Cinematic Orientalism: East-West Perception in Netflix's 'Swimmers'
This article analyzes the movie "The Swimmers" using ideological and frame-by-frame film analysis methods. The themes, characters, and locations in the film are evaluated in the context of the critique of orientalism and self-orientalism, analyzing how ideological themes are processed and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Sakarya University
2024-06-01
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| Series: | Medya ve Kültür |
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| Online Access: | https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/3922082 |
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| author | Kemal Çelik |
| author_facet | Kemal Çelik |
| author_sort | Kemal Çelik |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article analyzes the movie "The Swimmers" using ideological and frame-by-frame film analysis methods. The themes, characters, and locations in the film are evaluated in the context of the critique of orientalism and self-orientalism, analyzing how ideological themes are processed and reinforced. The film associates concepts of faith and hope with Christianity, presenting Christian characters as saviors. While telling the story of Syrian refugees, the film chooses Christian and European-looking heroes, portraying Muslims negatively. Emphasizing the superiority of Western culture, the film depicts the Eastern world as backward and helpless. Countries such as Turkey are coded as dark and uncanny, while European countries are idealized. The positive portrayal of Greece praises European efforts towards refugees but creates a negative image of the Turkish Coast Guard. The orientalist and self-orientalist elements of the film are attempts to present an attractive narrative for Western audiences. The Muslim screenwriter's distortion of Eastern historical realities under Western producers' influence represents self-orientalism. This approach reflects an endeavor to present Eastern culture in line with Western perspectives to gain Western approval, reinforcing prejudices rather than fostering understanding of cultural and political differences. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-60323e44e8ee4c33a81b4947a1c75a23 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2791-6979 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-06-01 |
| publisher | Sakarya University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Medya ve Kültür |
| spelling | doaj-art-60323e44e8ee4c33a81b4947a1c75a232025-02-11T08:18:30ZengSakarya UniversityMedya ve Kültür2791-69792024-06-0141436310.60077/medkul.148220528Cinematic Orientalism: East-West Perception in Netflix's 'Swimmers'Kemal Çelik0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1577-5151İSTANBUL MEDİPOL ÜNİVERSİTESİThis article analyzes the movie "The Swimmers" using ideological and frame-by-frame film analysis methods. The themes, characters, and locations in the film are evaluated in the context of the critique of orientalism and self-orientalism, analyzing how ideological themes are processed and reinforced. The film associates concepts of faith and hope with Christianity, presenting Christian characters as saviors. While telling the story of Syrian refugees, the film chooses Christian and European-looking heroes, portraying Muslims negatively. Emphasizing the superiority of Western culture, the film depicts the Eastern world as backward and helpless. Countries such as Turkey are coded as dark and uncanny, while European countries are idealized. The positive portrayal of Greece praises European efforts towards refugees but creates a negative image of the Turkish Coast Guard. The orientalist and self-orientalist elements of the film are attempts to present an attractive narrative for Western audiences. The Muslim screenwriter's distortion of Eastern historical realities under Western producers' influence represents self-orientalism. This approach reflects an endeavor to present Eastern culture in line with Western perspectives to gain Western approval, reinforcing prejudices rather than fostering understanding of cultural and political differences.https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/3922082swimmersorientalismself orientalismsyrian refugeenetflixswimmersoryantalizmself oryantalizmsuriyeli mültecinetflix |
| spellingShingle | Kemal Çelik Cinematic Orientalism: East-West Perception in Netflix's 'Swimmers' Medya ve Kültür swimmers orientalism self orientalism syrian refugee netflix swimmers oryantalizm self oryantalizm suriyeli mülteci netflix |
| title | Cinematic Orientalism: East-West Perception in Netflix's 'Swimmers' |
| title_full | Cinematic Orientalism: East-West Perception in Netflix's 'Swimmers' |
| title_fullStr | Cinematic Orientalism: East-West Perception in Netflix's 'Swimmers' |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cinematic Orientalism: East-West Perception in Netflix's 'Swimmers' |
| title_short | Cinematic Orientalism: East-West Perception in Netflix's 'Swimmers' |
| title_sort | cinematic orientalism east west perception in netflix s swimmers |
| topic | swimmers orientalism self orientalism syrian refugee netflix swimmers oryantalizm self oryantalizm suriyeli mülteci netflix |
| url | https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/3922082 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kemalcelik cinematicorientalismeastwestperceptioninnetflixsswimmers |