The Kurdish Issue in Turkish Cinema free essay sample

In World history, the first movie was made by the â€Å"Lumiere Brothers†, it was just a view of a train entering the station in Paris. In November 1914, during the Ottoman Empire and Russian war, Russian soldiers erected a monument in Ayastafanos (Yesilkoy), Istanbul, and Ottoman army’s reserve officer Fuat Uzk? nay recorded that monument with his camera. This historical document is accepted as the â€Å"first Turkish movie. † Afterwards, shooting war or document films continued until the last years of the war -1917,1918-, they were related to the supreme commander or Sultans’ private and official lives. After the foundation of the ‘Turkish Republic’, all languages except Turkish were prohibited by force with the Maintenance of Order (Takrir-i Sukun). There would not be existence of other public except ‘Turks’. Futhermore, with the Zilan massacre (Sark Islahat Plan? ) which was signed by Mustafa Kemal, the Kurdish language was banned and if one talked Kurdish he/she would be punished. We will write a custom essay sample on The Kurdish Issue in Turkish Cinema or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page However, What was the role of art during this troublesome process? What kind of works were made in Turkish cinema? How were the ‘Kurds’ and the ‘Kurdish issue’ involved in Turkish cinema? We can divide the â€Å"Kurdish issue in Turkish cinema† into three sections: Kurds non-existence 1950s-1960s, uncertainty situation 1970s-1980s, development and solution process 1990s, 2000s. When all Turkish cinema is analyzed, it can be percieved that Kurds were always in Turkish cinema. Yet, the Kurds’ existence was not fair, peope just may feel them. Characters in the first Turkish movies were emphasized as Turkish heroes, handsome, and powerful. Muhsin Ertugrul is a very significant director and his movies may be accepted as the ‘real emergence of Turkish cinema. Besides Muhsin Ertugrul, Yasar Kemal is another important man who told about Kurds in Turkish cinema. Before him, Kurds were just in tales and stories. In transferring the Kurds from tales to cinema At? f Y? lmaz, Huseyin Peyda, Osman Sahin, Bekir Y? ld? z, Kemal Bilbasar and Ferid Edgu’s role is dramatically big. The Kurds and the ‘kurdish issue’ are involved in Turkish cinema a round ‘country’ movies. The first and most important example is Daglar? Bekleyen K? z (1955). This movie shows the Dersim, Tunceli mountains and it offers a solution prescription about the ‘Kurdish issue’. This solution is â€Å"drop your gun, denounce your friends, and surrender. †Mezar? m? Tastan Oyun (1951) and Kanl? Feryad (1951) are other examples of these movies. The rise of proletariat and the immigration of the Kurds are the main subjects of these movies. In the 1960s, in the movies Gurbet Kuslar? (1964) and Bitmeyen Yol (1965) the people’s identities are not stated yet. When we come to beginning of 1970s, Turkey’s problem was economy. If economy went well, then the Kurdish issue would already be solved. Kurds were still characters such as: Bedrana, Gulusan etc. nd they took a part in movies an underdevelopment, customs. With migration, Kurds went to urban areas, however they could not go beyond becoming a doormen, sycophant etc.. Y? lmaz Guney is also a very important actor and director in terms of Kurds and the Kurdish issue in Turkish cinema. Guney made many movies throughout his short life. Furthermore, most of his movies were related with the Kurdish i ssue. Yes, Guney was aware of the Kurdish issue, nevertheless, he could not transfer his ideas to movies properly. For instance, we can realise that in the movie Endise which was realised in 1971. The Kurdish issue and it’s solution were handled in that movie. Kurds are Kurds with their clothes and eating style, however, they still do not have national identities . In the Middle of the 1970s, cameras turned to Kurds’ traditional lives, their customs, and daily lives. Berdel, blood revenge, dowry payment, co-wife, smuggling were issues treated in these movies. After the 1970s, Kurds entered Turkish cinema as actors and producers. In the Turkish Republic’s dark era, the 1980s, Y? lmaz Guney, Zeki Oktan and Bilge Olgac were the Kurds inside Turkish cinema. The movie Yol (1981) is a turning point fort he Kurdish issue in Turkish cinema. Hakkari’de Bir Mevsim (1982) is another movie which tells the Kurds’ in country life. Sinan Cetin’s Bir Gunun Hikayesi (1980) is the most detailed movie which includes Kurds. In this movie Cetin told traditional Kurds’ lives, and he used Kurdish tunes. Meanwhile, Y? lmaz Guney went to jail and when he came back, he was interested in the Kurdish issue.. It should not be skipped that, Kurds loved cinema with Y? lmaz Guney. Turkey was changed from the begining of the 1990s in many aspects. As Aynur Dogan mentioned in Fatih Ak? n’s Istanbul documentary, â€Å"in the 1980s, alhough English, French, German music was legal Kurdish music was prohibited. However, after the 1990s, it became legal. † Kurdish people, started to have voice in the political arena, and in parallel some classic Kurdish epics were turned into movies. Siyabend u Xece (1991) and Mem u Zin (1991) are the first examples of Kurdish epic movies. Is? klar Sonmesin (1996) Reis Celik’s movie is the first movie which mentions the guerrilla in the Turkish cinema. This movie in a way is a war movie. Additionally, the Kurdish issue is mentioned in that movie and some dialogs in the movie are in Kurdish. Towards the end of the 1990s, the Kurdish issue was mentioned in the movies obviously. There were two significant directors: Yesim Ustaoglu and Handan Ipekci. Yesim Ustaoglu told about the Kurds and the Kurdish issue in Gunese Yolculuk (1998). The protagonist Mehmet is from Tire, Izmir, he has a dark skin, so everbody thinks that he is a Kurd. Handan Ipekci and Yesim Ustaoglu emphasized the Kurds and the Kurdish issue clearly in the beginnings of the 2000s. So, the Kurds and Kurdish issue movies started to be published. Another important movie â€Å"Buyuk Adam Kucuk Ask (2001)† which includes the solution of Kurdish issue, was published by Handan Ipekci. Thanks to AB Kat? l? m Ortakl? g? Belgesi, (Accession Partnership Document) Turkish citizens started to be able to broadcast on TV and radio in their mother tongue. And in 2004, TRT started to broadcast in Arabic, Circassian, Bosnian, and Kurdish languages.. Within the same year, Yavuz Turgul made Gonul Yaras? and showed Kurds implicitly. In addition, Hulya Kocyigit, Turkan Soray, Fatma Girik, Tar? Akan, Hakan Balamir, Sener Sen, Kemal Sunal, and Ilyas Salman are actors/actresses who represent the Kurds in the Turkish cinema history. There are many other Kurds and Kurdish issue movies which have been made up to today, however, we can not mention all of them here. To summarize, although their identities were not fair and certain until the 1990s’ end, Kurds and the Kurdish i ssue somehow existed in Turkish cinema. It is understood that some prohibitions and interferences restricted the individuals’ way of thinking and as a result of this the productions made by significant directors could not became so clear. This kind of movies will be expressed and emphasized until the Kurdish issue ends. However, the main concerns are: Could the Kurdish issue be solved? What is the solution of the Kurdish issue? Furthermore, could the Kurdish issue be solved via this kind of movies? Maybe, one day. Kaynakca Ak? n, F. (Yoneten). (2005). Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul [Sinema Filmi]. Erdogan, N. (1992). Sinema Kitab?. Istanbul: Agac Yay? nc? l? k. Scalbert, C. (2005). Conflit L? nguistique Et Champ Litteraire Kurden En Tudquie. Paris. Scognamillo, G. (1990). Turk Sinema Tarihi Birinci Cilt, 1896 1959. Istanbul: Metis Yay? nlar?. Turgul, Y. (Yoneten). (2005). Gonul Yaras? [Sinema Filmi]. Yucel, M. (2008). Turk Sinemas? nda Kurtler. Istanbul: Agora Kitapl? g?. [ 1 ]. Nezih Erdogan, Sinema Kitab? , Istanbul, 1992 [ 2 ]. Muslum Yucel, Turk Sinemas? nda Kurtler, Istanbul, 2008 s. 24,25 [ 3 ]. Muslum Yucel, a. g. e. , s. 16 [ 4 ]. Look. Atesten Gomlek (1923) , Bir Millet Uyan? yor(1932) , Batakl? Dam? n K? z? Aysel (1932) [ 5 ]. Muslum Yucel, a. g. e. , s. 29 [ 6 ]. Muslum Yucel, a. g. e. , s. 07,108 [ 7 ]. Muslum Yucel, a. g. e. , s. 44 [ 8 ]. Muslum Yucel, a. g. e. , s. 35 [ 9 ]. Muslum Yucel, a. g. e. , s. 37 [ 10 ]. Muslum Yucel, a. g. e. , s. 135 [ 11 ]. Muslum Yucel, a. g. e. , s. 94 [ 12 ]. Muslum Yucel, a. g. e. , s. 37 [ 13 ]. Muslum Yucel, a. g. e. , s. 169 [ 14 ]. Fatih Ak? n, Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (2005) (movie) [ 15 ]. Muslum Yucel, a. g. e. , s. 34 [ 16 ]. Muslum Yucel, a. g. e. , s. 238,239 [ 17 ]. Muslum Yucel, a. g. e. , s. 81 [ 18 ]. Clemence Scalbert, Conflit L? nguistique Et Champ Litteraire Kurden En Tudquie, Paris, 2005, s. 78