The Golden Okra Award, that has emerged as a result of desire to speak out in resistance and criticism against the overwhelming predominance of the patriarchal perspective and male gaze, the continuing constriction of space for women, the fostering of false myths about and perceptions of women, the re-production and re-presentation of sexist perspectives, and the force-feeding of this discrimination to the point that it is perceived as a natural and common truth, announces winners after expanded jury's votes on nominees that The Golden Okra Academy Preliminary Jury has announced.
1st Golden Okra Awards
1. Male Character:
Having men as the center of all the meaning and action is the most obvious reflection of sexism in film: in such films, men and their powers are at the center of the story, and the films are based upon objectification and ridicule of women (female characters), who are presented in a negative light:
In choosing the award-winner for male character, the "male" role and its models which are validated and reaffirmed by the male character, and the very risky meanings and results that could arise out of identification with that role and its models are taken into consideration, with no regard for the actor's particular interpretation of the role.
Our nominees for the 2008 Golden Okra in the category of Male Character are:
- - Aşk Tutulması (Eclipse of the Heart)
- - Issız Adam (The Desolate Man)
- - Recep İvedik
And ... Recep İvedik left behind the other nominees and took the 1st Golden Okra Male Character Award throughout taking 34 votes of 61 of extended jury!
2. Female Character:
A woman is a character, a person. So long as she is not considered a real character and treated as such, so long as she is portrayed from a patriarchal perspective, so long as representations of her are incomplete, careless, and detrimental, so long as she is typified as "unpredictable, fickle, unreliable, diabolic, the mother of all evils, pure good vs. pure evil, self-sacrificing mother, an object to be viewed, weak, etc." then any holistic reflection of women on the big screen will continue to be impossible.
When evaluating for this category, the meanings created by the female character, the readings that the character inspired/encouraged in the public sphere, and the degree to which the character validated and reaffirmed sexist behavior, roles, and stereotypes are taken into consideration, with no regard for the actress's particular interpretation of the role.
Our nominees for the 2008 Golden Okra in the category of Female Character are:
- Aşk Tutulması (Eclipse of the Heart)
- Osmanlı Cumhuriyeti (The Ottoman Republic)
- Üç Maymun (Three Monkeys)
And ... Üç Maymun (Three Monkeys) left behind the other nominees and took the 1st Golden Okra Female Character Award throughout taking 35 votes of extended jury!
3. Script:
When evaluating for this category, the degree to which a screenplay contains the marks of sexism, even when read simply as a scenario and considered apart from all cinematic aspects, failure to approach both male and female characters in a fair and equal manner and the way in which this attitude pervades every scene of the screenplay, every dialogue and every character, and the sexist elements the screenplay contains, were all taken into consideration.
Our nominees for the 2008 Golden Okra in the category of Screenplay are:
- Issız Adam (The Desolate Man)
- Üç Maymun (Three Monkeys)
- Vesaire Vesaire (Etcetera Etcetera)
And... Issız Adam(The Desolate Man) and Üç Maymun (Three Monkeys) both took 26 votes and shared the 1st Golden Okra Script Award.
4. Film:
Nominees in the category of Film are evaluated by taking into consideration all elements and aspects of the film at once, from lighting to framing, from the male and female characters to the director's interpretation, and the perfectly consistent sexist "whole" ultimately created by the sum of these parts.
Our nominees for the 2008 Golden Okra in the category of Film are:
- Aşk tutulması (Eclipse of the Heart)
- Issız Adam (The Desolate Man)
- Recep İvedik
And... Issız Adam (The Desolate Man) had the 1st Golden Okra Film Award through taking 26 votes.
5- Jury Special- Diamond Ring Okra Award
- Çılgın Dershane Kampta (Crazy Class at Camp)
- Süper Ajan K9 (Super Agent K9)
- Şeytanın Pabucu (Shoes of Evil)
6- Jury Special - Homophobia Award
- Recep İvedik
2nd Golden Okra Awards
1. Male Character:
Having men as the center of all the meaning and action is the most obvious reflection of sexism in film: in such films, men and their powers are at the center of the story, and the films are based upon objectification and ridicule of women (female characters), who are presented in a negative light:
In choosing the award-winner for male character, the "male" role and its models which are validated and reaffirmed by the male character, and the very risky meanings and results that could arise out of identification with that role and its models are taken into consideration, with no regard for the actor's particular interpretation of the role.
Our nominees for the 2009 / 2. Golden Okra in the category of Male Character are:
- Nefes (All male caracters)
- Acı Aşk (Orhan)
- Süt (Yusuf)
2. Female Character:
A woman is a character, a person. So long as she is not considered a real character and treated as such, so long as she is portrayed from a patriarchal perspective, so long as representations of her are incomplete, careless, and detrimental, so long as she is typified as "unpredictable, fickle, unreliable, diabolic, the mother of all evils, pure good vs. pure evil, self-sacrificing mother, an object to be viewed, weak, etc." then any holistic reflection of women on the big screen will continue to be impossible.
When evaluating for this category, the meanings created by the female character, the readings that the character inspired/encouraged in the public sphere, and the degree to which the character validated and reaffirmed sexist behavior, roles, and stereotypes are taken into consideration, with no regard for the actress's particular interpretation of the role.
Our nominees for the 2009 / 2. Golden Okra in the category of Female Character are:
- Acı Aşk (Ayşe, Oya, Seda)
- Güz Sancısı (Eleni, Grandmother)
- Adını Sen Koy (Aybike)
3. Script:
When evaluating for this category, the degree to which a screenplay contains the marks of sexism, even when read simply as a scenario and considered apart from all cinematic aspects, failure to approach both male and female characters in a fair and equal manner and the way in which this attitude pervades every scene of the screenplay, every dialogue and every character, and the sexist elements the screenplay contains, were all taken into consideration.
Our nominees for the 2009 / 2. Golden Okra in the category of Screenplay are:
- Nefes
- Güz Sancısı
- Bornova Bornova
4. Film:
Nominees in the category of Film are evaluated by taking into consideration all elements and aspects of the film at once, from lighting to framing, from the male and female characters to the director's interpretation, and the perfectly consistent sexist "whole" ultimately created by the sum of these parts.
Our nominees for the 2009 / 2. Golden Okra in the category of Film are:
- Acı Aşk
- Yedi Kocalı Hürmüz
- Güz Sancısı
Jury Special Awards
Diamond Ring Okra Award
In this category are evaluated films where women bodies, besides being fragmented through various compositions, are presented as pornographic materials especially in terms of general directing and cinematography. Even though theses films don’t have any nominees for Male Character, Women Character, Script and Films Awards, they are included in this category because they contain a very special and different sexist view.
Homophobia Award
In this category are evaluated films that see and show homosexuality and homosexuals as a comedy element, a humiliation tool and as avoided appalling “others”.
Nominees for the Female Character, Male Character, Script and Film categories obtaining most votes for their category from the extended jury will be awarded and also obtain the pre jury special prize on March 21st, 2010 in the 2nd Golden Okra Award Ceremony.
It is our hope that we will be unable to find any candidates for Golden Okra Award in the years to come...