Üsküdar Üniversitesi Political Psychology Center Assistant Director Ayça Ferda Kansu moderated the program titled “Bir Başkadır Series Analysis – Traumatized Woman Ruhiye.” Dr. Meltem Narter, Head of Psychology Department at Üsküdar Üniversitesi, and Dr. Esra Işık, Lecturer at the Psychology Department, attended the program.
Kansu: “When the character Ruhiye is mentioned, it took shape as trauma.”
Kansu stated that there are many extensive concepts to discuss due to the series' multi-layered structure; “The series has a psychological dimension, a sociological dimension, a political dimension, and an artistic dimension. Depending on your approach, it was possible to address it from many angles. But we wanted to examine the characters one by one. We said that by taking the characters individually, we could interpret the main characters and situations of psychology through them. Thus, we wanted to add a perspective for our psychology department students, those interested in psychology, and everyone who loves the film, to think and converse together. We decided to first address the character of Ruhiye. When the character Ruhiye is mentioned, it took shape as trauma.” she said.
Narter: “Initially, we thought Ruhiye was the one who needed to see a psychiatrist.”
Analyzing the character of Ruhiye, Narter stated; “Bir Başkadır is a very special series. The unfolding of each character actually opens up a certain area. That is, the reason we chose Ruhiye was that she was the one who most interested us in relation to psychology. Ruhiye appears very depressive and withdrawn. Initially, we thought Ruhiye was the one who needed to see a psychiatrist. Ruhiye appears to be a good mother. She has a very good relationship with her children. She treats them very warmly. Her husband doesn't treat her well at all. But at the same time, he treats her very well. Ruhiye has a sense of being cared for, but it leaves us with the impression that she might be taking advantage of it. She has left all the household chores to her sister-in-law. Ruhiye just smokes and gazes into the distance. She is a very calm and self-contained person. It's as if nothing is wrong, everything is going well, life is very ordinary, nothing has happened to anyone, and she has experienced nothing. Ruhiye is going through a serious illness and has severe trauma. We cannot solve the violence against her by 'fixing' Ruhiye. To solve this violence, we need to consider that the issue is not a women's issue, but a men's issue, and what men's problem-solving methods should be.” she commented.
Işık: “Confrontation is a serious tool for reducing trauma.”
Touching upon the relationship between trauma and depression, Dr. Işık said; “Ruhiye is a woman who seems to be overwhelmed by the burden of the trauma she experienced and tries to move with its weight. She has a calm, slow, seemingly uneventful, monotonous appearance. Therefore, beneath that facade, we see her as crushed, diminished, and lost. We understood there was a problem with Ruhiye, but we couldn't understand what it was until we learned she had been raped. Two years prior, her husband tells her that her rapist had died. Up to that point, things weren't going badly. She was better until then. According to Meryem's accounts, Ruhiye had completely lost her functionality in the last two years and had made suicide attempts. Here we see how trauma is actually related to depression and how it brings about depressive symptoms. Ruhiye is actually a character who wants to cope. She actually has a very strong side. She wants to do something, to settle accounts. She realized she needed to do something by going to the village. The method she used there is confrontation. She takes this path because she believes it will help her. Confrontation is a serious tool for reducing trauma. She is looking for a mechanism that will allow her to confront that trauma and make sense of what happened. Her going there also works. Her anxiety and fear decrease with confrontation. The fact that the life of the person who ruined hers is also ruined also makes Ruhiye feel better. The administration of justice is moving towards something healing.” she stated.