NAZISM IDEOLOGY IN TURKISH CINEMA: “KIRIMLI” FILM AND SEMIOTICS ANALYSIS
In the 20th century, the cinema became an important communication tool for the ruling sovereign powers to reflect their ideologies and start dominating the masses. In particular, ideological rhetoric was common in the cinema sector in the first half of the 20th century when ideologies such as Nazism, Communism, and Fascism dominated Europe. The Nazi ideology had found a considerable place in the cinema sector after the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933. The ideology of Nazism was criticized in American films such as The Great Dictator (1940), whereas it was exalted in German films such as Triumph of the Will (Triumph des Willens, 1935) when the Nazis were in power in Germany. In the period after World War II, when Nazism was officially abolished, the films about the ideology of Nazism continued to be made. In these films, Nazi ideology was heavy criticized. Later Turkish cinema subjected Nazi ideology to deep criticism in such films as the Ankara Express (Ankara Ekspresi, 1971). This study examines Burak Cem Arlıel’s film Kırımlı, which was shown in 2014. The movie, which was adapted to the screen from Cengiz Dağcı’s novel Horrible Years (Korkunç Yillar, 1956) about the human tragedy and pain suffered by the Tatar prisoners captured in German prisoner camps during the Second World War. This study’s methodology is based on Saussure’s notion of signs. The study examines the ideology of Nazism in the film using semiotic analysis to show how Nazi ideology was reflected in Turkish cinema. The study finds that like other Turkish films on the subject, Kırımlı subjects Nazi ideology to severe criticism.
TÜRK SİNEMASINDA NAZİZM İDEOLOJİSİ: “KIRIMLI” FİLMİ VE GÖSTERGEBİLİMSEL ANALİZİ
20. yüzyılda sinema, iktidardaki egemen güçlerin ideolojilerini kitlelere yansıtılmalarında ve onlar üzerinde tahakküm kurmalarında başvurdukları önemli bir iletişim aracı olmuştur. Özellikle 20. yüzyılın ilk yarısında Nazizm, Komünizm ve Faşizm gibi ideolojilerin Avrupa’da egemen olduğu yıllarda, sinema sektöründe ideolojik söylemlerin hâkim olduğu bir dönem yaşanmıştır. 1933 yılında Almanya’da Nazilerin işbaşına geldiği tarihten itibaren de Nazizm ideolojisi sinema sektöründe geniş yer bulmuştur. Nazilerin Almanya’da iktidarda olduğu dönemde, Nazizm ideolojisi İradenin Zaferi (Triumph des Willens - 1935) gibi Alman yapımı filmlerde yüceltilirken, Büyük Diktatör (The Great Dictator - 1940) gibi Amerikan yapımı filmlerde de oldukça sert bir dille eleştirilmiştir. Nazizm’in resmi olarak ortadan kaldırıldığı 2. Dünya Savaşı’ndan sonraki dönemde de Nazizm ideolojisini konu alan filmler çekilmeye devam etmiştir. Bu filmlerde ideoloji ağır eleştiriler almaya devam etmiştir. Özellikle Türk sinemasında Ankara Ekspresi (1971) gibi Nazizmi konu alan filmlerde de ideolojinin geniş bir eleştiriye maruz kaldığı görülmektedir. Bu çalışmada Burak Cem Arlıel’in 2014 yılında gösterime giren Kırımlı filmi incelenmiştir. Cengiz Dağcı’nın Korkunç Yıllar adlı romanından beyazperdeye aktarılan film, II. Dünya Savaşı sırasında Alman esir kamplarında rehin alınan Tatar esirlerin yaşadıkları insanlık dramını ve çektikleri acıları konu almaktadır. Bu çalışmada Saussure’ün gösterge modeli temel alınarak inceleme yapılmıştır. Filmde Nazizm ideolojisi göstergebilimsel analiz yöntemi kullanılarak incelenmiş ve Türk sinemasında Nazizm ideolojisinin ne şekilde yansıtıldığı gözler önüne serilmeye çalışılmıştır. Elde edilen bulgular çerçevesinde, Nazi ideolojisini konu alan diğer Türk yapımı filmlerde olduğu gibi Nazizm ideolojisi ağır bir eleştiriye maruz bırakılmıştır.
Since its beginning, cinema has become an important means of mass communication to disseminate political ideologies, influence the masses, and impose ideas on them. Many countries have imposed their ideological teachings through cinema on the masses under their domination. Especially during the Third Riech, when the National Socialist ideology was adopted by the masses, cinema was extensively used, and the ideology of Nazism was presented to the public in a splendid way. In this respect, Dr. Joseph Goebbels, during his reign as Nazi Propaganda Minister, noticed the power of cinema over society and produced films that promoted Nazi ideology.
Although Nazism officially ended after World War II, films about Nazism continued to be produced in many parts of the world. In these films, the ideology of Nazism was consistently criticized, and they emphasized only its frightening, cruel, and oppressive aspects. The number of these films based in the United States has seen an especially rapid increase in recent years.
In Turkey, the number of films addressing Nazism has been quite limited until recent years. Recently, a number of Turkish films about Nazism has been released, such as Kırımlı (2014), Birleşen Gönüller (2014), and the documentary Türk Pasaportu (2011). How Nazism is presented in the academic context is examined and will be important for the emergence of the perception of Nazism in Turkish culture.
Upon examining the academic literature, it is observed that the question of how the ideology of Nazism is presented in Turkish films has not been sufficiently researched. In fact, there appears to be no academic analysis of Turkish films that present political ideologies. In this respect, the present study is the first in its field and paves the way for future studies.
As a result of its semiotic analysis of the film Kırımlı, the study found that the ideology of Nazism has been subjected to heavy criticism in Turkish cinema. Nazism is presented in the film in the most frightening light. The denotations of the messages given in the film were shown together with their connotations. Based on the importance of the signs and the analysis of their meanings produced in the film, it was found that the effect of the film was increased in the presentation of the ideology of Nazism. It was determined that there are many connotations in the film and that many signifieds are emphasized through signifiers. It was revealed that in each scene, the different or similar connotations concealed in the signs were hidden and the messages to be given were much more than given.
In the 20th century, the cinema became an important communication tool for the ruling sovereign powers to reflect their ideologies and start dominating the masses. In particular, ideological rhetoric was common in the cinema sector in the first half of the 20th century when ideologies such as Nazism, Communism, and Fascism dominated Europe. The Nazi ideology had found a considerable place in the cinema sector after the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933. The ideology of Nazism was criticized in American films such as The Great Dictator (1940), whereas it was exalted in German films such as Triumph of the Will (Triumph des Willens, 1935) when the Nazis were in power in Germany. German films about the ideology of Nazism were produced in the period after World War II once Nazism was formally abolished. In these films, Nazi ideology was heavy criticized. Later Turkish cinema subjected Nazi ideology to deep criticism in such films as the Ankara Express (Ankara Ekspresi, 1971). This study examines Burak Cem Arlıel’s film Kırımlı, which was shown in 2014. The movie, which was adapted to the screen from Cengiz Dağcı’s novel Horrible Years (Korkunç Yillar, 1956) about the human tragedy and pain suffered by the Tatar prisoners captured in German prisoner camps during the Second World War. This study’s methodology is based on Saussure’s notion of signs. The study examines the ideology of Nazism in the film using semiotic analysis to show how Nazi ideology was reflected in Turkish cinema. The study finds that like other Turkish films on the subject, Kırımlı subjects Nazi ideology to severe criticism.
There have been significant works on the ideology of Nazism, which until recently has been rarely featured in Turkish cinema. The film Kırımlı, which is examined in the scope of the study, is one of these works. In the study, the film was analyzed using the linguistician Ferdinand de Saussure’s method of semiotic analysis. Thus, the study attempted to show exactly how the ideology of Nazism was presented in the movie.
The study that was focused specifically on the film Kırımlı revealed that Nazi ideology is only presented negatively in Turkish cinema. From the comprehensive literature review, it was determined that no one-on-one academic study exists of how ideologies were presented in Turkish films. In particular, examining how ideologies such as Nazism, Communism, and Fascism have been portrayed in Turkish films through various academic studies will allow for a comparative analysis of the presentation of ideology in Turkish society.
In the film, Nazi signs, gambling crusaders, arm bands, Nazi soldiers, SS officers, and Nazi commanders all had negative meanings in connection with all of the messages they showed. Audiences make negative sense of any kind of imagery that evokes the Nazis. For example, soldiers wearing Nazi uniforms in the film were perceived entirely negatively by the audience because of those characters’ inhumane practices. In this respect, when a Nazi soldier was seen on any screen, it was clear that the audience would associate that figure with themes such as pressure, threats, and persecution.
