Göksel Aymaz
Abstract: This article aims to identify the modernist character in the cinema of Yılmaz Güney and Nuri Bilge Ceylan. The critique of man and the world has always been transformed into a promise of happiness in classical modernism. This promise is tied to the ability and action of man to change the world by changing himself, to emancipatory praxis. This modernist attitude in Güney’s cinema, in addition to the semantic dimension of his stories, is most visibly manifested in the iconic impact of the “valiant” characters he portrays in his films, which is sometimes reinforced by his real-life persona. Through his protagonists, ranging from the “bandit” in the countryside to the “bully” in the city, Güney develops an objection against the evil world, and with his iconic image, he encourages his fans to aspire to a similar kind of objection. The modernist character of Ceylan’s cinema stems from the way it depicts the evil of man and the world, and the way it shows why man and the world are in a state of evil and pessimism. Evil exposed without deception is the guiding image of goodness, and Ceylan’s cinema becomes a promise of goodness and happiness by showing evil without deception.
Keywords: Yılmaz Güney, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Modernism, Promise of happiness, Emancipatory praxis
Göksel Aymaz
DOI: 10.29224/insanveinsan.1668016
Year 12, Issue 40, Summer 2025
Tam metin / Full text
(Turkish)
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