Chapter 9
The Use of Music in Turkish-German Diasporic Cinema
Ayça Tunç Cox
While the pioneering filmmakers of second generation of Turkish immigrants functioned as cultural mediators between their predecessors and those who came after, the third, and latest, generation of Turkish-descent filmmakers in Germany represent increasing layers of cultural difference. They are primarily German citizens who were born and raised in Germany, and thus, the entirety of their socialization process was in the German education system. Not only does the third generation have the opportunity for total integration, they are also very likely to remember the migration process via “prosthetic memory”—a received, mediated relationship with the past, rather than direct experience or “postmemory” of the second generation—determining their particular perception of the events and shaping their self-consciousness and self-representation.
These diasporic subjects do not form a single entity, but rather, constitute a diverse, heterogeneous and multilayered demographic that cuts across various dynamics and components such as gender, class, religion, politics and generation. Accordingly, the role of nostalgia in the formation and definition of diasporic subjectivity can be expected to undergo a transformation across generations, since “affective cultural memories diverge between social constituencies and even between generations in accordance with the different pasts to which they are able to connect the present.” How does this, then, affect the use of music in diasporic films? How do the second and third generations of Turkish-German filmmakers register nostalgia and cross borders between generations, cultures and musical styles?
Films discussed in Chapter 9:
A Little Bit of Freedom. Directed by Yüksel Yavuz. Cotta Media Entertainment, Peter Stockhaus Filmproduktion, and Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) and Zero Fiction Film GmbH. Germany, 2003.
April Children. Directed by Yüksel Yavuz. Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) and Zero Fiction Film GmbH. Germany, 1998.
Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of İstanbul. Directed by Fatih Akin. Corazón International, Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), Panfilm, Pictorion Pictures GmbH and Intervista digital media GmbH. Germany, 2005.
En Garde. Directed by Ayşe Polat. X-Filme Creative Pool and Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF). Germany, 2004.
Head-On. Directed by Fatih Akin. Wüste Filmproduktion, Bavaria Film and Soda Pictures. Germany, 2004.
In July. Directed by Fatih Akin. Wüste Filmproduktion, Argos Filmcilik Turizm and Quality Pictures. Germany, 2000.
My Sorrowful Village. Directed by Kemal Görgülü. dostFilm and ESAV. Germany, 2005.
Offside. Directed by Buket Alakuş. Wüste Filmproduktion and Das kleine Fernsehspiel. Germany, 2004.
Rage. Directed by Züli Aladağ. Colonia Media Filmproduktions GmbH and Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). Germany, 2006.
Short Sharp Shock. Directed by Fatih Akin. Wüste Filmproduktion and Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF). Germany, 1998.
Tour Abroad. Directed Ayşe Polat. Mira Filmproduktion Bremen GmbH and Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF). Germany, 1999.
Yasemin. Directed by Hark Bohm. Hamburger Kino-Kompanie, Hark Bohm Filmproduktions KG and Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF). Germany, 1988.
These diasporic subjects do not form a single entity, but rather, constitute a diverse, heterogeneous and multilayered demographic that cuts across various dynamics and components such as gender, class, religion, politics and generation. Accordingly, the role of nostalgia in the formation and definition of diasporic subjectivity can be expected to undergo a transformation across generations, since “affective cultural memories diverge between social constituencies and even between generations in accordance with the different pasts to which they are able to connect the present.” How does this, then, affect the use of music in diasporic films? How do the second and third generations of Turkish-German filmmakers register nostalgia and cross borders between generations, cultures and musical styles?
Films discussed in Chapter 9:
A Little Bit of Freedom. Directed by Yüksel Yavuz. Cotta Media Entertainment, Peter Stockhaus Filmproduktion, and Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) and Zero Fiction Film GmbH. Germany, 2003.
April Children. Directed by Yüksel Yavuz. Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) and Zero Fiction Film GmbH. Germany, 1998.
Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of İstanbul. Directed by Fatih Akin. Corazón International, Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), Panfilm, Pictorion Pictures GmbH and Intervista digital media GmbH. Germany, 2005.
En Garde. Directed by Ayşe Polat. X-Filme Creative Pool and Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF). Germany, 2004.
Head-On. Directed by Fatih Akin. Wüste Filmproduktion, Bavaria Film and Soda Pictures. Germany, 2004.
In July. Directed by Fatih Akin. Wüste Filmproduktion, Argos Filmcilik Turizm and Quality Pictures. Germany, 2000.
My Sorrowful Village. Directed by Kemal Görgülü. dostFilm and ESAV. Germany, 2005.
Offside. Directed by Buket Alakuş. Wüste Filmproduktion and Das kleine Fernsehspiel. Germany, 2004.
Rage. Directed by Züli Aladağ. Colonia Media Filmproduktions GmbH and Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). Germany, 2006.
Short Sharp Shock. Directed by Fatih Akin. Wüste Filmproduktion and Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF). Germany, 1998.
Tour Abroad. Directed Ayşe Polat. Mira Filmproduktion Bremen GmbH and Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF). Germany, 1999.
Yasemin. Directed by Hark Bohm. Hamburger Kino-Kompanie, Hark Bohm Filmproduktions KG and Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF). Germany, 1988.
Trailer of the film Head-On (Source: YouTube)
About the author:
Ayça Tunç Cox completed her Ph.D. at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK, with a dissertation entitled “Diasporic Cinema: Turkish-German Filmmakers with Particular Emphasis on Generational Differences.” She received her MA from Ege University, İzmir, Turkey, with a thesis on “Independent Cinema: Alternative Tendencies in Turkish Cinema in the 1990s.” Having taught previously in both Media Arts and Communication, she now works as an Assistant Professor in the Industrial Design Department at Izmir Institute of Technology, Turkey. Among her research interests are transnational cinema, diasporic cinema, national cinemas, European cinema, independent and alternative cinema, and new Turkish cinema. She has published several articles and four book chapters on cinema, and has made several short films.
Ayça Tunç Cox completed her Ph.D. at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK, with a dissertation entitled “Diasporic Cinema: Turkish-German Filmmakers with Particular Emphasis on Generational Differences.” She received her MA from Ege University, İzmir, Turkey, with a thesis on “Independent Cinema: Alternative Tendencies in Turkish Cinema in the 1990s.” Having taught previously in both Media Arts and Communication, she now works as an Assistant Professor in the Industrial Design Department at Izmir Institute of Technology, Turkey. Among her research interests are transnational cinema, diasporic cinema, national cinemas, European cinema, independent and alternative cinema, and new Turkish cinema. She has published several articles and four book chapters on cinema, and has made several short films.