WAR MOVIES ON TURKISH CINEMA: A STUDY OF VIOLENCE ANALYSIS ON THE MOVIES OF TURKISH INDEPEN- DENCE WAR

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1 WAR MOVIES ON TURKISH CINEMA: A STUDY OF VIOLENCE ANALYSIS ON THE MOVIES OF TURKISH INDEPEN- DENCE WAR Mehmet Arslantepe Kocaeli University Faculty of Communication marslantepe@kocaeli.edu.tr Abstract. This study examines the rate of violence in movies of Turkish Independence War. In this study, three interpretations of the movie Vurun Kahpeye have been chosen in the war type. The analysis of the violence rate in these adaptations done in 1949, 1964 and 1973 has been tried to be done. The hypothesis that the rate of violence increases gradually in cinema movies has been used. Keywords: war movies, Turkish cinema, Turkish films, Turkish Independence War 1. Introduction This study examines the rate of violence in Turkish Independence war movies. It is a contradictive issue whether there is the type of war in Turkish cinema or not. However, it could be claimed that the movies of war of independence forms a type which are about war and show similarities in terms of style and content. In this study, three interpretations of the movie Vurun Kahpeye have been chosen in the war type. The analysis of the violence rate in these adaptations done in 1949, 1964 and 1973 has been tried to be done. The rate and presentation of violence in proportion to the following years have been wanted to be revealed. The hypothesis that the rate of violence increases gradually in cinema movies has been used. Some categories have been formed for the content analysis of violence. The subject categories are guns, sharp objects, explosives and hand powers used in movies. Other categories determining the level of violence are violence on civilians and bloody scenes. 2. Violence Many studies have been conducted examining the violence in media. In these studies, the results of violence displayed in media have been presented. It will be beneficial to start this study by summarizing what causes violence. Firstly, the meaning of violence should be introduced. It is possible to explain as harming the people or things with physical power, prohibiting the freedom of people by using power [5]. Giving physical damage and limiting freedom should be accepted as violence. Various definitions of violence have emerged according to various cultures. These variations make it harder to define violence. Cultural perceptions on violence show variety [4]. A fact or event that a culture considers as violence and suppose

2 as harmful might not be the same for another Violence in media is an important study subject. It is claimed that violence being shown in media is related to imitation of violence, aggressive behavior, considering violence as a solution, increasing hostility feelings and agonizing others [6]. According to this view, violence being watched in movies is the closest representations to be imitated by audience. The existence of a problem is shown in stories of films to arouse violence. Violence is used for the solution of that problem. Thus, violence is turned into a fair violence. Violence is a motivation existent in human. According to Freud, violence is one of the most important instincts of human. To Freud, when the conditions are suitable, aggression arises in automatically. Human might turn into a wild monster against its own type [11]. The expression of violence might occur easily in a suitable environment according to Freud. This reality of human is scary. However, the situation of humanity affected by the violence scenes in movies is worse. It has been asserted that violence scenes in movies conditions audience especially children to become less careful and more hottempered [3]. It has been proposed that having lots of violence elements in movies makes it harder to differentiate the real and unreal [7]. People are made to enjoy violence being shown in media more and it has been claimed that this situation causes an increase in antisocial behavior. It could affect their behaviors like imitating the violence behavior [13]. Violence representations become more painless and enjoyable than those in the real life. This experience is misleading but unfortunately it is more likely to be imitated. The history of violence is pretty deep. People who are exposed to violence in media might not perceive violence consciously. The application of violence on people has always been existent throughout history. For example, three elements are mentioned in the process of formation of a culture. state. Monopolization of violence tools, centralization of tax collection privilege, prominence of following and observing functions of the institutions such as administration, jurisdiction and police. According to one view, violence monopoly is the result of monopolization of violence tools and centralization of tax collection privileges [9]. War and violence are interesting. It is similar in the entire world. Wars were seen as perfect in ancient times and artists processed it in a perfect way. Today s media give the war information at the front page [2]. Even though the tools transferring violence have changed, its popularity hasn t. As for the violence in media, according to one view, it has been suggested that the violence is allowed by expressing that everything contributing to reaching the victory is legitimate [1] Violence in war movies is harmless according to this view suggested especially for the violence in war movies. Violence war movies are obligatory. Additionally, it is the dangerous and deceptive side of violence to present it as solution, being fiction and irrelevant to real life. Violence could be examined in two ways. Examinations are divided as violence towards body, power, politics, state, economy, culture and violence which is committed [12]. Movie examinations are actually rather appropriate to examine both violence types. This study deals with the violence towards body. This violence has been visualized in movies the most. The negative effects of violence displayed in media on human behavior are known. The audience is exposed to an exaggerated violence starting from the previews of movies. Violence in media encourages people to show tendency to violence even though it is not permanent, which is the result of the studies about this issue [10]. Violence is an element highlighted in movies whether it is a war movie or not. It has been

3 shown by a content analysis on violence and sexuality in movie previews. Previews are important for people to choose a movie. According to the study, there is a positive relation between the amount of violence in the preview and the amount of violence of the related movie. Nowadays, there is at least one attack scene in more than 75 % of previews, at least one gun scene in more than 45% and one explosion scene in 28% of all movie previews [8]. This study has shown that violence scenes attract audience s attention. Trailers are also rather spectacular. 3. War Movies in Turkish Cinema It can be said that the movies of Independence War have created a type in Turkish cinema. The basic story of them, their approach to this story and the places used show partnership. They have created a type by bearing a resemblance in terms of style and content. The first movie of this type is Ateşten Gömlek filmed by Muhsin Ertuğrul in It was adapted from the novel of Halide Edip Adıvar named Ateşten Gömlek which is the first Independence War movie of Turkish literature. Tragical love story of Ayşe and İhsan was given together with Independence War. Muhsin Ertuğrul makes the movie of Ankara Postası which is the second Indepedence War movie in It was adapted from a foreign play. The third movie is Bir Millet Uyanıyor filmed in The movie focused mostly on the conflict of National Forces against enemy collaborative and pro-padishah. The love of Davut captain and Nesrin teacher was included in this conflict story. Even though there were movies leaving aside the war among these three movies, the movies of Independence War had a break until When looking at the first three movies, there is an enthusiastic and romantic telling. Telling the Independence War in this way might be reacted normally. Apart from making the war romantic, including love stories in these movies added a great sensibility to the movies. After having a long break, three movies of Independence War were shot at the end of 1940s: İstiklal Madalyası (1948). Kahraman Mehmet (1948) and Vurun Kahpeye (1949). Vurun Kahpeye is the only movie attracting the attention among these movies. It is the first movie of Ömer Lütfi Akad. The scene of lynching Aliye teacher in the movie is the wildest scene that has ever been seen in Turkish cinema. Many war movies were made in the period between 1950 and Some handled the Independence War in real terms and some highlighted the love stories and used the war at the background. The movie of Atıf Yılmaz named Bu Vatanın Çocukları (1959) plays a part as a different movie in this period. The effort of two little kids trying to transmit a secret document to Mustafa Kemal increased the emotional density. Ateşten Damla made by Memduh Ün (1960) in periods is shown among war movies with its realism. Çanakkale Arslanları (1964), which is high budget and the first colored movie of Independence War, was made in this period. However, it did not bring any revolutions. The second remake of Vurun Kahpeye was done by Orhan Aksoy in This adaptation was also not revolutionary. The remarkable commonality in this period is that women characters increased. The movies bringing women to the fore in the war movies of 1960s are Vurun Kahpeye, On Korkusuz Kadın (1965), Bombacı Emine (1966), Kara Fatma (1966) and Fato-Ya İstiklal Ya Ölüm (1969). The movies of 1960s are rather sloganist. The number of being made decreases starting from 1970s. Halit Refiğ made the third remake of Vurun Kahpeye in This movie might be considered as the last example of traditional Independence War movies. They would not be made for a long time after this movie. When the yare back again, they will front us as renewed

4 distant from the old features. In the interpretation of vurun Kahpeye in 1974, the ideological interpretation of Halit Refiğ is effective. It added a religious view to war. This situation becomes obvious at the end of the lynching scene of Aliye teacher. A little Koran was found when the clenched fist of Aliye teacher was opened. Sahibini Arayan Madalya, which is the documentary/ war movie of Yücel Çakmaklı in 1989, tells the story of resisting against occupation of Maraş in the years of Independence War. The movie of Yaban filmed in 1966 was not directly about the war. The number of being made showed an increase at the beginnings of The war is not only Independence War in this period. Historical subjects are also handled and the war of soldiers struggling with terrorists in mountains is also dealt with. New problems emerge and new stories are added to cinema. The sloganist telling of the old times becomes extremely naive in oue new cinema. When looking at it as numerically, there were 6 movies between 1923 and 1950, 28 movies between 1950 and 1960, 28 movies between 1960 and 1970, 10 movies between 1970 and 1980, 2 movies between 1990 and 2000 and 14 movies between 2000 and Analysis There aren t great differences between the three adaptations of the novel Vurun Kahpeye done in different years. There is no difference in the violence tools used. The same order was preferred in the progression of the story. whereas the shots of 1949 and 1964 are black and white, 1973 production is colored. The use of colors made great contributions for the movie to be effective. All the three movies did not go beyond the drama- war type. The durations of the scenes including violence were taken into account in the movies. It was paid attention that violence was made by guns, hand power or sharp objects. The analysis of the guns and tools used in the movies were not made. They are open to do a deeper analysis. Vurun Kahpeye (1949) Director: Ö. Lütfi Akad Type: drama/war Cast: Sezer Sezin, Ali Rıza Şenel, Arşavir Alyanak, Fahri Güneş. Scenario: Ö. Lütfi Akad and Selahattin Küçük Work: The namesake novel of Halide Edip Adıvar. Duration: 01:52:24 Total violence scenes: 6 minutes 5 seconds %5,35 The use of guns by the enemies to village/ civilians: 36 seconds Applying violence with hand power by enemies to village/ civilians: 32 seconds Violence to children with hand power: 15 seconds Exploding the ammunition of enemy: 14 seconds The conflict between townspeople and enemy soldiers: 24 seconds Lynching of Aliye teacher: approximately 2 minutes Bloody footages after lynching: 1 minute Execution footage: 6 seconds Documentary footage: 2 minutes 30 seconds Violence in Vurun Kahpeye of 1949 production is applied to civilians by the enemy. Townspeople are exposed to violence and townspeople are not the ones who commit violence. They are shown as innocent.

5 The footages of lynched Aliye last 3 minutes and it constitutes the violent and bloody footages taking up the most of the movie. Vurun Kahpeye (1964) Director: Orhan Aksoy Type: drama/war Cast: Hülya Koçyiğit, Ali Şen, Reha Yurdakul, Vahi Öz, Ahmet Mekin. Scenario: Orhan Aksoy Work: The namesake novel of Halide Edip Adıvar. Duration: 01:51:12 Total violence scenes: 8 minutes 40 second %7,2 The use of guns by the enemies to village/ civilians: 1 minute in total Applying violence with hand power by enemies to village/ civilians: 1 minute in total Forestalling and conflict to the ammunition truck of the enemy: 15 seconds Violence to children with hand power: 18 seconds Exploding the ammunition of enemy and conflict with the townspeople: 1 minute Sexual violence to women: 15 seconds The conflict of the townspeople and enemy soldiers: 50 seconds Lynching of Aliye teacher: 2 minutes 35 seconds Bloody corpse footages after lynching: 2 minutes 53 seconds Execution footage: 19 seconds Documentary footage: 3 minutes Violence is first applied to townspeople by enemy but after exploding the ammunition of enemy townspeople struggles against guns with sticks. It is not only the one applied violence as in the first movie. In the documentary footages, more violent scenes are chosen this time. We see the army on the move. The footage of Aliye kneeing lynched lasts 5 minutes 46 seconds in total and it makes the longest violent and bloody footages. Being different from the previous applications, Tosun,the fiancée of Aliye, sees her corpse. When he opens the closed fist of Aliye, he sees the heart-shaped necklace. The emotionality of the movie reaches to top. Vurun Kahpeye (1973) Type: drama/war Cast: Hale Soygazi, Tugay Toksöz Director Halit Refiğ Scenario: Halit Refiğ, Orhan Aksoy Work: The namesake novel of Halide Edip Adıvar. Duration: 01:26:42 Total violence scenes: 8 minutes 50 seconds: 8 minutes 50 seconds %9,30 The use of guns by the enemies to village/ civilians: 1 minute 20 seconds Applying violence with hand power by enemies to village/ civilians: 27 seconds Forestalling to the ammunition truck of the enemy and conflict: 16 seconds Violence to children with hand power: 5 seconds Exploding the ammunition of enemy and conflict with townspeople: 1 minute 10 seconds

6 Sexual violence to women: 24 seconds The conflict of the townspeople and enemy soldiers: 27 seconds Lynching of Aliye teacher: 2 minutes 40 seconds Bloody corpse footages after lynching: 1 minute 25 seconds Execution footage: 17 seconds Documentary footage: not used Whereas the first two movies are black and white, 1974 production is colored. Since it is colored, violence scenes seem effective. As documentary footages are not used, persuasiveness is more and that there are no footages out of movie does not break off from the story and emotion of the movie. Being different from the adaptation of 1949, as in 1964 adaptation, the corpse of Aliye is seen by her fiancé in this adaptation. This time, Aliye has a little Koran in her hand 5. Discussion and Result The number of movies including violence scenes in Turkish cinema is not less. We encounter violence in adventure, romance, historical or gangster movies as well as melodramas. There is not a great variation in Turkish movies in war type. When it comes to war, the movies of Independence War come to mind. It has been claimed that violence is existent in war movies rightfully. It has been defended that it is obliged to display what had to be done for victory in movies. The point that needs inquiry is how and how much it should be displayed. It has been claimed that the imitability of violence is high. Violence is fictioned in the world of movie and made as enjoyable. It comes to mind that filmic violence forms a potential danger. Movie makers present this enjoyable and liked violence to audience starting from the previews. The movie Vurun Kahpeye, which is a novel adaptation, has been chosen for this study. This movie has been adapted to cinema three times. The comparison of novel and adaptation has not been done in the study. The rates of using violence have been examined in three movies. The duration of 1949 adaptation is 01:52:24,the duration of total violence scenes is 00:06:05. %5,35 The duration of 1964 adaptation is 01:51:12,the duration of total violence scenes is 00:08:40. %7,2 The duration of 1973 adaptation is 01:26:42,the duration of total violence scenes is 00:08:50. %9,30 While the durations of the first two adaptations are nearly the same, the rate of violence has increased in the second adaptation. Whereas the duration of the third adaptation is shorter than 25 minutes, the rate of violence is more than the other two. Accordingly, the view violence rate increases gradually is justified. Romanticism of violence has increased. Aliye teacher was lynched for the sake of others by using lies. she says she will become a light to Anatolia. She was killed with a noble goal. In 1964 adaptation, her fiancé comes to the lynched corpse and finds the necklace in her bloody fist. In 1973 adaptation, her fiancé finds a little Koran. Death has changed its meaning day by day. The analysis applied here might be done more deeply. The use of rifle, gun, bullet, knife and rifle butt might be separated. Other plans might be counted. It will be beneficial to determine which movie has more plans. Categories form the violence scenes in the main story have been formed in this study and the duration of use of these categories in these years have been taken into consideration. As a result, it has been numerically observed that the use of violence has increased in our cinema.

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