Theory of play in cinema and Reha Erdem as a practicer

Since the beginning of the 19th century, the concept of play has been used by many thinkers writing on diverse subjects such as culture, society and art. Johan Huizinga's 1938 book Homo Ludens is a seminal work in this literature. While defining play as a fundemantal act coming before culture is even formed, in fact giving birth to culture, he also reveals how play is closely related to art. As an example of a creative act, there are many playful elements in cinema. From the creation of characters to their narrative paths, from the director's relation to his film to its reception by the audience, its possible to find numerous aspects of the concept of play in these processes. This study traces the dynamics of play in the films of Reha Erdem, one of the most important auteurs of Turkey's cinema. In order to give a more detailed account of the relation between the concept of play and cinema, select films from the world cinema is analyzed. The main goal of this study is the investagion of Reha Erdem's cinema through the framework of the Concept of Play, analyzing the artistic production of the director and the cultural context of this production. In this way this dissertation will attempt to demonstrate the importance of play, one of the most fundemantal yet mostly overlooked acts of living things, in the context of cinema and Reha Erdem films.