In the 1980s Turkish-German cinema started to become an important impact on German national cinema. But sine the 1980s much has change in the cinematic representation of Turks, living in Germany. The former ‘mute Turk’ (Bhabha, 1990, pp. 315 - 317), the guest worker that was excluded from German society has become the multicultural second-generation immigrant that owns a German passport. Turkish-German filmmakers such as Fatih Akin, Thomas Aslan or Yüksel Yavuz deal with the topic of Turkish-German identity (Göktürk, 2002, pp. 253 – 255). Unfortunately, academics have not yet caught up with contemporary cinema: most critics still talk about the representation of immigrants as victims in western society. In Crossing The Bridge, Akin seems to celebrate Istanbul’s diversity and one wonders if contradictions can exist next to each other. Cultural extremes cause tensions. And these tensions are displayed in the Turkish-German characters of Akin’s feature films. To represent the being in-between Turkish and German culture of his characters, Akin uses the image of crossing between extremes. He crosscuts between two countries, Germany and Turkey. In Head-On (2004) the female character Sibel crosses between genders: she is a woman but acts like a man; she wears man’s clothes and behaves aggressively. The characters cross between languages: the Turkish-German protagonists speak both, Turkish and German, at the same time. Sometimes, they even switch into the other language within one sentence. This essay will analyse how Fatih Akin represents the character’s being in-between two cultures in his film Head-on and The Edge of Heaven (2007). At first, there will be a short part about Fatih Akin, then, I will give a short overview of both films, the issues and the characters. Finally, there will be an analysis of several sequences about the topics: countries, languages and gender.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Films
Crossing the countries
Crossing the gender
Crossing the languages
Conclusion
Objectives and Themes
This essay explores the cinematic representation of identity among second-generation Turkish-German characters in Fatih Akin's films "Head-On" and "The Edge of Heaven." It analyzes how the filmmaker uses spatial metaphors, language, and gender roles to depict the "in-between" status of protagonists who live across two cultures.
- The role of "in-betweenness" in Turkish-German identity.
- Cinematic techniques for representing "open and closed" spaces (chronotopes).
- The intersection of national identity with gender performance and patriarchy.
- The function of language as a marker for emotional states and belonging.
Excerpt from the Book
Crossing the gender
Western and eastern cultures think in opposing ways about women’s behaviour. In western societies, women are emancipated, they are part of the public life, they work, and go out. In the Muslim patriarchal system, women are often repressed by male relatives: they are not allowed to participate in public life, they should stay at home (Göktürk, 2002, p. 250). For Turkish women living in Germany is even harder than for men. On the one hand, Turkish women see the live of their female German friends who are allowed to go out and meet men, and on the other side there are their Turkish families, which live along the strict religious rules of the Islam (Burgerová, 2008, p. 97). Even if they want to live as their German friends do, Turkish-German women are not allowed to do so because the strict religious rules tell: ‘Who not conforms to Islamic rules, who does not accept authorities, is loosing his religion’ (Burgerová, 2008, p. 97). If a Turkish girl of a religious family does not obey Islamic rules, her family will be disgraced.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: This chapter contextualizes the emergence of Turkish-German cinema and introduces the author's focus on Fatih Akin’s work as a representation of diasporic identity.
Films: This section provides a brief overview of "Head-On" and "The Edge of Heaven," framing them as integral parts of Akin's "love, death and devil" trilogy.
Crossing the countries: This chapter analyzes how Akin uses "open and closed" spatial cinematography to contrast the atmospheres of Germany and Turkey and depict the characters' sense of exile.
Crossing the gender: This chapter examines the conflict between patriarchal Turkish values and Western emancipation, focusing on how female characters negotiate these opposing identities.
Crossing the languages: This chapter explores how the switching between Turkish and German serves as a narrative tool to express emotional truth and cultural affiliation.
Conclusion: This final section synthesizes the findings, arguing that characters only find internal consistency when they accept their identity as a hybrid of both Turkish and German parts.
Keywords
Fatih Akin, Turkish-German cinema, Identity crisis, Diasporic identity, Head-On, The Edge of Heaven, Cultural hybridity, Accented cinema, Migration, Gender roles, Patriarchy, Language, Chronotope, Integration, Belonging
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research focuses on the identity quest of second-generation Turkish-German characters in the films of Fatih Akin, specifically exploring how they navigate their existence between two distinct cultural spaces.
What are the primary themes discussed in the work?
The primary themes include national and cultural identity, the conflict between tradition and modernity, gender roles within patriarchal structures, and the impact of language and geography on the sense of belonging.
What is the main research question?
The essay explores how Fatih Akin uses cinematic techniques to represent the "in-between" identity of his Turkish-German characters and whether these characters can ever fully reconcile their dual heritage.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The work employs a film-analytical methodology, applying theories of "accented cinema" and spatial representation (chronotopes) to interpret narrative sequences in "Head-On" and "The Edge of Heaven."
What is covered in the main body of the text?
The main body is divided into three analytical sections: "Crossing the countries" (spatial analysis), "Crossing the gender" (gender roles), and "Crossing the languages" (linguistic shifts as identity markers).
Which keywords best describe the essence of this study?
Key terms include Fatih Akin, Turkish-German cinema, hybridity, diasporic identity, and the sociological and aesthetic exploration of living between cultures.
How does Sibel’s gender performance change between Germany and Turkey?
In Germany, Sibel attempts to adopt an aggressive, "masculine" behavior to escape patriarchal restrictions, but in Turkey, she adopts a more resigned, desexualized appearance as her confusion about her identity deepens.
Why does Nejat need the German bookshop in Istanbul?
For Nejat, the bookshop serves as a "calm island" in a foreign-feeling Istanbul, providing a necessary space to maintain the German part of his identity which he cannot fully integrate into the Turkish environment.
- Quote paper
- Susanne Schwarz (Author), 2009, Where do I belong?, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/136792
