A glance into the history in Turkish cinema and representation of Turkish history

ABSTRACT History is one of the main ways of understanding the past and bridging it to the present and future. Cinema, which is the art of our age, is one of the most important representatives of cultural systems in evalvating our history and identity. This thesis, named as " A glance into the history in Turkish cinema and representation of Turkish History", aims at studying the recfiections of Turkish history writing on Turkish cinema, what sort of a history perspective came out from the past to the future, and how the Turkish identity was described? From the first years of Turkish cinema to date lots of films about different periods of Turkish history have been made. These films have been made with the influence of ideas like Westernism, Turkism, Islamism, which have been discussed since the Tanzimat and the political, social, economic and cultural changes. This thesis inclueds the study of films belonging to the different periods of the Turkish history. The analysis of these films are made with political and social events that Turkey has experienced. These are the periods of Turkish history which provide a plot to the films: Pre Ottoman Turkish History, different periods of Ottoman History, Turkish Independence War, The First Years of the Repuclic of Turkey and important political and social event in our near history. KEY WORDS: Turkish History Writing, Cinema, Politics, Identity VI