CINEPHILES IN THE AGE OF NEW MEDIA: CINEPHILE CULTURE IN TURKEY

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Thesis Type: Postgraduate

Institution Of The Thesis: Istanbul University, Institute of Social Sciences, İletişim Fakültesi Bölümü, Turkey

Approval Date: 2018

Thesis Language: Turkish

Student: Hülya TORUN

Supervisor: Özlem Arda

Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection

Abstract:

The passion of Cinephiles -known as the fanatics of cinema art- for films is quite different from ordinary cinema audience who watches movies as part of the consumption culture without generating any thought. Cinephiles are those who have specific taste in cinema, make their lives meaningful by movies, socialize with movies, and sometimes organize events and produce various contents by acting with enthusiasm given by the cinema. The relationship between cinema and cinephiles who place cinema at the centre of their lives has transformed with the changing film formats and viewing platforms and it has continued to exist by being shaped by its own unique forms of watching in every era. The primary objective of this research is to determine the dynamics that shape the cinephile culture in the new media age and to evaluate the current position of the cinephile culture in Turkey in terms of cinephile behaviors and habits. In the first chapter of the research, how the concept of cinephilia has taken place in the cinema studies has been researched and a new classification has been made by comparing various definitions of cinephilia. The development of the cinephile culture in Turkey has been discussed with the help of the information that come from the magazines that nourish cinephiles, activities of the cinema clubs, formation of the film festivals and the memoir books written by cinephiles. In the second chapter, the answer to the question of what kind of opportunities are there for nourishing cinephile culture in the new media has been sought. The elements that nourish cinephiles in the new media age when movie viewing platforms have been diversified, cinematic information has become easier to access, the ways in which cinephiles produce content about cinema has increased, the interaction between cinephiles has diversified and movie archiving has transformed, have been discussed. In the final chapter which is the application part of the research, in-depth interviews with nine cinephiles living in Turkey has been conducted in order to understand the cinephile culture better with an insider's view.