Children’s Victimization in Turkish Cinema between the 1970s and the 1980s

Abstract

Between the 1970s and 1980s in Turkey, there were various problems such as rapid urbanization, migration from village to city, economical problems such as embargo and neoliberalism and political violence over the military coups. Our study focuses on the problems experienced by children which lead to child victimization through Turkish movies. In our research, we used deduction and induction methods together. Based on the political and economic developments in the period between 1970 and 1980, we looked at how these dynamics were reflected in the films by thematic analyze method. Here are the themes that we found in the films which are commonly used in relation to children in cities and their urbanization, child marriage, smuggling, political violence and education. In conclusion of the Turkish press and movies and according to the interviews we did with the people who witnessed those periods, the problems related to children manifest themselves quite heavily and negatively. The Turkish society, which is experiencing a rapid urbanization process, has continued the patriarchal, sexist, religious-conservative and statist discourse they brought from the feudal village life in modern cities as well. While this is a problem that the press and cinema criticize with a common approach, it is seen that children are also a part of this process.