Zeki UYANIK

Since the late 1980s, Alevis have launched to reclaim their own collective identity with reference their sui generis values and discourses. In this direction they managed to utilize various media channels. Until the early 2000s, cinema was not among those channels utilized for assertion of Alevi identity. Beginning from this epoch Alevis, who were ignored by traditional Turkish cinema for a long period of time, occupied a central position in a series of films which can be named as “accented cinema.” Three films (O da Beni Seviyor, Başka Semtin Çocukları, Bir Ses Böler Geceyi) which were analyzed in this article can be evaluated as a result of strong Alevi movement appeared in the last quarter of 20th century. On the other hand, once these films were produced they returned and affected the Alevi movement. In that sense, there is a mutual relationship between the films and Alevi movement. The films have been useful for development Alevi identity construction in several ways: a) criticizing and re-evaluating traditional Alevism, b) indicating main problems of Alevis in the modern times including relations with Sunni majority, c) exhibiting Alevi beliefs and rituals which were neglected by mainstream Turkish cinema for years. By means of these films, the opportunity of questioning pre-existing paradigms concerning Alevis, their way of lives and rituals were also realized.

Key Words: Alevi Identity, Turkish Cinema, Accented Cinema, Ideological State Apparatuses