A reception study on wealth representations in Turkish cinema after 1980

This study discuss the representation of the wealth, one of the most important determinants of social inequalities, in Turkish cinema and how these representations are read by the audience. Investigation of how changing political, economical, and social structures and the case of changing wealth with lifestyles representing wealth perceptibly are represented in Turkish cinema of 1980's and of today consist the problem of this study. The analysis of social dynamics and social representations of wealth are tried to be traced in the movies evaluated. In the scope of the study, descriptive analysis of the films covered by the samples of the thesis is made. Subsequently, in-depth interviews were conducted with the urban audiences, who over the age of 50, in the scope of the reception analysis on the three selected movies. Janet Staiger's historical materialist approach is used for the reception analysis of the study. Both the analysis of the films and the interviews with the audience were interpreted in relation to each other. It is expected that the findings will contribute both to the representations of wealth in different periods in Turkish cinema as well as to the literature on audience researches. Key Words: Turkish Cinema, Representation, Reception Studies, Wealth, Cinema and Audience