Representations on the visibility of Alevism in Turkish cinema after 2000

Alevism, as the other systems of identity and belief, is a historical and cultural entity emanated from the interaction of different cultures and beliefs throughout centuries. Today, although it locates itself within the Islam, there are various approaches to Alevism. Hence, Alevism is a broad form of belief which is hard to define and which has peculiar cultural codes to the extent that it is hard to gather it under a single umbrella. Formed throughout the historical process, such codes define the structure of Alevism as a belief and identity. Thus, the current study treats the historical, social, and political phases that Alevism passed through from past to present. This study, based on the form how film reflects social issues, has focused on the representations of identity in Turkish cinema. It investigates the representations of non-Muslims, minorities, Kurds, and Alevis from the first years of Turkish cinema up to present. The dissertation takes up Alevis and Bektashis, who began to gain a public visibility especially after 1990s, in their process of becoming visible in post-2000 Turkish Cinema. The study tackles the implicit or explicit reflections of ritualistic characteristics belonging to Alevism as well as the characters having Alevi/Bektashi belief or identity. It analyses the directors' way of tackling Alevi/Bektashi identity in the context of story, plot and dialogue patterns and their way of looking at issues by considering historical, social, and ideological backgrounds of the cinematographic representation of Alevism. In this context, it is concluded that although there are examples of representation of Alevi belief or identity in Turkish Cinema after 2000, there are various problems pertaining to how realistic are the representations in films.