Galloping Flashbacks: The Representation of National Space in Turkish Action/Adventure Films of the 1960s–1970s

Abstract

This study explores the representations of national space and its borders in twenty-four action/adventure films with historical settings. It concentrates on film series featuring comic-book heroes: Tarkan, Karaoğlan, Malkoçoğlu, Battal Gazi, and Kara Murat, all produced between 1965 and 1978. Although they have not been taken seriously as films, their prominent place in Turkish national memory, makes them effective tools for understanding varieties of Turkish nationalism in the Cold War period. This article demonstrates that political and ideological changes in the Turkey of the 1960s and 1970s were reflected, at times subtly, in the action/adventure films of the period. In particular, during the second half of the 1960s, Turkish action/adventure films transitioned to more radical and violent cinematic representations in the 1970s. Increased aggression in the depiction of Turkish action/adventure heroes was accompanied by a shrinking and more limited depiction of national space, reflecting the country’s more defensive zeitgeist.