Turkish Cinema / A journey to the sun

Question 1

Turkish Cinema (Erdogan and Gokturk)

Answer 1

Transnational perspectives
- % of Turkish films shown is small compared to Hollywood imports
- Turkish cinema has a transnational presence as well as through Turkish Diaspora to Germany

Themes in Turkish cinema
- Migration

Question 2

Turkish and Kurdish cinema

Question 3

Turkish cinema

Answer 3

Interest in cultivating one nation
Not anti islam but non-religion
Separation of state and religion
Promotes a secular government

Question 4

Kurdish cinema

Answer 4

Kurdish cinema is transnational
Stateless

Question 5

Censorship in T&K cin

Answer 5

Censor films that offend government, propagate religion, provoke crime, poverty
Growth of a national identity is stunted through suppression

Question 6

JTTS Plot

Answer 6

Mehmet, a water department worker in Istanbul, faces discrimination due to his dark complexion resembling Kurds. He uses a metal ear trumpet to detect leaks. His life intertwines with Arzu, his girlfriend from the laundry, and Berzan, a Kurdish cassette seller. Tensions rise with news of Kurdish prisoners’ hunger strikes. Mehmet’s life takes a drastic turn when wrongly implicated in a gun incident, leading to his detention, beating, and a week in jail. After release, he loses his job and home, relying on Berzan and Arzu for support.

Question 7

Space in Journey to the sun

Answer 7

Metropolis vs open space

Istanbul is claustrophobic
First time we see water is sewage
He is working for sewage

Kurdish land is open
“Journey to the sun”
- Implies current location is dark and cold

Question 8

Exilic cinema

Answer 8

• What does it mean to make cinema that is unrooted - memory, trauma, idenity