The representation of the landlord system in cinema in Turkey: The example of Şener Şen films

The landlord system has historically been one of the most important social issues in Turkey. It is observed that the landlord system, which began to be represented in cinema after 1960, is frequently included in the genres of comedy and melodrama. It is seen that the cinema, which has a largely negative approach to the landlord system and the traditional structure that accompanies it, gives various messages to its audience about the landlord system through the films it produces. Within the scope of the thesis, the historical background of the landlord system and its relationship with the authority are mentioned, and the changes that the landlord structure has undergone over time are revealed. Since there were important developments in Turkish cinema in terms of touching on social issues in 1960 and onwards, and since the representations related to landlordism started to be seen after this period, the historical process of cinema is discussed in this thesis based on this period. There are many films that deal with the representation of landlordism in Turkish cinema. However, it is not possible to analyze all of them. For this reason, the films in which Şener Şen, who is known by the society and thought to reach more viewers, plays the role of the landlord were selected as a sample within the scope of the thesis. The analyzed films constitute a sufficient sample for the examination of the representations of landlordism in Turkish cinema and the limitations of the thesis. The method used to analyze the sample films in this thesis is descriptive. In addition, by conducting a comparative analysis, the sample films constituting the universe of the study were examined in chronological order and compared with each other. Thus, inferences were made through the transformation of the representations of landlordism in the films. In this way, it is aimed to reveal the ways in which the landlord system is represented in Turkish cinema and to analyze the various social messages intended to be given to the audience about the landlord system through these representations. The issue of landlordism has been one of the most important issues of society, politics and economy in Turkey. For this reason, a great deal of research has been conducted on agony in the fields of history, politics and sociology. However, the number of studies on the reflection of the landlordism issue on films in the fields of communication and cinema in particular has remained quite limited. This situation reveals the importance and the reason for this thesis. With this thesis, which is thought to be a source for new research, it is possible to read social transformations through the changing agha roles in films. The end of the thesis emphasizes this point.