If you know these two German rappers, you would also know that the both of them are sworn enemies to each other. Sido answers while he’s being driven around in Berlin. After the short call we see Bushido pick up a gun from a table and Sido typing a number in his phone. A slow fade to the next day, we see Bushido again, still on his phone typing. Exterior, desert like area but with a flat in the back, we see a wrecked car behind him. Bushido walks in slow motion while he looks at his phone, the two women next to him, completely veiled, anonymous, are walking behind him, as if they are the bodyguards. After being done on his phone, Bushido puts it back in his pocket - simultaneously the car behind him explodes, the beat to the music kicks in, and we are left in awe. It’s big; the explosion, the music, the women.
The role of these women compared to the women in GZUZ’s video ‘Was Hast du Gedacht’ is a 180 degree turn. From objects to protectors? From very naked, to veiled? Fears around the burqa have been infested into our lives, Merkel discussing a burqa ban in 2016 set off conversations and new rules telling women what not to wear in Europe. The fear coming from not being able to recognise and identify, proving the mirroring philosophy has strains in our society.
Dark figures is what these women become. Faceless. And that is reason enough for UKIP leader Paul Nuttall to call for a burqa ban, citing risks and integration concerns. His claim: “If CCTV is to be effective, in an age of heightened terror, you need to see people’s faces.” – Paul Nuttall, 23 April 2017.
Nuttall sees his fears visualised with the news of a CCTV cam capturing footage of terror suspect Mohammed Ahmed Mohammed escaping, wearing a burqa.
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 59 Still from ‘Battle of Algiers.’ (1966)
Bushido robbing a bank, the veiled women pulling guns out of their burqas. (2011)
XATAR in his video GADDAFI. (2018)
The women army of Wakanda in Black Panther (2018)
60 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Vampires are people too (III.)
In ‘Battle of Algiers’ (1966) we see a visualisation of this fear as well. Where men wear veils to hide their identities and weaponry.
Fears of all the things a burqa could hide is also an important detail. The act of hiding becoming unacceptable. The fantasy of unveiling these women is again proven by acts of French colonists in Algeria, shown in 'The Battle of Algiers' where French women would stage 'unveilings' as an event. To prove they managed to get their Algerian ‘sisters’ on their side. ‘Following the staged unveilings, many Algerian women began wearing the veil. They wanted to make clear that they would define the terms of their emancipation – rather than being forcefully liberated by the French colonisers.’(The Conversation, 2019)
We continue watching Bushido and Sido.
Sido, after making a car explode, drives to a bank with Bushido and the veiled women. A great white German building. Sido walks in, again in slow motion, with the veiled women right behind him. They pull out guns and start shooting up the place.
As a response to burqa bans and widespread misinterpretations, watching Sido and Bushido use these cultural and so called problematic probes is exactly what excites so many. The image becomes cult. And the role of the woman is now a protector, a bodyguard, a soldier. Not the woman who hides in household, which is what's mostly interpreted by western culture. French women freeing Algerian women, giving them their faces 'back'.
In XATAR’s video GADDAFI we see this role repeated. The woman soldier. Just like in Sido and Bushido’s video, XATAR uses the image of the protective woman who are all standing behind him. We have seen this image repeated in Black Panther (2018) as well, where the army of Wakanda consists of women.
Using these stereotypes in an extreme way do create and set images that play with societal problems and it is a first step towards taking these elements and turning them into abstractions of culture. Creating a platform that’s unique with a different read. A platform where the other can recognise itself and thrive with the feeling of this reflection and of course, the support that comes with it.
The mirror reinvented, showing more than before.
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 61 Oct. 7 - 2018
We followed McGregor, that Irish bastard racist. He broke the windows by throwing chairs at the bus, where Khabib's people were in. He called Khabib's trainer a terrorist. He threw whiskey in the face of a Muslim. He called his traditional Dagestani headwear filth. Dehumanizing slurs and actions. His fans joining in. Enjoying every second. Drake holding an Irish flag up, proud. Karabasan and Elkisare can't wait for the brutal reckoning, for they feel offended too. For they are tired of this shit too. Within 10 minutes Drake's face turns from cockiness to fear. Khabib already choked out McGregor and we watch him fly out of the octagon like an eagle. He trained with bears when he was a kid. Sweet revenge is what he took that night. One by one, those who stood in his way, felt his fire. Karabasan and Elkisave watch in awe and the feeling in their guts is indescribebly uplifting. The more Khabib punched, the more we enjoyed it. A monster is what they called him afterwards. Cowardly and ridiculous is what they called his actions. But we know better, McGregor deserved every humiliation that was layed upon him that night. Khabib, the monstrous undead, fought his way into the lives of the living.
Elkisave realizes a flaw, one that she didn't always feel. Judgemental towards everything that would mildy remind her of excessive cultural stereotyping, now sees this magnificent character develop. The boxer. And because of this character, others developped too. The thug. The criminal. The veiled woman with guns. All these characters, so iconic and powerful, otherworldly. Cult. If there is nothing else out there to compare yourself with, why not play with these existent images yourself? A story wihtin a story, and this how Karabasan is created. And because Karabasan was created, Elkisave existed. And thus Elkisave and Karabasan will both continue developing and analyzing their narratives wihtin these borders. Until they are powerful enough to jump out, just like their man Khabib.
62 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Conclusion: Karabasan and Elkisave watch a fight
We are coming for everything you hold dear is what GZUZ would say. Performatively. While looking for ourselves as an ongoing research, this journey will continue looking for inarticulable questions. Inarticulable - because simply there is no language to articulate the question just as there is no language to articulate Karabasan or the Other. Where we are outside of this field of legibility, like the undead without a reflection in the society's mirror. The mirror exists, but we have no reflection.
Forever using the mirror and mirroring as a medium for thinking.
Questioning the work within the incapacity to articulate, questioning if the work should try to translate itself to the field of legibility, with the language of the system and the law, or, should the work question ways to have the law exit itself.
This thesis intuitively followed ideas from ideas, resulting into a collection of statements for me to use in my artistic practice, especially towards graduation and beyond. Karabasan (2018) will grow into Elkisave (planned for 2019), which will grow into another project. Hopefully continuing experimenting with the probes that were mentioned in this research. Forever experimenting with the mirror and the reflections of others.
In the meantime accepting my monstrous self, more radical and aware, like my brother Karabasan.
Bless.
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 63 64 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror "Isn’t it too dreamy."
Audrey Horne , Twin Peaks
"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream"
Edgar Allan Poe
"We are like the dreamer who dreams, and then lives inside the dream. But who is the dreamer?"
Monica Bellucci (as Monica Bellucci), Twin Peaks
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 65 66 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Colophon
Written and designed by Elif Ozbay as part of the requirements needed to obtain the MA degree in Fine Art and Design with the program Shadow Channel. Film, Design & Propaganda, at Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam.
Reedited on February 28th after noticing that a false name was used for the German rapper GZUZ.
Amsterdam, 2019
The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 67 Moving image:
1. Amityville Horror. Dir. Stuart Rosenberg American International Pictures, 1979. Film 2. Candyman. Dir. Bernard Rose Tristar Pictures,1992. Film 3. Constantine. Dir. Francis Lawrence Warner Bros, 2005. Film 4. The Battle of Algiers. Dir. Gillo Pontecorvo RCS Media Group & Rialto Pictures, 1966. Film 5. Blacula. Dir. William Crane American International Pictures, 1972. Film 6. Blade. Dir. Stephen Norrington New Line Cinema, 1998. Film 7. Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola Columbia Pictures, 1992. Film 8. Get Out. Dir. Jordan Peele Universal Pictures, 2017. Film 9. The Matrix. Dir. The Wachowskis Warner Bros, 1999. FIlm 10. Nightmare on Elm Street. Dir. Samuel Bayer New Line Cinema, 2010. Film 11. Persona. Dir. Ingmar Bergman American Internatiol Pictures, 1966. Film 12. Prince of Darkness. Dir. John Carpenter Universal Pictures, 1987. Film 13. Tales from the Hood. Dir. Rusty Cundieff Savoy Pictures, 1995. Film 14. Taxi Driver. Dir. Martin Scorsese Columbia Pictures, 1976. Film 15. Thir13een Ghosts. Dir. Steve Beck Warner Bros, 2001. Film 16. Twin Peaks Seasons 1 & 2. Creators David Lynch & Mark Frost ABC, 1990-1991. Television series. 17. Twin Peaks: The Return. Creators David Lynch & Mark Frost Showtime, 2017. Television series. 18. Pet Sematary. Dir. Mary Lambert Paramount Pictures, 1989. Film
68 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Bibliography
19. Queen of the Damned. Dir. Michael Rymer Warner Bros, 2002. Film 20. The Shining. Dir. Stanley Kubrick Warner Bros, 1980. Film 21. Unbreakable. Dir M. Night Shyamalan Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2000. Film
Moving image online:
22. BUSHIDO. (2011). 23 - Bushido & Sido - So mach ich es. [Online Video]. 4 October 2011. Available from: www.youtube.com. [Accessed: 1 February 2019]. 23. YouTube. (2018) ALLES ODER NIX RECORDS. (2018). XATAR - GADDAFI (Official Video). [Online Video]. 2 August 2018. Available from: www.youtube.com. [Accessed: 1 February 2019]. 24. YouTube. (2018) WORLDSTARHIPHOP. (2018). GZUZ "Was Hast Du Gedacht" (WSHH Exclusive - Official Music Video). [Online Video]. 18 February 2018. Available from: www.youtube.com. [Accessed: 1 February 2019]. 25. WoodzWorkTv. (2018). GZUZ "Was Hast Du Gedacht"WWT Reaction. [Online Video]. 13 February 2018. Available from: www.youtube.com. [Accessed: 1 February 2019]. 26. V KINGS. (2018). GZUZ "Was Hast Du Gedacht" (WSHH Exclusive - Official Music Video) - German Drill Music REACTION!. [Online Video]. 13 February 2018. Available from: www.youtube.com. [Accessed: 1 February 2019]. 27. mma hicks. (2018). conor mcgregor vs khabib nurmagomadov full fight ufc229 HD. [Online Video]. 5 November 2018. Available from: www.youtube.com. [Accessed: 17 January 2019].
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The Insecure Mirror - Elif Ozbay 73 74 Elif Ozbay - The Insecure Mirror Thank you.
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