Alienation in Zeki Demirkubuz's cinema

This thesis aims to analyze the concepts of modernity and alienation in the cinema of Zeki Demirkubuz through the method of phenomenological film analysis. Alienation, which arises as a consequence of identity, value, and meaning crises caused by the process of modernization, is distinctly observable in Demirkubuz's filmography. The primary goal of the study is to reveal how the destructive effects of modernity on the individual are represented in the director's films. The analysis focuses on five films: Masumiyet (1997), Yazgı (2001), Kader (2006), Yeraltı (2012), and Hayat (2023). The study examines both the individual's alienation from society and self-alienation. The concept of alienation is framed theoretically through the views of thinkers such as Hegel, Marx, Camus, and Dostoevsky; and the characters in the films are evaluated accordingly. The research concludes that Demirkubuz's narrative structure, centered around the inner loneliness, social incompatibility, and value vacuum of modern individuals, offers a unique cinematic space for understanding alienation. This thesis fills a gap in the literature on Zeki Demirkubuz's cinema and provides a new perspective on the relationship between modern cinema and sociology.