Trauma in cinema: The example of Onur Ünlü cinema

When looking at motion picture films about cinema, it can be said that trauma phenomenon has taken place in many movies. It is possible to mention that traumas concern society as well as individuals as members of society. With the analysis of traumatic situations, which are tried to be understood from a psychoanalytic perspective, the processes of individuals can be made sense of. It is obvious on this occasion that people with traumatic situations also find a place in films, as is the case with many facts about human life. Psychoanalytic theory not only exists as a science that allows people to make sense of their experiences, but also contributes to the understanding of movie. The characters that take place in the films and the things that are wanted to be told in the film narrative structures can support each other. Thus, considering the films in which traumatic situations take place, the goal in the narrative structure may be to draw attention to the message of the film through the characters. Filmic processes can be shaped by the movements of the characters in the narrative structure of the film. Therefore, the characters are also supported by the style elements of the films. It is possible to talk about the existence of traumatic situations, which are especially focused on in Onur Ünlü's films. Hereby, the sample films of the study are selected from Onur Ünlü cinema. The films of Ünlü, which are selected through purposeful sampling, draw attention with traumatic situations, especially in the axis of comedy genre and humor. It can also be stated that in Ünlü's films, the technical codes of the cinema for trauma situations are actively associated, and methods such as flashback in the temporal order are used. The aim of this study is to examine the trauma situations in cinema through Onur Ünlü's sample films that can be associated with comedy genre and humor. In the research, the analysis of the traumatic situations in the films is carried out on the axis of the characters and elements of film style in the narrative structure. Film characters struggle against various traumatic situations by developing defense mechanisms. Thus, the defense mechanisms of the film characters are revealed with the Evaluation Question Table of Ego Defense Mechanisms for the Characters/Subjects in the Cinema created within the scope of the study.