Representation of Alevism in Turkish cinema

In this study, how Alevism is represented in the context of the concept of otherness in Turkish cinema has been uncovered. Thirty films, containing components of Alevism, produced from the early years of Turkish cinema until now have been incorporated into the sample and analysed under six categories by using qualitative content analysis method. John B. Thompson's Depth Hermeneutics method has been also applied in the films in which the dominant ideology used symbolic construction strategies. According to the results obtained in line with the findings of the study, it has been revealed that Alevism has not been represented in Turkish cinema for many years, and that it has been censored as a part of the dominant identity in a significant part of the films in which it is represented. It has been assessed that cinema exists as an ideological struggle area in the representation of the other's identity, and each identity's ideology leads to different representations of Alevism by defining it differently on the cinema. In this thesis, focusing on the other in the context of Alevism, a new strategy used in the representation of the other in the cinema has been identified and defined as "Cinethetic Symbiosis" to contribute to the field by conceptualising a new representation strategy.