The making of our America: Hollywood in a Turkish context

This chapter examines the ways in which American cinema was represented in Turkey in the 1940s and the evidence for the existence of a growing connection between American cinema and the popular Turkish imagination during this period. It is based on an analysis of the popular film magazines of the time, as well as the memoirs and observations of writers interested in cinema. Issues of audience demand, of course, pose questions about the cultural identities involved in the experiences of identification and fantasy enjoyed by the film viewer. After describing the historical context in which American cinematic hegemony was established, the chapter will consider some of the ways in which Hollywood itself functioned as a kind of fantasy screen for the Turkish viewer. It will also touch upon European cinema since – as becomes particularly clear in the memoirs of film historian Giovanni Scognamillo-the tension between America and Europe, and thus between Hollywood and European cinema, is crucial to the mental machinery at work in the viewers’ cinematic experience in its broadest sense.