Revisiting History in Yeşilçam Cinema: An Analysis on Yeşilçam Heroes; Karaoğlan, Malkoçoğlu, Kara Murat and Battal Gazi

Abstract

History presented in films has always been problematic. This debate is generally categorized into two categories, if the historical movies are loyal to the historical fact or if they should be aesthetically considered an art form. Costume adventure films in Turkish Cinema, present mythological characters with fantasy elements raising nationalist sentiments. This authentic genre in Turkish Cinema takes history as a background motif presenting Karaoğlan, Malkoçoğlu, Kara Murat and Battal Gazi, yet combines real facts and people in history with fantasy world heroes and incidents. Hence, these films raise a query regarding the accuracy of their portrayal in relation to historical fact. This paper aims to uncover the fact beyond the fantasy, the conflict between the real people and their representations in the movies in a different perspective.

Keywords

• Historical Film
• Historical Representation
• Turkish Cinema
• Karaoğlan
• Malkoçoğlu
• Kara Murat