Hope and Hopelessness: Turkey’s New Cinema

Abstract

The trends that have appeared since the mid-90s indicate the development of a new cinema in Turkey. Despite the existence of stylistic variations the narratives of these films have much in common in that they articulate the social cultural and political issues ofTurkey in a mature form. Some critics identify this new cinema as a sort of realism that relies on narrative. New cinema in Turkey is often characterized by darkness and pessimism in terms of its stories, however I argue that hope still exists despite the initial appearanceof hopelessness. In this chapter I will try to define the borders of hope and hopelessness in Turkey’s new cinema in relation to the development of interpersonal communication among the characters. For this purpose I will analyse the emergence of these concepts inthe characters’ attitudes and behaviours in comparison to the overall narrative that can be defined as the ‘attitude’ of the director. This analysis will focus on two films (10 to 11 2009, Broken Mussels 2012) that were directed by young directors and acclaimed both nationally and internationally. In sum this study will draw a pictureof hope and hopelessness in the contemporary cinema of Turkey. © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.