CINEJ Cinema Journal
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Oral History Study on Erotic Cinema: Turkish Cinema from 1974 to 1980
Full text linkThis study examines the “erotic film influx” period in Turkish cinema between 1974 and 1980. The research was conducted using information obtained from semi-structured interviews conducted with individuals who worked as projectionists during the erotic era, using a qualitative research design, such as oral history. The new developments that emerged during the influx were explored through the observations of the film projectionists, testimonies, memories, and experiences. Therefore, the study excluded the production practices of erotic films and focused on the distribution and exhibition of these films. The study found that the erotic film influx in Türkiye quickly created a new audience and cultural atmosphere which resulted in the emergence of a new, male-dominated audience, isolated from their families
The Filmic Representation of Women: Paradigm Versus Perspective in the Depiction of Women in Funke Akindele’s Two Selected Works
Full text linkFunke Akindele\u27s holistic portrayal of women in She Must Be Obeyed and A Tribe Called Judah has transcended the biases of just putting women in the limelight given the multifaceted nature women, like men, possess. Subjecting the two films to a close viewing and placing the analysis drawn side by side with the backdrop of the parameters of feminist film theory, pushes for evaluating Akindele’s ideologies. The study found that Akindele prioritizes perspectives over paradigms in women\u27s image projection in her works, making the works more inclusive in their representation of realities, a shift described as realistic-feminism
Coding And Signification In Cinema: Semiological Perusal Of The Film In The Shadows
Full text linkThe aim of this study is to reveal how the art of cinema narrates stories through visual and auditory elements and the role of signs in the process of meaning production. Cinema communicates various messages to the audience through its unique language and encodes these messages using signs. In this context, film language is evaluated as a communication system that plays a central role in the production of meaning. The study adopts a semiotic film analysis method based on the production and transmission of meaning and applies this method to examine the 2020 dystopian film In the Shadows. Signs within the film, including characters, settings, color usage, and narrative structure are analyzed to elaborate on the multilayered nature of cinematic language in meaning-making. The findings demonstrate that film language is not merely composed of visual and auditory elements but also conveys deep meanings to the audience through cultural codes and symbols. Thus, this study clarifies the semiotic function of cinema in meaning production and how this function is encoded
Is She Still There?: Child Sex Trafficking, Traumatic Memory and Resilience in Mischa Marcus’ Film I Am Still Here
Full text linkThis paper aims at contextualizing child sex trafficking, trauma, and resilience from the atrocities of sexual violencebased on the reading of Mischa Marcus’ film I Am Still Here. The analysis makes its way from violence, trauma, andPTSD to resilience through the cinematic representation of sexual abuse. The film portrays the experiences of a childwho is trafficked and the subsequent impact on her psychological state, using non-linear narrative techniques andsensory triggers to reflect the fragmented nature of traumatic memory. This study also includes a conversation withthe director, which offers new insights into her directorial approach to depicting trauma and recovery, emphasizingrealism without exploitation. Through consulting the aspects of the camera and theories on traumatic memory, PTSD,and resilience, the paper analyzes the fragmented nature of traumatic experiences and how they subvert commonmedia tropes. Further, it also discusses the importance of supportive relationships in recovery, highlighting how thefilm depicts the crucial role of emotional support in healing from the trauma of sexual violence. Thus, this study isfocused on a survivor of child sex trafficking, delving into a deeper understanding of child and adult resilientbehaviors in dealing with trauma
Dementia, Cognitive Narratology, and Unreliable Narration in Florian Zeller’s The Father
Full text linkFlorian Zeller’s The Father is a film about dementia as a narrative disorder. The film tells a fragmented story through the eyes of Anthony, who is living with late-onset dementia. In it, the spectator is asked to witness Anthony’s encounters with his environment, which always result in a cognitive blankness—a lack of recognition that is the symptom of his condition. The film both represents and enacts this blankness by asking the spectator to witness and misunderstand a series of scenes strung together by nothing more than that lack of recognition. The Father thus constitutes not only a narrative of dementia but also a narrative about narrative—about its grammars, processes, and agents; about the questions of narratability and cognition attendant to any act of storytelling, and about how the answers to those questions might change when they are posed in the cinematic
Sleeping through The Big Lebowski: Sleep, Dreams, and Rest in the Coen Brothers\u27 Films and Jeff Bridges\u27 Music
Full text linkThis paper examines incidents and themes of sleeping, dreaming, and resting within Joel and Ethan Coen\u27s early filmography and their intensification in the 1998 feature film The Big Lebowski. These incidents and themes are also present, to some degree, in certain Raymond Chandler detective stories and adaptations thereof, which influenced The Big Lebowski. The Big Lebowski involves a convoluted mystery that prevents its characters, especially protagonist The Dude (Jeff Bridges) from resting, so his quest for ultimate relaxation goes unresolved. Sleeping Tapes, a later work of sleep music by Bridges, serves as a spiritual successor to The Big Lebowski by providing the relaxation sought by The Dude and positioning Bridges as a sleep and dream guide for listeners
Binge-Watching and the Theory of Desire: A Lacanian Perspective on Netflix Consumption Patterns
Full text linkThis paper explores the phenomenon of binge-watching on Netflix through the lens of Jacques Lacan’s Theory of Desire. While this behavior is often viewed as a product of convenience or entertainment, it reflects a deeper psychological process rooted in the structure of desire. Lacan’s theory posits that desire is not merely about satisfying needs but is fundamentally tied to the symbolic order and the endless pursuit of the unattainable. This study argues that Netflix’s business model and content strategies are deeply aligned with Lacanian concepts, particularly the notion of desire as an unfulfilled and perpetual pursuit. By continuously providing new content, Netflix sustains and amplifies the viewer’s desire, keeping them engaged in a cycle of consumption that mirrors Lacan’s structure of desire
Death, Aging, and Ecology in The Ballad of Narayama (1983)
Full text linkThis study analyzes Shohei Imamura’s The Ballad of Narayama (1983) through the lens of death, aging, and ecology. The film centers on the ubasute ritual, where elderly individuals are taken to a mountain to die, reflecting a pragmatic response to resource scarcity. By portraying death as a societal and ecological necessity, the film challenges modern views on aging and death. Nature is depicted as an active participant, symbolizing the cyclical processes of life and death. This interdisciplinary study combines perspectives from anthropology, cultural studies, and environmental philosophy to explore how the film frames death not just as an individual event, but as essential for community survival and ecological balance. Ultimately, the film critiques modern approaches to aging and sustainability
‘Everything Must Go’: Joker as a Banner for Postmodernism
Full text linkJoker, the commercially successful comic book movie that broke all records (Forbes, 2019), is set to release a sequel on October 4, 2024. Its profitability speaks to its popularity and unique ability to resonate with a broad audience, including the academic community. In a fictional Gotham, where Arthur Fleck works as a clown, Joker demonstrates the slow descent into madness of a man neglected by society. Arthur’s mental condition, his social awkwardness, and his ineptitude in dealing with many problems in his personal life placed him on the outskirts of society, physically and emotionally. This article argues that, as depicted in the film, Arthur\u27s journey aligns with the postmodernist philosophy developed by the French thinkers Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida
Spatial Thresholds and Existential Dilemmas in New Turkish Cinema: A Reading of Something Useful
Full text linkCinematic spaces are defined by their ability to create new spaces through reorganizing physical environments, a process facilitated by cinema. Directors use unique spaces in their films to convey specific themes and emotions. In Pelin Esmer\u27s İşe Yarar Bir Şey (Something Useful, 2017), the train serves as the setting for the film\u27s initial segment, offering views of external lives from within through the window. This prompts individuals to reflect, question their existence, and experience diverse emotional states. The objective of this study, which examines the 2017 film Something Useful, is to analyze the spaces utilized and the spatial experiences of the protagonists at the threshold by examining them through the lenses of Gaston Bachelard\u27s (1994) concepts of home, Stavroz Stavrides\u27s (2010) notion of the threshold, and Michel Foucault\u27s (2008) concept of heterotopia. The train, as an example of heterotopia, facilitates a transition to the protagonists\u27 inner world while observing the external world. This space is characterized by a different experience of time, functioning as a transitional space that is both physical and metaphorical. It is marked by threshold elements, such as glass, which delineate and symbolize the space\u27s function as a conduit between inner and outer realms. The house is an uncanny space for existential inquiries and suicide. It\u27s a mix of cosmos and chaos