Özet:

This paper examines the impact of the 1960 and 1980 military coups on political cinema in Turkey. The aim of the article is to provide a comparative analysis of the cinematic repercussions of the political, social and economic upheavals occurred in the aftermath of these two dramatic events in the country. The analysis focuses upon the films of the two relevant periods: the films which are considered to be part of the social realist and ‘revolutionary cinema’ movements that appeared in Turkish cinema in the wake of the 1960 coup and those which cover the period around 1980 coup or contain references to it. The paper first discusses the main characteristics of the eras when the films were made. Then it analyzes these titles employing the comparative qualitative research method. The research findings reveal that the social realist and ‘revolutionary’ films about the 1960 coup aim to serve political functions and objectives, while those about the 1980 coup can hardly be considered as examples of political cinema as a genre whose distinguishing feature is to inform the public and raise political consciousness among spectators.

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