Political Science

Cinema and Politics(SP434)

Course Code Course Name Semester Theory Practice Lab Credit ECTS
SP434 Cinema and Politics 6 3 3 0 3 6
Prerequisites
Admission Requirements
Language of Instruction Turkish
Course Type Elective
Course Level Bachelor Degree
Course Instructor(s) Hüseyin Özgür ADADAĞ oadadag@gmail.com (Email)
Assistant
Objective The objective of this course is to comprehend the relationship between cinema and politics from its emergence to the 1940s. During the course it will be focused on how different groups from various countries, especially government authorities have sought to manipulate this form of art as a propaganda tool to interfere political processes. Within this context, the approach of political leaders to film industry, the organizations and institutions realized for the film industry by the initiative of the governments and the educational films, documentaries, cartoons produced as promoters of the dominant ideology will be discussed.
Content At the first stage, the borders of the cinema and politics (relationship between politics and cinema is normally very huge subject) will be determined in the context of the subject of the class. Then, the use of cinema as a political tool for the political powers will be discussed beginning from the emergence of the cinema. The USSR and Germany experiences will be handled in detail. Attached to these discussions, different genres like documentaries, cartoons will be discussed. The relationship of the artist and politics will be discussed in general sense through some filmmakers like Riefenstahl and Furtwangler. At the last part of the class, the cinema in Turkey after the proclamation of the Republic.
Course Learning Outcomes Understanding the propaganda cinema until 40s in Europe and USA.
Understanding that the importance of cinema for the governments.
Supposing that cinema is a tool to orient the people to be subject to the political power.
Thinking over the art and politics, artists and politics.
Comprehending that the other genres like melodramas, comedy film and even the cartoons are suitable for the discussion of propaganda cinema.
Teaching and Learning Methods The method of the course will be the mix of lectures and screenings. Referring the lectures and films, there will be class discussions.
References * Philip M. Taylor, Munitions of the Mind : A history of propaganda from the ancient world to the present era, Manchester University Press, 2003 (1990), sf.1-16.
* Fernando Solanas ve Octavio Gettino, “Üçüncü Bir Sinemaya Doğru”, B. Bakır, Y. Ünal, S. Saliji (der.), Sinema, İdeoloji, Politika, Orient yayınclık, 2008, sf.167-193.
*Zeynep Çetin-Erus, “Manifestolardan Günümüze Üçüncü Sinema Tartışmaları”, Üçüncü Sinema ve Üçüncü Dünya Sineması, Es yayınları, 2007, sf.19-50.
* Roy Armes, Üçüncü Dünya Sineması ve Batı, İstanbul, Doruk yayınları, 2011, 6. Bölüm: “Üçüncü Sinema”, sf.207-225.
* Richard Taylor, “A Medium for the Masses: Agitation in the Soviet Civil War”, Soviet Studies, vol.22, no.4, 1971, sf.562-574.
*François Albéra, “Cinéma soviétique des années 1924-1928: commande sociale/commande publique”, içinde, Jean–Pierre Bertin-Maghit, Une histoire mondiale des cinémas de propagande, Nouveau Monde éditions, 2008, sf.65-81.
* David Gillespie, “Introduction: The Golden Age of Soviet Cinema”, Early Soviet Cinema. Innovation, Ideology and Propaganda, Londra, Wallflower, 2000, sf.1-21 ve 93-103.
* Guido Convents, “Documentary and Propaganda Before 1914”, Framework, 35 (1988)
* Valérie Vignaux, “L’éducation sanitaire par le cinéma dans l’entre-deux-guerres en France”, S. & R., n° 28, oct. 2009, pp. 69-85.
* Alison Murray Levine, “Cinéma, propagande agricole et populations rurales en France (1919-1939)”, Vingtième Siècle, no.83, 2004, sf.21-38. (“Projections of Rural Life: The Agricultural Film Initiative in France, 1919-39”, Cinema Journal, vol. 43, no. 4, summer, 2004, pp. 76-95.)
* Özgür Adadağ, “Ulusu Eğitmek: İki Dünya Savaşı Arası Dönemde Eğitici Sinema”, İleti-ş-im, Aralık 2012, sayı.17, sf.29-61.
* Kay Hoffmann, “Propagandistic problems of German newsreels in World War II”, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, vol.24, no.1, 2004, sf.133-142.
*E. Osman Erden, “Nasyonal sosyalist sinema”, Toplumsal Tarih, no.122, Şubat 2004, sf.44-49.
*Henri Burgelin, “Le génie de la propagande”, Collections de L’Histoire, no.18, Ocak 2003, sf.54-57.
* Jérôme Bimbenet, “Le cinéma de propagande nazie (1930-1939): un impact limité” içinde, Jean–Pierre Bertin-Maghit, Une histoire mondiale des cinémas de propagande, Nouveau Monde éditions, 2008, sf.137-159.
* Susan Sontag, “Büyüleyen Faşizm”, B. Bakır, Y. Ünal, S. Saliji (der.), Sinema, İdeoloji, Politika, Orient yayınclık, 2008, sf.205-221.
*“Ruth Starkman, “Mother of All Spectacles: Ray Muller’s “The Woderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl”, Film Quarterly, vol.51, no.2, Kış 1997-1998, sf.21-31.
*François Genton, “Le Dictateur et les autres: satire première et satire seconde”, Revue de littérature comparée, 2007/4, no.324, sf.459-472.
*Halide Edip Adıvar, Vurun Kahpeye, İstanbul, Can yayınları, 2007(1923).
*İştar Gözaydın-Savaşır, “Bir Ulus ve Ulus Kimlik Oluşturmak. Tarih Yaratma Aracı Olarak Sinema”, Tarih ve Toplum, Kasım 2002, no.227, sf.15-19.
*Hilmi Maktav, “Cumhuriyetin Sinemacısı, Muhsin Ertuğrul”, Tarih ve Toplum, Kasım 2002, sayı 227.
*Güven Arif Sargın, “Ötekinin Gözüyle Ankara’yı Kurmak: Sovyet Propaganda Filmlerinde Devrimci Bellek Kaybı ve Anımsama”, Tansı Şenyapılı (der.), Cumhuriyet’in Ankara’sı, Ankara, ODTÜ yayıncılık, 2005, sf.366-397.
Print the course contents
Theory Topics
Week Weekly Contents
1 Presentation of the course -Introduction: two functions of the cinema
2 Third cinema
3 The case of USSR (1) -The golden age of soviet cinema
4 The case of USSR (2) -An undisputable example of the propaganda cinema: The Battleship of Potemkin
5 Educational cinema (1)
6 Educational cinema (2)
7 Educational cinema (3)
8 Educational cinema (4)
9 The Case of Germany (1) -Nazism and cinema -In praise of beauty: “Olympia”
10 The Case of Germany (2) - Nazism and propaganda - In praise of order: “The Triumph of the Will”
11 Relationship between artist and politics: -“ The Wonderful and Horrible” Riefenstahl
12 Laughing about totalitarian regimes -Chaplin and “Dictator” -Cartoons and propaganda
13 Cinema and the construction of national identity (1) -The propaganda film of the young Republic of Turkey: “Ankara, Türkiye’nin kalbi”
14 Cinema and the construction of national identity (2) - The image of women between nationalism and religion 3 dissimilar films adapted from a single novel: “Vurun Kahpeye”
Practice Topics
Week Weekly Contents
Contribution to Overall Grade
  Number Contribution
Contribution of in-term studies to overall grade 1 40
Contribution of final exam to overall grade 1 60
Toplam 2 100
In-Term Studies
  Number Contribution
Assignments 0 0
Presentation 0 0
Midterm Examinations (including preparation) 1 100
Project 0 0
Laboratory 0 0
Other Applications 0 0
Quiz 0 0
Term Paper/ Project 0 0
Portfolio Study 0 0
Reports 0 0
Learning Diary 0 0
Thesis/ Project 0 0
Seminar 0 0
Other 0 0
Toplam 1 100
No Program Learning Outcomes Contribution
1 2 3 4 5
1 Understanding the major theories, concepts, foundations, and methodologies used in the study of politics. X
2 Identifying the structure and operation of the political system in Turkey and other political systems in the world. X
3 Identifying and gathering information from credible primary and secondary sources; analyzing and synthesizing the acquired knowledge. X
4 Generating and testing empirically hypotheses about political processes, institutions, mechanisms and relationships. X
5 Designing, conducting and interpreting the results of original research in accordance with the scientific and ethical principles by using basic research methods. X
6 Showing awareness and sensivity towards issues related to democracy, human rights and social peace. X
7 Appraising the sources of societal conflict and how they can be resolved by political means. X
8 Examining critically the nature of change in the global political community, and the complex character of processes such as globalization.
9 Taking a role in a teamwork in political science and general fields of other related disciplines.
10 Following publications in foreign languages and communicating with the colleagues in the international environment by using French which is the language of education in Galatasaray University and English, the compulsory foreign language.
11 Using required level of information and communication technologies.
Activities Number Period Total Workload
Class Hours 14 3 42
Working Hours out of Class 12 3 36
Midterm Examinations (including preparation) 1 20 20
Final Examinations (including preparation) 1 20 20
Total Workload 118
Total Workload / 25 4.72
Credits ECTS 5
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