Center vs periphery : visual representation of the party scenes in Yeşilçam melodramas

Abstract

In this study a particular aspect of melodramas (namely, party scenes) in the heyday of the Turkish cinema, especially between the early 1960s and the mid-1970s, is analyzed. In this respect, the visual representation of the party scenes in a variety of films is taken into consideration with the social context of Turkey on the basis of an antagonism between the center and the periphery. In addition, a formal analysis of the party scenes in the films paves the way to comment on the visual representation of the party youth. Then, this study, in the last instance, aims at deploying the representation of the party youth in Yeşilgam melodramas in relation to the project of Westernization.