Identity and Success in Turkish Cinema

In 1989 the number of cinema movie viewers in Turkey started to be measured. The figures show a significant increase in attendance and earnings on the last twenty years. Based on these data it is possible to state that since the 2000s the Turkish film industry has become a mass phenomenon and a very profitable business. According to the research conducted such success can be explained by several reasons. First, the impressive growth of the film-making sector has made it independent from the television industry. Secondly, the proliferation of high-budget production companies. Thirdly, the boost driven by legal and governmental incentives. Fourthly, the massification of mass media and marketing networks, especially spurred by the huge spreading of internet and the new social ones. Finally, the improvement of the average income of Turkey’s population. Regarding the movies massively attended, most of them are Turkish comedies which are attractive to domestic audiences not only as entertainment but also because they involve identity references. In this sense, the Turkish spectator feels himself depicted in the screen in an active manner (the behaviors and reactions by the characters are a representation of Turkish idiosyncrasy) as well as in a passive one (the character represents the type of Turk the spectator feels he is not). Besides comedies, domestic dramas or action movies appealing to nationalistic elements are also well received by the Turkish public. The underlying discussion refers to an undefined contest for what Turkishness means within a society that has experienced many economic, political and social changes in recent decades, which have created an identity crisis

Cultural and Sociopolitical Studies · History · Islamic Thought and Society Studies · Turkish Literature and Culture

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