Passing ethnic identities : a case study on comedy in Turkish cinema

Abstract

This study analyzes minority representation strategies in Turkish cinema, particularly Kurds in mainstream comedies. In the study passing is taken into account as a representation strategy that was developed and sustained by the dominant ideology in order to maintain ethnic inequalities in a society. Study examines how minority representations are created by majority through different discourses and how Kurdishness contextually either exaggerated or lessened by passing strategies of the mainstream Turkish cinema to privilege one ethnicity, Turkishness, over the other(s).