Reading Mantiku't-Tayr and Hüsn ü Aşk from the perspective of cinematic narrative

This thesis aims to reinterpret the classical Eastern narratives of Mantıku't-Tayr and Hüsn ü Aşk within the context of modern cinematic narrative. These works, deeply rooted in Sufi thought, explore the spiritual and inner journey of human beings, presenting the individual's quest for the self, love, truth, and God through a symbolic and metaphorical structure. Today, cinema has transcended its role as a mere visual art form, evolving into a powerful narrative medium that shapes the contemporary individual's world of meaning. In this context, reading classical Sufi texts through a cinematic lens not only reveals the inherent openness of these texts to new interpretations but also deepens the relationship between the multi-layered narrative structure of cinema and literature. In this thesis, we sought to highlight the similarities in content and technique between the mesnevi poems of Mantıku't-Tayr and Hüsn ü Aşk and certain cinematic narratives. By doing so, we aimed to raise awareness about the potential for adapting these and other great works from our literary heritage into cinema, the dominant narrative medium of our time. In this study, we surveyed theses on mesnevi and cinematic narratives and examined important books and articles written on the subject. A review of the sources indicates that a study of this nature has not been previously conducted within Turkish cinema and literature. This suggests that the study will fill a significant gap in this field. Furthermore, its contribution of a new perspective to literature represents another unique aspect of this work. At this point, the introduction of our study provides information about mesnevi as a narrative genre and about cinema. The first chapter examines the connections that can be established between our classical poetry and certain films in world cinema, as well as the use of its themes and motifs in cinema and commercials. In the second chapter, the similarities between Mantıku't-Tayr and the film Lucy are discussed. The third chapter, on the other hand, compares the poems Hüsn ü Aşk and the film Fight Club in terms of both form and content.