Book links identities to pop music

Turkey’s conflicting dynamics between state ideology and pop culture are analyzed in a book titled ‘The Republic of Love: Cultural Intimacy in Turkish Popular Music,’ written by music scholar Martin Stokes. The book is now in Turkish

The way to explore a nation’s identity is through a country’s music, its singers and the intimate connection they establish with their fans, advocates Martin Stokes, a lecturer in Ethnomusicology at Oxford University and the writer of The Republic of Love: Cultural Intimacy in Turkish Popular Music.

Stokes is a renowned academic studying music and music theory with a particular emphasis on contemporary Middle East. He is no stranger to examining Turkish music as his first book The Arabesk Debate: Music and Musicians in Modern Turkey was published in early 1990s.

Stokes’ second book, The Republic of Love has recently been translated into Turkish by Koç University Press. The book dissects Turkey’s recent history and its conflicting national identities through three musicians. Zeki Müren, the flamboyant singer who single-handedly normalized the concept of queer in Turkish culture, Orhan Gencebay, the father of arabesk music, and Sezen Aksu, the diva and queen of Turkish pop music, stand at the core of Stokes’ book. Through these public figures, Stokes visits Turkey’s history from the 1950s to today, and questions alternative conceptions of Turkishness as opposed to identities imposed by state ideologies. The music and public personae of these three figures help shine a light on the history of Turkish politics, a constant source of civil unrest. Stokes looks at music and pop culture in general as a major player in cultural change and as a reflection on turmoil.

Click here for full article (Hürriyet Daily News)

Portrayal of transgenders in Turkish films, or lack thereof

This week marked Pride Week for LGBT communities. Turkey might be more accepting and tolerant of the first three letters of the LGBT communities, but when it comes to transgender people, not so much

Thousands marched yesterday in Istanbul’s Taksim Square, proudly waving the rainbow flag as they brought an end to a month of pride. June is the month when we see pictures adorned with the colors of the rainbow and even more colorful LGBT communities walking together across the world to celebrate pride.

The idea behind the celebration of pride is to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall riots that kick-started the gay rights movement in the United States, and more so, remind the status quo that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities demand an end to ostracization and equal rights.

While we’re used to seeing pictures from Western countries of over-the-top celebrations of pride, carefully picked by the media to marginalize the events, Turkey itself is not new to Pride Week, which concludes with the Pride Parade.

The very first Pride Week was organized in 1993 when various panels and events took place behind close doors because the Istanbul Governor’s Office had denied permission for more high-profile activities. It wasn’t until a decade later that Pride Week would close with a parade that was attended by a mere 30 people. The number increased exponentially each year, with around 10,000 people gathering and marching against homophobia and transphobia last year. But to the mainstream media, it’s still a marginal event that does not have much news value.

Click here for full article (Hürriyet Daily News)

Orientalist look from Hollywood

Previous attempts by the Culture and Tourism Ministry to lure foreign film productions to Turkey may have created a bias, producing a history of films depicting Turks, Turkey and Istanbul through an Orientalist perspective for half a century

“It is evident that cinema makes a big contribution to tourism,” Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay said in a June 13 meeting at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University, which brought together representatives from the Ministry and the Turkish cinema sector.

The meeting was convened to kick-start work on the new Turkish cinema draft law, the first seen since 2004. Set to be included in the new draft law will the establishment of a platform to provide support to foreign films shot in Turkey. Günay said, “We already do our best [to support] such productions, but we think that it would be easier to appear in the world market if we collaborate with a foreign film company.”

Günay has in fact been flirting with a system to increase foreign film productions in Turkey for some time now. Building sets and stages devoted to foreign film productions is one of the projects he has proposed. An incentive system is another.

Last year, he met with producers of the upcoming James Bond movie Skyfall, to make known his enthusiasm to have many of the film’s scenes filmed in Turkey. The production team, including current James Bond actor, Daniel Craig, were in Turkey earlier this year to film scenes at Istanbul’s Sultanahmet Square, Hagia Sophia, the coastal town of Fethiye, and the historic Varda Railway Bridge close to the southern city of Adana.

Click here for full article (Hürriyet Daily News)

Vampirler: Gecenin 'öteki' sesinden çoksesliliğe

Hayatınıza giren ilk vampiri hatırlıyor musunuz? Hangi sinema karesinden ya da hangi kitabın sayfalarından ölümcül dişlerini ilk kez gösterdiğini? Ben hatırlamıyorum. Edebiyat, sinema, çizgi roman ve televizyondan sürekli karşıma çıkan vampir tiplemesinin beni korkutmak, tedirgin etmek, kimi durumda midemi bulandırmak üzere yaratılmış olduğunu biliyorum yalnızca. Hayatıma giren ilk vampirleri hatırlamaya çalıştığımda, aklıma F. W. Murnau’nun yüzyıl başında çektiği Nosferatu filmindeki fareden hallice Kont Orlok ve çeşitlemeleri geliyor.

Vampirlerin ne zaman yeraltından yükseldiklerini, ne zaman geceyi sahiplenen, tanımlar ötesi, tanrısal yaratıklara dönüştüklerini ise çok iyi hatırlıyorum. Anne Rice’ın yüzyıllık acılarıyla büyüyen, ölüme ve yaşama lanet etmekten keyif duyan, baştan çıkarıcı vampirleriyle tanıştığım zaman.

O zamana kadar ne düşünür, ne hisseder merak etmediğim, yalnızca kimi içer, kimi yer ilgi duyduğum vampirler Anne Rice’ın kalemi, Roza Hakmen’in çevirisiyle Interview with the Vampire/Vampirle Görüşme romanında dünyanın en ilgi çekici yaratıklarına dönüştüler. Louis’nin ağzından dökülen hüzünlü sözcükler, Lestat’ın insanı anında içine çeken karizması ve Claudia’nın çocuk-kadın karmaşasıyla vampirlerin içine yeniden, bu sefer farklı bir heyecanla düşüverdim.

Vampirler kendi öykülerini anlatmaya, birer özne olmaya başladıkça herkesin benzer bir dönüşümü yaşadığını düşünüyorum. Kimisi için Underworld serisi bu görevi gördü, kimisi The Lost Boys filminin serseri vampir çetesiyle vampirleri çekici bulmaya başladı.

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