1-pager on Bliss The film Bliss captures a transformation of two Anatolian youngsters who feel obligated to societal customs yet urge for freedom to decide and control their unknown future. After watching the film, I was pleased that the mystery finally unraveled and the conflicted was resolved. However, as I ponder about the outcome more, I realized that the happy ending was just an instant gratification for audience. It was Cemar, a male protagonist, who has transformed and gained freedom through the experience, not Meryem, who still remained to be a passive woman whose destiny was decided by her male counterparts. The Bliss narrates the story from patriarchal point of view. In the beginning of the film, it focuses on how the town people react to the rape rather than Meryem’s frustration. By showing shots of Meryem’s stepmother throwing a rope for Meryem to hang herself and watching her the film portray the stepmother unsympathetic and malicious. Despite constant hesitance, Meryem’s father agreement to her uncle’s decision to murder her proposes a fatal flaw of the traditional system. The custom of the system taints everyone’s point of view that Meryem’s own brother refuses to have a physical contact with her. On the other hand, the audience only know about Meryem through other people’s eyes. Even though I felt sorry about her situation, it was difficult to understand her thought process(why she wants to protect her uncle and why she falls in love with Cemar) because so little was explained about her. Principally, the film portrays Meryem an innocent yet clever girl who is ready to explore the outside world and quickly adopts Irfan’s teaching. From time to time, she manages to take her voice back; she tells Cemar that he and other people do not care about what she wants and she is tired of bluntly following orders. However, she remains passive and does little to change the situation she faces. Meryem survives from suicidal attempt because Cemar