Van’s Cinema Culture in Yeşilçam Period

The increase in the number of theoretical studies concerning cinema due to the increase in the number of communication and fine arts faculties has been a stubborn fact. Many academics and picturegoers have scrutinised the past and present Turkish cinema; many new and old films have been examined in terms of their subject matters, styles, ideologies, genres, directors or the representation of a specific subject; films have been analysed through certain research methods; and eventually, a theoretically significant literature has started to be created. The significance of these kinds of studies cannot be denied. Yet, it is evident that the number of field studies in Turkish cinema falls behind the pleasing increase in the number of theoretical studies. Although there are no requirements to equalise these numbers, it is believed that the significance of field studies should not be ignored. The field studies based on the data collected from a certain pilot region have the potential to provide practical answers for problems specific to this region. In this respect, the study titled “Van’s Cinema Culture in Yeşilçam Period” is considered significant. With this study, it is aimed to obtain data concerning the development of cinema in Van and also to contribute to the advancement of the field. Such a study necessitates research studies that would offer an insight to previous periods or at least official documents that have evidential value. However, the lack of sources materials has been an important problem during the study. This problem has forced the study to be based predicate mainly on interviews and a decriptive analysis. Therefore, the interviews with the owners of old movie theatres as well as the local people of Van who are famous for their interest in cinema and art have become prominent. The date obtained; is associated with the general socio-political and socio-cultural condition of Turkey in the same periods.

Keywords

Cinema culture – the Yeşilçam Era, cinema culture in Van, interview method, descriptive analysis