Allegorized Subaltern: Subjectivity and Death in the Works of Bahman Ghobadi

The aim of the present study is to explore the reflection of the subaltern in the works of Kurdish filmmaker, Bahman Ghobadi. In order to do so, three periods in the development of the works of Ghobadi is analyzed. These periods include the time prior to the invasion of Iraq by United States and its allies when A Time for Drunken Horses (2000) and The Songs of my Homeland (2002) appear. The second phase is at the time of the invasion of Iraq including Turtles can Fly (2004), and the third period is after the invasion with Rhino Season (2012). These works deal with the neglected minority within Kurdish ethnicity and look through the ways in which there might be a possibility for this group to attain a sense of identity. Facing internal and external oppression, minority-within-minority section of the Kurdish society finds no way for resistance other than death where the power structures that are in a tacit concurrence in its subjugation are challenged and as a result, a space is created where the subaltern can speak. Index Terms--subaltern, Bahman Ghobadi, minority, identity, death, resistance