A sociological analysis of the representation of religion and religiosity in Turkish cinema between 1970-1980

ABSTRACT A Sociological Analysis of The Representation of Religion And Religiosity in Turkish Cinema Between 1970-1980 Volkan TOKGÖZ Master Thesis FIRAT UNIVERSITY Graduate School of Social Sciences COMMUNICATION SCIENCES Communication Program Fabruary 2025, Page: X + 72 This study, which focuses on the representation of religion, religiosity and clergy in Turkish cinema, aims to show, through a sociological analysis, how religion and religiosity were represented in Turkish cinema between 1970-1980 and how these representations were constructed in social, political and cultural contexts. Turkish cinema between 1970-1980, reflecting a period in which both social and political changes were profoundly felt, was at the centre of various debates on the representation of religion and religiosity. While the political atmosphere of the period, the increasing social conflicts and the economic depressions played a crucial role in art production, the representations of religion, religiosity and clergy in cinema came to the fore as part of this dynamic. In line with the aim of the study, films containing the terms 'religion', 'religiosity' and 'clergy' were examined. Three films from Turkish cinema made between 1970-1980 were randomly selected from non-random sampling procedures. The films, namely Aynı Yolun Yolcusu (1972), Vurun Kahpeye (1973) and Hazal (1979), were included in the sample and the ideological and social contexts of the representations of religion and religiosity were analysed within the framework of Stuart Hall's concept of representation. The films were also analysed using the concept of 'excluded, constricted and accepted clerical typologies' and it was found that clerical representations are generally presented through 'manipulative, bigoted and reactionary' characters. At the same time, it was found that these representations can also be read as a reflection of modernization and secularisation ideologies. It can be said that the 'constricted religious person' is mainly portrayed in the same film Yolun Yolcusu and the 'excluded religious person' is mainly portrayed in the films Vurun Kahpeye and Hazal. Keywords: Cinema and religion, Turkish cinema, religiosity, cinema and representation, sociology with films