After September 11 attacks Afghanistan War representation in American cinema: Lone Survivor (2014) film case study

Cinema, which is considered among the most important audio and visual meaning production systems of the period we live in, is the branch of art that has the most intense and mutual connection with reality. Cinema is both affected by and affects reality. Because cinema can create public opinion and create fashions by changing the behaviors, attitudes and thoughts of individuals.In modern societies, where mass media have gained great importance, cinema is considered as one of the most important ideological devices of the state due to its power to appeal to large masses and to influence people. Considering the audience it has reached and its global impact, Hollywood cinema, which is one of the most influential cinema industries, is also one of the most powerful ideological devices of the American state. When the calendars showed September 11, 2001, America experienced one of these great disasters as a country and entered a process of social and psychological collapse. This traumatic situation has also found its place in cinema as a sector in which America is the leader in the world. The aim of this study is to reveal the reflections of the Afghanistan War in Hollywood cinema. For this reason, within the scope of the study, the movie "LONE SURVIVOR", which tells about the Afghanistan War, was discussed. Purposive sampling method was used in the movie. In the first part of the thesis, the aim and importance of the thesis, the cinema-war relationship, literature research are explained. In the second part, the Afghanistan war and films about Afghanistan were examined. In the Third Chapter, where the findings are included, the last remaining film, which is the subject of this study, is analyzed and examined. . As a result of this analysis; As in many Hollywood movies, it has been seen that American soldiers are blessed, virtuous, self-sacrificing and heroic army themes are tried to be brought to the fore. By contrast, the Afghan people have been regarded as ruthless, savage, backward, ignorant, and pitiful in need of liberation. Showing and othering as a single type is made through the nicknames created on the basis of physical and religious qualities in the film, and by making a generalization about the Afghans, they are standardized as 'Haji'. Keywords: Afghanistan, Hollywood, Lone Survivor, War, 11 September