Nihilism and individual in films of 'Auteur' directors in Turkish Cinema: Zeki Demirkubuz, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Tayfun Pirselimoğlu examples

Nihilism is a concept which generally connotes the absence of meaning and values. Nihilism, in terms of being an existential state about humans may emerge at a universal level. Nihilism is also seen in a considerable number of works of literature and cinema. Some directors of New Turkish Cinema, which emerged in the mid-1990s, base their films on the individuals' problems of meaning in terms of nihilism. The first part of this study aims to deal with the extent of the changes of values in the Western culture which influenced the concept of individual in the historical process. In doing this, important philosophical approaches in different eras on nihilism have been examined. Besides, the concept of nihilism is investigated in terms of its meaning, root, and development in the historical context. The second section of the thesis concentrates on the reflections of the experience of Turkey with the modernization on Turkish cinema. This is followed by the examination of the auteur theory and its development in Turkish cinema. In the third chapter, the representations of the individual in the films of the auteurs of recent Turkish cinema; Zeki Demirkubuz (Yazgı, Bekleme Odası, Bulantı), Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Uzak, İklimler, Kış Uykusu) and Tayfun Pirselimoğlu (Rıza, Pus, Saç) are analyzed in detail with regard to the concept of nihilism. The thesis has demonstrated the ways in which the individual is represented, and the changing patterns of meanings due to the transformation of Turkish society is depicted in the films mentioned above. What was aimed in the study is to explore the representations of the individuals in the films of New Turkish Cinema's auteur directors in terms of nihilism, and to analyze the relationship between the products of art and the artist within the context the social and cultural changes in Turkey.