Culture Archives - Politics Today https://politicstoday.org/tag/culture/ Sat, 11 Nov 2023 06:20:50 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.8 The EU’s Two-Dimensional Thinking about Integration is Myopic: Interview with Hans Kundnani https://politicstoday.org/eu-integration-interview-hans-kundnani/ Sat, 11 Nov 2023 06:20:50 +0000 https://politicstoday.org/eu-integration-interview-hans-kundnani/

Eurowhiteness may come off as unpalatable to many pro-Europeans, but it raises valuable questions about the place of culture and race in the European project.

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n Eurowhiteness, Hans Kundnani, Associate Fellow in the Europe Programme at Chatham House, challenges a sanitized and linear history of the EU, prompting the reader to rethink Europe’s peaceful image against its imperial past. He goes on to tackle myopic assumptions about the European project throughout the book.

Kundnani argues that pro-Europeans, who cradled cosmopolitanism and renounced nationalism, have failed to perceive the reality of European regionalism. This provocative critique dissects both the civic and ethnic elements that shape European identity by highlighting Europe’s interaction with the “Other” and linking “Europeanness” and “whiteness.” 

Eurowhiteness may come off as unpalatable to many pro-Europeans, but it raises valuable questions against a backdrop of a rising far-right in Europe. Especially in the wake of the 2015 refugee crisis, the complex relationship between European identity and race demands urgent reflection.

Q. What are some of the myths that cause blind spots in understanding the European identity?

I would mention two in particular. The first is the idea that the EU is a cosmopolitan project. Cosmopolitanism usually has something to do with the whole world, and Europe is not the whole world. There’s a tendency by pro-Europeans and the EU to mistake Europe for the world. For example, when they talk about European integration, they sometimes seem to think that they’re talking about global integration, but they’re not.

Similarly, when they say “I’m a European or I’m a European citizen,” they seem to think they’re saying I’m a citizen of the world, but they’re not; They’re saying I’m a citizen of this particular region that has a very particular history and relationship with the rest of the world.

This is what I call in Eurowhiteness “the of myth of cosmopolitanism in Europe”, and related to that is the idea to think European integration is good for the whole of the world, but that may not necessarily be the case; It may be good for Europeans or may not be good for Europeans, arguably. But even if it is good for Europeans, it’s not clear if it’s good for the whole world.

The second myth would be that the EU is a peace project, and that is not entirely wrong. However, the way that pro-Europeans talk about it is sometimes simplistic; that after 1945 Europeans rejected war, and since then Europeans stand for peace. In reality, Europeans did not reject war in general in 1945. They only rejected war with each other.

In 1950 as the Schuman Declaration, which can be seen as the beginning of the idea of the EU as a peace project, is made by France’s then-foreign minister Robert Schumann, France is simultaneously fighting a brutal colonial war in Indochina.

Similarly, seven years later, when the Treaty of Rome is signed, France fought a brutal colonial war in Algeria. This demonstrates that Europeans are continuing to fight colonial wars until they’re defeated or exhausted.

Europeans like to think of themselves as being uniquely peaceful. The real story is more complicated, and in particular, as I say, to the extent that Europeans have rejected military force, it is military force within what has become the European Union, not even within Europe at large, that is being rejected.

Read: Superstates: Empires of the Twenty-First Century

Q. Has the EU’s focus shifted from peace to power?

I wouldn’t say it has shifted from being about peace to being about power. I think it was always about power as well as peace. In particular, it gets to what I was just saying about the idea of the EU as a peace project.

If you go back to the interwar period pan-European movement, which is the inspiration for the post-War European integration project, it is very clear that at that time already that the European integration project is about power and the perception of European decline accelerated by fighting one other.

The idea is: If we want to maintain our position in the world – and at that time this is a position of colonial domination- we have to stop fighting with each other. Not so that we can end European colonialism, but so that we can continue it. So in other words, European integration would take the competitive element out of European colonialism, allowing its practice collectively.

Part of the point of European integration in 1950s was for France and Belgium to consolidate their colonies in Central and West Africa at a time when they were no longer able to on their own. In particular, they needed an injection of West German capital.

The idea of geopolitical Europe goes back to the 1920s. It only seems new because pro-Europeans like to tell a story of Europe through the aforementioned myths. It only seems like a shift because we’ve forgotten the real history of how European integration began.

Q. Does the EU still export the European social model and the general welfare state?

Social market economy and the welfare state are no longer what the EU can to claim export anymore. It may have done once, but even in Central and Eastern Europe after the end of the Cold War we observe that this is not the case. In fact, the former communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe had much more generous welfare states when they were communist countries.

What happened as they joined the EU during the enlargement process is that those welfare states were dismantled as part of their transition to democracy. There are obviously lots of things that you can criticize about the communist systems in those countries, such as the lack of political freedom and so on, but they did have welfare states.

What has happened now is a further stage in which the EU is putting pressure on member states to dismantle the welfare state. For example, during the euro crisis, the austerity Germany imposed on Greece dismantled what was left of the Greek welfare state.

Read: The Resettlement of Refugees: A Test for European Values

Q. Your book suggests that civic ideas of Europe are being replaced by ethnic-cultural ones. What is the connection of the neoliberalization of Europe to identity politics?

What I try to show in the book is that there have always been both of the elements of civic and ethnic-cultural idea in the history of what I call European regionalism- which is similar to nationalism on a larger continental scale. I’m suggesting that we can think of the history of ideas of Europe in the way we think about the history of nations. Therefore, regionalism is like nationalism.

The earliest ideas of Europe are predominantly ethnic-cultural. For example, in the medieval period, Europeanness is synonymous with Christianity. From the modern period onwards, you begin to get civic ideas of Europe. Then, in the post war period is when the EU came closest to evolving into a purely civic regionalism. Particularly, in the period from the 60s to the 90s-2000s, there was an idea of Europe centered on the social market economy, the welfare state and depoliticized mode of governance which European integration had produced.

I think what’s happened is that the social market economy and the welfare state have been hollowed out by neoliberalism in the EU. Meanwhile, there has been a backlash against the depoliticised mode of governance where the older civic idea of Europe is no longer persuasive in the same way it was before.

The way I understand neoliberalism is not just financialization, but it’s also the depoliticization of economic policy. In other words, it’s taking economic policy out of the space of democratic contestation. Although, to some extent, this has happened in the whole world in the last 30-40 years through things like the World Trade Organisation rules, the EU has taken it further through the creation of the single market, and also the Eurozone and the fiscal rules. Therefore, it’s very difficult now to pursue a left wing economic policy in the Eurozone because the fiscal rules don’t allow you to do it.

My argument is basically that when you take economic policy out of the space of democratic contestation and no longer have big fights between left and right about economic policy, your democratic politics shifts to cultural questions.

The point of democratic politics is to reconcile different interests and to have fights about questions where people in your society have different ideas or different interests. I think a healthy democratic politics is one where you do that about economic issues because there are real differences between the interests and different ideas as well.

What has happened now is that the center left parties and the center right parties converged in the center around neoliberal economic policy, which the EU has constitutionalized. Therefore, the way parties can differentiate themselves from each other now is around cultural questions.

In terms of what Europe says to the rest of the world, there was a time it would say it stood for the social market economy and the welfare state and now it says it stands for European civilisation.

A good example of this is the phrase “the European way of life,” which used to be used by French socialists, specifically, to refer to the social market economy and the welfare state and the idea of solidarity that it was meant to embody, saying “that’s what we in Europe stand for as opposed to the United States.”

Now when you look at the way that the phrase is used, it is in more civilizational terms. In the current European Commission, the Commission of Ursula Von Der Leyen since 2019, a European Commissioner for promoting the European way of life and his job is to keep migrants out, which makes it very explicit that migrants- only migrants from the South, not migrants from the east- are a threat to the European way of life. That is a very explicit expression of civilizationalism where the European way of life is defined in terms of culture and civilisation, not in terms of the social market economy and the welfare state.

Read: The Fear of Decline: Cultural Pessimism in Europe

Q. In your book you imply that the center right is increasingly mimicking the far right. Is there a pro-European version of the great replacement theory, if so, what is it?

There is an idea that the EU represents a European civilisation which is being increasingly threatened. This is basically a far right idea that has now been taken on by the center right in Europe.

For example, a couple of weeks ago, Eric Zemmour was doing a rally in the South of France with the young far right leader Marion Maréchal, and the slogan on the lectern at which he was speaking was ‘Defend our civilization.’  The way the far right is thinking about Europe is there’s a European civilisation that is threatened right now. The far right tends to talk about this in the context of migration. That is, it’s the migration of non-white and non-Christian people that is threatening European civilisation.

For example, Valérie Pécresse, the Republican candidate in the French Presidential election in 2022, was talking about white replacement theory or alluding to it in terms of migration. However, in addition, what the centre right tends to do is not talk so much about migration as a racial threat, but more in foreign policy terms as a threat to European civilisation. Macron has given speeches where he’s quite explicit about this.

In other words, international politics is a clash of civilizations, like how Samuel Huntington argues, and Europe is a distinct civilization. Moreover, for someone like Macron, the West is not one civilization, which is what Huntington thought but that Europe is a distinct civilisation, separate from the United States as well.

Where I see a connection with great replacement theory is that this is almost the international political equivalent of the great replacement theory. It’s not about migration but it’s that if Europe does not unite and defend itself, it will be also replaced by other civilizations. Macron has basically said that.

Q. What are some key takeaways from history regarding Europe’s interaction with those who it sees as the “Other”?

I try to show in Eurowhiteness that there’s a long history of defining Europe against various different “Others” at various different times and it’s constantly shifting. But roughly, I would say, in the medieval period when Europe is pretty much synonymous with Christianity, Jews are defined as the primary internal other and Muslims as the primary external other, excluding the divide between Western Christendom and Eastern Christendom.

Then, in the modern period, I try to show how there is a new complex modern idea of Europe, which is partly to do with the European enlightenment and the scientific revolution. It is a rationalist, secular idea of Europe rather than a religious one. At the same time, the idea of Europe also emerges in the context of the encounter of Europeans with the populations of Africa and Asia, and especially the Americas, and that’s the context in which the idea of whiteness emerges.

So, the modern idea of Europe is not just a rationalist one as opposed to a religious one, it’s also a more racialized idea of Europe that is closely connected to the idea of whiteness. What I think happens in that context is that non-white people around the world are the “Others” against which Europeans define themselves.

In the 20th century and particularly after World War I, you have the new idea of Europe as a geopolitical bloc, which I mentioned earlier. European civilisation or the European spirit, as they talked about it at that time, is being threatened by the United States on the one hand and the Soviet Union on the other hand. In that context, Russia and also the United States are respectively an “Other.” What I think we’re seeing today is a mixture of all of those “Others.”

Read: The Future of Far-Right Parties in Europe

Q. In the context of the current European enlargement talks, how does Eurowhiteness influence the accession process for Eastern European countries and Turkey?

Enlargement is back and it has very quickly become the central priority for the EU, including the question of how to reform the EU in order to get it ready for enlargement. But it is quite extraordinary that there’s all these discussions regarding enlargement and the topics surrounding it such as reform and the countries awaiting membership, namely Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and even the Western Balkans, and Turkey has never been mentioned at all.

I was watching a discussion online that the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), a foreign policy think tank, was having- a 90-minute long discussion about exactly these questions and Turkey was never mentioned. Nobody thought to even bring it up. This is an answer to your question of how eurowhiteness plays into the EU enlargement.

It’s apparent that this time is very different from the “big bang” enlargement in the 2000s. Enlargement is now thought about in a much more civilizational way. Ukraine is in and Turkey is out.

When it comes to the Western Balkans the situation is complex, given not just their histories but also the different populations that they have.

The way I’ve described it in the book is that there’s a contrast between Europe’s borders to the east and Europe’s borders to the South. Europe enlarges to the East, but not to the South. And I think for Turkey and the Western Balkan countries, located in South East of Europe, they’re geographically somewhat in the middle, and so, it gets quite complicated.

I think we can see quite clearly how that plays out with Turkey in the way that I just described, which has largely to do with the fact that even if it’s a secular country, it’s seen as a Muslim country. The countries of the Western Balkans are even more complicated in that respect, because additionally there is the Russia factor, which is also to some extent an “Other.” In short, for the Western Balkans, I think, it’s gonna be a long, complicated process.

Read: Brexit and Re-discussing European Democracy

Q. How could the EU stop thinking in terms of less integration or more integration, which is a criticism you make in your book?

That question goes way beyond my book and is something I thought for a long time about, which is that so many of these discussions about European integration, especially as they take place in Brussels and among pro Europeans, are entirely through the prism of “do we have more integration or less integration.”

It’s a very linear way of thinking and the assumption is: more integration is good, disintegration is bad. Therefore, Brexit is bad, obviously. Whereas, I’ve always thought, long before I came to write this book, “well, maybe some integration is bad and some disintegration is good?”

In terms of what I mentioned earlier on the depoliticization of economic policy, if you constitutionalize right wing economic preferences, then from a left perspective that’s bad European integration.

I think fundamentally what the problem with the EU is around democracy, and in particular, the way in which it depoliticizes economic policy. So, I think the crucial question for the EU is not, “Do you have more Europe or less Europe? Do you integrate or do you disintegrate?” It’s how you deepen democracy in Europe, period. Therefore, the key question about policy should be: “Is it making Europe more democratic or not?”

Q. As a person who formerly identified as a pro-European, would you like to share your story of how your perception of the EU changed?

I think part of my perceptions of and interest in some of these questions has to do with my own background. I was born and grew up in Britain, which has a famously semi-detached relationship with Europe. On top of that, I have two parents who are immigrants to Britain. My father was Indian and my mother was Dutch. So in other words, I have one parent from a EU member state, which in some ways I think made me feel more European than a lot of Brits who just have two British parents, and one from a country outside of Europe. I felt a certain sense of being European, but not quite.

It started with looking at Europe from a slightly peripheral perspective, and then emerged when I was working at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), a pro-European foreign policy think tank, from about 2009 to 2015. When I first started working there, I was kind of a pro-European and I thought I understood the EU. In retrospect, I didn’t.

It was while I worked there that I learned more about the EU and I began to conclude that a lot of what I thought I knew about it, especially about its history, was actually myth created by the EU about itself. For example, the story I told you earlier about the colonial history has been completely written out of the story that pro-Europeans tell about themselves. My former colleagues at ECFR have no clue about any of this history until I tell them- and these are people who are experts on the EU.

I wrote an essay in the New Statesman, a British magazine, two years ago which Eurowhiteness expands upon. What inspired me write the book was the reactions to this essay. My former boss at the ECFR, Mark Leonard, wrote a response to the essay claiming that the EU is a post-colonial project.  At ECFR, they didn’t know this is the real history; which shows, as I say, how successful the EU is in mythologizing itself.

The more conversations I have about the book and I realize that a lot of what I write in the book is much clearer to people outside of Europe than it is to people within Europe. For example, if I say that Europeanness has something to do with whiteness, I think, to most people outside of Europe it is kind of obvious, but it’s horrifying to a lot of people within Europe. They’re outraged when you even try to connect the two things.

Hence, the title of the book angers a lot of people. A part of the reason I insisted on that title was exactly to say that there is a connection between Europeanness and whiteness, and I want us to talk about it. Most people don’t want to do that, at least within the pro-European bubble in Europe.

Q. Do you think that the EU is still on a civilizing mission?

A Polish academic, Jan Zielonka, who was at Oxford for many years, has an analysis of the civilizing mission of the EU in Central and Eastern Europe as part of the enlargement process, which he calls a ‘post-modern civilizing mission’, and I think he’s absolutely right.

But I remember, for example, having that discussion with my former boss at the ECFR when I was working on Eurowhiteness a couple of years ago, and he said that when pro-Europeans refer to a civilizing mission, it’s ironically. Well, it’s not. It’s an actual civilizing mission.

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]]> Turkey’s Earthquake Devastated Cultural Heritage Sites https://politicstoday.org/turkey-earthquake-destroyed-cultural-heritage-sites/ Thu, 23 Feb 2023 16:46:24 +0000 https://politicstoday.org/turkey-earthquake-destroyed-cultural-heritage-sites/

Turkish authorities have pledged to provide support and resources to ensure that the damaged cultural sites are fully restored and preserved for future generations.

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The two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6  that struck eleven provinces in Turkey (Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye ve Şanlıurfa) on February 6 caused major devastation to local cultural heritage sites as many historical monuments were either severely damaged or completely destroyed.

The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism has promptly taken action to assess the damage to the cultural treasures in the eleven provinces affected by the earthquake. Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy stated that teams continue to work to assess the damage to all cultural properties and ensure their safety in the regions where the “disaster of the century” was experienced.

Ersoy also emphasized that in addition to the teams formed by engineers, architects, and lecturers from universities who are experts in antiquities, academic support will be provided by universities for damage assessment.

“Every part of the buildings will be taken under protection, and restorations will be carried out quickly in accordance with the original,” Ersoy continued.

A view of Saint Georgios Greek Orthodox Church, damaged in the earthquakes, on February 12, 2023 in Turkiye's Hatay. Damage occurred in the historical church in Altinozu district. Photo by Anadolu Images.

The earthquakes affecting eleven provinces caused minor damage to many historical structures, especially the Habib-i Neccar Mosque, which has been standing for centuries in Antakya; Adıyaman Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami); and St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Antakya.

The symbol of Gaziantep

Among the sites affected by the earthquake was Gaziantep Castle, which was built in the 11th century and is located on a 25-30 meter hill in Gaziantep city center. The castle was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2003, and served as a prison during the time of the Ottoman Empire. Built by Sultan Orhan Gazi in 1396, it is considered one of the largest and most exquisite castles in Turkey.

While some of the bastions in the east, south, and southeast parts of Gaziantep Castle were destroyed by the earthquake, debris was scattered on the road.

A view of damaged Church of Virgin Mary in Hatay, located in Turkiye’s southernmost Hatay province on February 21, 2023. Photo by Anadolu Images.

Şirvani Mosque, located near the historical Gaziantep Castle, is another historical structure damaged by the earthquake. The mosque, built in 677 CE, was one of the most important historical buildings in Gaziantep. The mosque’s dome and the wall on the eastern façade were destroyed.

It has been reported that many artifacts in Gaziantep museums, including those in the renowned Zeugma Mosaic Museum, have been left unscathed.

An interior view of destroyed Cevdet Pasha Mosque, built in the 1800s in Islahiye district, is seen after 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes hit multiple provinces of Turkiye including Gaziantep, Turkiye on February 17, 2023. Photo by Anadolu Images.

World’s first cathedral in Hatay

In the nearby Hatay Province, the world’s first cave church, St. Pierre, and the thousands-year-old Hatay Castle ruins were not damaged by the earthquake. Antakya is inhabited by several minority communities, including Syriac Orthodox Christians, Syriac Catholics, and Armenians.

However, the Habib-i Neccar Mosque, which was the first mosque in Anatolia, and the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, which has been around since the first century CE, suffered extensive damage and almost collapsed.

The centuries-old Habib-i Neccar Mosque was built in 638 CE when Antakya was under the rule of Muslim Arabs, and was among the most important historical structures of the city.

The Hatay State Assembly Building, built by the French architect Leon Benju as a movie theater in 1927 and now serving as a cultural center, was also destroyed in the earthquake.

A view of Saint Georgios Greek Orthodox Church, damaged in the earthquakes, on February 12, 2023 in Turkiye's Hatay. Photo by Anadolu Images.

Massive damage at earthquake’s epicenter

Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of both earthquakes, suffered extensive destruction. The Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami), built in Kahramanmaraş during the Dulkadiroğlu Principality, lost half of its minaret, coupled with damage caused by falling rubble near the entrance of the mosque.

The Diyarbakır Fortress, which was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015, managed to survive the earthquake. It was reported that there was no serious damage to the walls, but there was debris in some parts.

Turkish authorities have pledged to provide support and resources to ensure that the damaged cultural sites are fully restored and preserved for future generations.

A view of debris of Latin Catholic Church after 7.4 magnitude earthquake hits Iskenderun district of Hatay, Turkiye on February 06, 2023. Photo by Anadolu Images.

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]]> Meet Your New Reality: Death to 2020 Is a Clever Political Satire https://politicstoday.org/death-to-2020-tv-show-political-satire-mockumentary/ Mon, 23 Aug 2021 12:20:59 +0000 https://politicstoday.org/death-to-2020-tv-show-political-satire-mockumentary/

Death to 2020 is a cleverly written, well-executed, and well-produced TV show that reminds us of old-school satirical TV shows that mocked their own times.

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Death to 2020, which is described as a “mockumentary,” is a critical interpretation of the most important political and social events of 2020 from the perspective of the show’s producers. It is a show, because although the events taking place in it are real events that we all experienced in 2020, the interpretation of these events is fictionalized in a way to make the whole thing a satirical and funny TV show.

In a nutshell, Death to 2020 is a cleverly written, well-executed, and well-produced TV show that reminds us of old-school satirical TV shows that mocked their own times

The plot of the show is as follows: the main political and social events of 2020 are chronologically retold and summarized for the audience while the fictional characters of the show, who are kind of “confused” in their own ways, start commenting on the events as if they were part of an absurd reality show.

The mockumentary takes the U.S. presidential election of 2020 as the most salient event in the regular schedule of a globalized world. The U.S. election is the most commented event in the show along with the outbreak of the COVID19 pandemic. According to the show – and it is hard to disagree – the election was between two candidates who were too old and unqualified to be the president of the world’s last declining hegemon, and created an impossible dilemma for the voters.

The campaign process of the U.S. elections shows two different Americas according to the show. However, polarization and increasing anger between the two sides are not something unique to American society. The whole world is being divided into factions and polarized, while ordinary people are becoming increasingly radicalized. This polarization is exacerbated by social media companies, which sell their users’ private information for a profit. It is, in fact, hard to disagree with these arguments.

VIDEO: Death to 2020 | Official Clip | Hugh Grant as Tennyson Foss | Netflix

An “average British viewer” watching a news channel as if it were an American TV show describes the events as “totally mental,” while the screen fills with demonstrations, hate speech, and conspiracy theories on conventional mainstream and social media. However, the cruel murder of George Floyd by police officers shocked not only the American nation but the whole world.

Chaos and enmity divided America even deeper. Protests and rage spread to the streets with the Black Live Matters movement that started in the U.S. and quickly spread across Western Europe. Scenes from these protests were historical and gave us an insight into police brutality, destruction, and looting. In the U.K., many protestors removed or defaced statues and memorials considered to be “celebrating slavery, racism, and colonialism.”

Regarding the fraud allegations during the elections and the ‘Stop the Steal’ movement, Death to 2020 claims that these allegations, with the help of social media, turned into a bundle of conspiracy theories beyond logic, creating a chaotic environment while everybody believed what they wanted to believe. It is almost impossible to reveal the “truth” in the age of post-truth due to corrupt mainstream media, misuse of technology, and the social media charade.

Biden’s speech as president-elect could easily be regarded as naive in a highly polarized American society: “I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide but unify.” Still, many cheered his victory as the next president of the United States and probably sincerely believed that things would get better after he took office. But in reality, with the problem of racism, white supremacism, social polarization, a global pandemic, economic recession, the decline of American military power, and, most importantly, Trumpism (with 72 million Americans voting for Donald Trump), it is not hard to agree with the creators of the show that there is a tough road ahead for the United States of America regardless of its administration.

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Covid-19, which was a shock to everyone in 2020, is dealt with in depth in Death to 2020. In general, the Western world and particularly two leaders – Donald Trump in the U.S. and Boris Johnson in the U.K. – are criticized in the mockumentary. It is true that the timing of the pandemic could not have been worse: both national countries and international institutions were going through a process of dramatic change.

Technology is speeding up everything, polarization and xenophobia have hit a peak, economic recession and trade wars threaten regular people all around the globe, authoritarian tendencies are on the rise even in democratic states, climate change has become ever more serious, and many more problems of the so-called modern age have come together – all this, when the virus hit the world.

As a result, the timing and the scale of the pandemic gained great popularity in conspiracy circles. Although, this is mocked in the show, when one wonders about the origin of the virus and conspiracy theories around it, it is not that surprising that there are suspicions about its origins and timing.

Other issues are mentioned as well such as the massive Beirut port explosion, the Harvey Weinstein legal case which sparked the #MeToo movement, Brexit, Megxit (the break of Prince Harry and his American wife Meghan Markle from the British royal family), the growing popularity of social media and particularly YouTube and Netflix, and the role of WhatsApp groups and other social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok in spreading false information, creating paranoia, and consolidating the age of the post-truth.

When one looks at all these headlines and many other shocking events around the world that are not featured in the show, it is not hard to see what a crazy and perplexing environment we live in. The only conclusion one can reach is that we are all stuck in a powerful whirlpool that resembles a black hole.

Loaded with gallows humor, Death to 2020 is an appropriate retrospective of the year. Reality has become so surreal and absurd that there is nothing left but to mock it all. In the end, Death to 2020 is worth watching in order to come face to face with our new reality.

VIDEO: 2021 Has Already One-Upped These Moments From 2020

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]]> South Korea in the Middle East: More Than Usual Business https://politicstoday.org/south-korea-in-the-middle-east-more-than-usual-business/ Mon, 19 Apr 2021 07:59:13 +0000 https://politicstoday.org/south-korea-in-the-middle-east-more-than-usual-business/

According to Spotify, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria were the top five streamers of K-pop between 2014 and 2020.

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South Korea has become a soft power giant with the effective promotion of its national image and culture worldwide. The country has already proved itself by producing high-quality electronic devices and with its automobile industry. The South Korean movie Parasite was the first non-English language movie to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards in February 2020.

There is a term for this new trend: Hallyu, meaning the “Korean Wave,” describing the quick transfer of South Korean popular culture to the rest of the world. The Korean influence ranges from K-pop to television programs, drama series, and various sorts of digital content.

The Middle East region is not an exception to this wave of Korean cultural influence. Korean dramas, music, and movies are received well in the Middle East. One reason behind Korean culture’s quick penetration in the region is the overlapping cultural sensitivities related to social and moral values such as the place of family in the narratives and the lack of nudity – nudity is more common in European and North American productions. According to Spotify, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria were the top five streamers of K-pop between 2014 and 2020.

VIDEO: South Korea: The Silent Cultural Superpower

The Korea-Arab Society (KAS) is a foundation established and funded by Korean and Arab governments to boost reciprocal cooperation in several areas such as arts, sports, culture, and economy. Korean Cultural Centers (KCC) were opened in Ankara, Cairo, and Abu Dhabi in 2011, 2014, and 2018 respectively.

On the 60th anniversary of South Korea and Turkey diplomatic relations in 2017, Turkey released the movie Ayla, based on a true story that took place during the Korean War. South Koreans call Turks “Blood Brothers.” The Department of Korean Language and Literature at Ankara University was established in 1989, and was the first department for Korean studies in Turkey.

Read: China-US Competition in the Asia-Pacific Will Grow Stronger With the RCEP

Korean Economic Ties to the Middle East

Korean influence in the Middle East is equally vital as in the field of the economy. Gulf countries import large amounts of Korean products, while, in return, South Korea imports Middle Eastern oil and natural gas. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the two chief trading partners of South Korea in the region.

In October 2017, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) entitled “Saudi-Korean Vision 2030” to foster strategic partnership. In 2018, a cooperation pact of $8.3 billion was signed in Seoul by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Korean President Moon Jae-in. Moon stated, “Saudi Arabia is the largest oil supplier for us, and it’s the biggest customer for South Korean construction firms. It is also our number one trade partner in the Middle East.”

Read: Is China Buying Out Africa?

Similarly, the UAE and South Korea have strategic partnership relations in several areas such as education, energy, and agriculture. In 2019, an MoU was signed between the UAE’s Barakah One Company and South Korea’s Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) to improve cooperation on nuclear energy. Recently, in March 2021, during the Industry and Energy Cooperation Forum, the UAE and South Korea signed another MoU for collaboration in hydrogen economy, digital innovation, and transformation.

In August 2012, Turkey and South Korea signed a free trade agreement (FTA) establishing a free trade area, followed by two other agreements on trade and investment in 2015. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan paid a visit to South Korea in 2018 and met Korean President Moon Jae-in to further the cooperation on international affairs such as the refugee crisis, fighting terrorism, world peace, and security.

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South Korea has always been politically neutral in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The country has shown sensitivity towards its relationship with Israel and has kept a balance so as not to risk losing its major trade partners in the Gulf. South Korea has maintained limited military involvement in MENA with some exceptions such as the first Gulf War (1990-91). In 2003, Seoul sent troops during the invasion of Iraq but kept its forces in non-combat zones. In 2006, South Korea sent 356 soldiers to Southern Lebanon as part of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL).

A win-win situation characterizes the Korean-Middle East relationship. South Korea can continue exporting high-tech products to the Middle East and benefit from bilateral agreements in other fields such as education and social reforms. Yet, the country may also face the risk of being part of the U.S. military engagements in the region, given its strong alliance and partnership with the U.S. However, South Korea is not on this track. The cultural impact of Korean arts and movies has helped the country earn a worldwide reputation especially among younger generations who are more eager to follow Korean influencers and public figures online.

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]]> The Amazighs in North Africa: Politics, Society, and Culture https://politicstoday.org/the-amazighs-in-north-africa-politics-society-and-culture/ Tue, 13 Apr 2021 03:38:24 +0000 https://politicstoday.org/the-amazighs-in-north-africa-politics-society-and-culture/

The Amazighs who make 30 million people in North Africa still fight for their rights on their lands.

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The Amazighs, usually referred to as Berbers, are native inhabitants of North Africa. Their presence stretches from the Canary Islands of Spain to Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. Today, they also make up a considerable percentage of immigrants in many countries outside North Africa.

The Amazighs trace their origins to the Libyan tribes that formed strong political entities such as the Garamantes the Gaetulians, and the Meshwesh. The Meshwesh, in fact, annexed Egypt and even installed Shoshenq I as a pharaoh. His lineage carried on for centuries through the 22nd and 23rd Egyptian dynasties (945–720 BC). Apart from this, the Amazighs’ cultural influence on ancient civilizations was extensive as detailed in Greek and Egyptian mythology.

Throughout time, two great powers emerged in the territories where the Amazigh lived: the Phoenicians and the Romans. The Amazighs’ relationships with these two powerful states changed drastically ranging between war, alliances, and cooperation. Yet, throughout the various kingdoms they established, the Amazighs – mainly the Massylii and the Masaesyli – maintained an independent and free will.

Read: My Grandfather’s Fight against Colonialization in Algeria

The Amazighs, colonialism, and postcolonialism

Due to migration and the unfolding of political events, many Amazighs forgot their language and became Arabized Amazighs. Amazighs speak Darja, the local North African dialect as their primary and mother tongue. North African Darja is highly influenced by the Amazigh language, which is very difficult to understand for native Arabs of the Middle East.

Starting from the colonial era in North Africa, the Amazighs like their African neighbors, lost territory and power to the Europeans, mainly to Spain, Portugal, France, and Britain.

Many other Amazigh groups have kept their native tongue. Such groups include the Chaoui people of eastern Algeria; the Chenouas in western Algeria; the Amazighs of Tripolitania in Libya; the Kabyle people, who are the inhabitants of the historical autonomous region of northern Algeria; and the Chleuh in High Atlas and the Souss Valley of Morocco. Other groups include the Riffians of northern Morocco, the Mozabites of southern Algeria, the Zenata of western and southwestern Algeria, and the Tuaregs of the Sahara.

Starting from the colonial era in North Africa, the Amazighs like their African neighbors, lost territory and power to the Europeans, mainly to Spain, Portugal, France, and Britain. They had to fight long and bloody wars of independence to gain their freedom from colonial powers that created new territorial changes, including the creation of modern Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Tunisia, and Libya.

VIDEO: Who are the Amazigh of North Africa?

The Amazighs in post-independent North Africa

Amazighs had to struggle with the newly installed governments in North Africa mainly over linguistic and social issues. For example, in many North African countries, giving Berber names to children was banned. In Gaddafi’s Libya, the regime banned the teaching of Amazigh languages. As a result, many Amazighs joined the Libyan opposition in the 2011 civil war that deposed Gaddafi. Since then, the Amazighs in Libya enjoy more freedom in practicing, teaching, and performing their cultural rights.

In Morocco, the establishment of the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture in 2002 opened the door for the recognition of the Amazigh language Tamazight as the country’s second official language after Arabic.

In May 2002, Tamazight was included as an official language in the Algerian constitution of 2001 following demonstrations known as “Black Spring” organized by Algerian Amazighs.

Both Mali and Niger recognize Tamashaq, the Amazigh language of the Tuareg people, as a national language, and it is studied and used in mass media. In May 2002, Tamazight was included as an official language in the Algerian constitution of 2001 following demonstrations known as “Black Spring” organized by Algerian Amazighs.

Read: The Hirak Movement in Algeria Continues to Demand Change

Today, in Algeria, Tamazight, along with French and Arabic, is one of the three main languages used in media. In 1996, Tamazight began to be taught as an optional subject in regions where it is spoken. On December 27, 2017, Algeria’s former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika recognized Yennayer, the first month of the Amazigh year, as a public holiday to be celebrated on its first day (January 12) every year.

Amazighs are gaining greater political presence in Algeria and Morocco. Many Amazigh figures reached high positions in the social and political hierarchies. Examples include the former president of Algeria, Liamine Zéroual, and its current president Abdelmadjid Tebboune, and the current prime minister of Morocco, Saadeddine Othmani.

In 2019, the Amazighs contributed greatly to the Algerian protests, also known as the Hirak Movement, which resulted in the deposal of the regime of President Bouteflika.

In Algeria today, political parties and popular movements are pushing for granting the Amazighs more rights such as including the Amazigh language as a mandatory language in schools and promoting the restoration of the Amazigh cultural heritage sites. The last two decades have seen an improvement in the political, cultural, and social status of the Amazighs in North Africa, but the road ahead to a full recognition of their rights in still long.

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The unification of the Amazigh language and education

To this day, there’s no unified Amazigh language – at least, this is the case in Algeria, where each region claims the use of its local language as the de facto learning language. Academics concerned about the issue are divided between three examples and groups.

The example of the German language where all Amazigh languages become one. The Italian example where one Amazigh language is taught in all regions, and thus the other languages fade away and in time merge with the new de facto official language. And the federal example, where each region keeps its local language.

The main issue, however, in introducing the Berber language to the school system is the alphabet as there are three suggested systems to write Berber texts. The first is Tifinagh, the Amazigh alphabet system, which is still widely used in the Tuareg region. This very old alphabet is found throughout North Africa’s old inscriptions and ruins.

Today, it has been developed and made official by local authorities. It is widely used at facilities such as schools, post offices, and banks, yet some scholars argue that it is not practical and that is hard for new learners, who, instead of learning a new language, have to go through learning a new system instead.

Read: Tunisian Politics at Crossroad with Kais Saied’s Vision of Governance

The second suggested writing system is the Latin alphabet which is used mainly in the Kabylie region, east of Algiers. Mouloud Mammeri (1917-1989), an Algerian scholar, linguist, anthropologist and writer, worked extensively on the Latin system and adapted its letters for a practical writing system of the Amazigh language. This approach is widely used in modern publications at higher education institutes and, mainly, at universities.

The third proposition is the use of Arabic. This proposal is backed by the long history of the Amazigh people with the Arabic language. The Arabic alphabet was used under Amazigh Muslim kingdoms, especially in religious scripts, and Amazigh groups whose second native tongue is Arabic, like the Ibadi people in Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, support this suggestion.

Amazighs and contemporary politics 

In spite of the recent positive developments, certain Amazighs seek independence or at least some type of self-governance in the form of a federal system. An example is the Movement for the Self-determination of Kabylie (MAK) which was formed in 2001. Kabylie is a region in the east of Algiers which contains the largest Berber-speaking community in North Africa. In Kabylie, opinions differ as to whether it is more beneficial to stay as one united country or if becoming independent will open the doors to more prosperity on both the individual and state level.

Recent years have seen an increasing involvement of Amazighs in North African politics. Despite improvements, the Amazighs are still fighting for their cultural rights. For a more stable North Africa, governments should recognize the political, cultural, and social rights of the Amazighs who have been living in the region for thousands of years.

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]]> Kingdoms of Fire: The Political Backstage (Part I) https://politicstoday.org/kingdoms-of-fire-the-political-backstage-part-i/ Mon, 26 Oct 2020 13:57:28 +0000 https://politicstoday.org/kingdoms-of-fire-the-political-backstage-part-i/

Kingdoms of Fire is funded by the UAE, directed by a British, and the satellite channel is owned by Saudi Arabia. It is more than just an art that has attracted so much attention due to its funders, timing, and giving a completely different narrative of history. In this video, three experts Dr. Heba Raouf Ezzat, Dr. Vehbi Baysan and Dr. Yenal Göksun explain the political background of this TV drama.

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]]> How the Politics of Antiracism Impact Art, Culture, and Literature https://politicstoday.org/how-the-politics-of-antiracism-impact-art-culture-and-literature/ Thu, 25 Jun 2020 03:49:38 +0000 https://politicstoday.org/how-the-politics-of-antiracism-impact-art-culture-and-literature/

Policy is not always a matter of government or legislation, but anti-racist policy will come from cultural change, from protest, publication, and the visual arts.

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The number of emails commencing with or entailing the phrase “we live in unprecedented times” or a variation of this has surely mounted to unsustainable levels since the onset of COVID-19 as a global crisis. But it is no exaggeration to say that history has reached a point of imminence, a point where the viral pandemic, the failure of neoliberal democracies, and the smartphone-to-internet-to-media-exposure of police brutality has necessitated a climax that has been building for some centuries. The murder of George Floyd links at the last bolts of a long chain of events that is fastened to the colonial empire.

The problem is now clearly systemic, has always been systemic, but its institutional hold is being foregrounded. The new politics of antiracism is not, in fact, new. In Ibram X Kendi’s 2019 book How To be an Antiracist, an Amazon top-seller on the subject of race, Kendi defines that “‘Racist policy’ says exactly what the problem is and where the problem is. ‘Institutional racism’ and ‘structural racism’ and ‘systemic racism’ are redundant. Racism itself is institutional, structural, and systemic.” The nature of the power-structures that uphold racist policy is not the subject here, but that this policy is as much a problem of cultural weight as political.

Why, as a white individual, I am taking it on myself to analyze the nature of racist policy as a cultural form, is perhaps a question that proves the existence of a cultural policy of race. That cultural policy is designed to reinforce the notion that white is too aloof for the politics of race, that the choice, culturally, is between descending to clueless racist thugs, or adopting a form of intellectual or social noblesse oblige. Diffidence, indifference, and neutrality are encouraged. It is not government policy that implements this notion, though it supports it to the extent that it reduces the involvement of white citizens in matters of racial injustice. What is presented on the page, in the gallery, and on the screen is cultural policy.

Thousands attend a protest against racism and police brutality at the Vancouver Art Gallery on May 31, 2020 in Vancouver, Canada. Photo by Mert Alper Dervis, Anadolu Images

In the past few decades, the push for galleries, publishing houses, and film studios towards inclusivity has played a key part in the theatre of identity politics. Galleries, cinemas, libraries, and bookshops are also cultural forums, meeting places often in prominent areas, therefore of importance in debates of social visibility. But the question of identity deals in material that is essentially immaterial, in comparison to the lived experience of the person in question. When lives are consistently at risk, when this risk is exposed in the media, the question of identity becomes more immediate, more tangible: it is lives that matter, lives and identity are equated. Internal reforms in liberal cultural institutions become more pressing.

Influential online auction house Artsy is not the only platform to pledge internal reforms in recent days. In a June 2020 newsletter addressed from CEO Mike Steib and the fellow leadership, the website proposed to “leverage our marketplace, editorial and curatorial coverage […] to represent and promote more Black, marginalized, and minority artists and art businesses who have been underserved by the art world. […] to review our recommendation algorithms and the representation of diversity […] with targets and metrics for accountability.”

The aim to metricize the problem, to tackle the issue of racist policy through an electronic system and not opposed to a political one, is a distinctive tactic in the efforts to dismantle what is continually described as “systemic racism” but as Ibram X Kendi puts it, is more accurately referred to simply in its original form: racist policy.

But the statisticization of the issue at hand is still a dangerous move. It was not the lengthy statistics of police oppression and brutality in the United States that motivated Black Lives Matter protests across the world; it was not the financial quantity of wealth generated by European empires during colonial history, or the volume of human beings displaced. It was the death of a person with a life and a name: George Floyd. And before him Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown – the list continues; the political and cultural danger is allowing it to become no more than a list, a system of metrics. Metrics do not bring about new art, literature, or cultural change.

People gather in front of the National Gallery during a protest over the death of George Floyd at Trafalgar Square on May 31, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. Photo by Ilyas Tayfun Salci, Anadolu Images

Even so, the move for equity in representation is valuable. The movements and decisions of galleries, publishers, and other cultural institutions are in this way no less acts of policy than those of the state. What the galleries, the publishers, the film studios police, is not the rights of individuals in relation to the law, but the way individuals think about their rights. When a gallery or civil building is stocked with neoclassical evocations of Columbus and other colonial figures, with the works of white-American and white-European artists, the presence of “Black artists” and “artists of color” is very often represented in a skewed pop-urban way. And the political dialectic here – of featured guest, of novelty, of difference – has the effect of distancing. If this does not fade when the patron leaves the gallery, when the book is put down, when it continues to govern: it is a cultural policy.

In 2019, Kara Walker’s Fons Americanus was installed in the Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern. The 43-foot tall cement composite sculpture became one of the most visited installations in the gallery’s 20-year history. Nothing in its curatorship suggested novelty: it was left unadorned by signage in the central space of the hall, an immense monument for the memory of trans-Atlantic slavery, against the legacy of the empires it built. Its presence was calm, quiet, reflective, its message clear. This seems an example of a cultural policy that has moved beyond its blurry definitions, a resolute artistic display without pretense. The artwork was demolished this year.

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Black-authored books have surged in sales. Reni Eddo-Lodge’s Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race is the first Black-British-authored book to ever top the U.K. bestseller list. But it remains consistently difficult, even in literary circles, to find individuals with an awareness of African authors from a region with such a rich literary output as Nigeria, beyond Chinua Achebe and more recently Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. When British and American publishing houses remain predominantly white, it does not take a wide stretch of the imagination to feel a sting of situational profiteering.

As recently as 2018, controversial author Jordan B Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life also topped bestseller lists. The allegedly reluctant Canadian star-theorist is known for his refutation of postmodern gender politics, and his denial of the concepts of patriarchy, Islamophobia, and white privilege – all points he aims to disprove through philosophical logic. Unsurprisingly, he has often been canonized by the alt-right, a complex, clustered movement defined by narcissism and violent acts of white supremacy.

VIDEO: The Global Rise of the Far-Right: Future Prospects

What people read, hear, watch, and see at galleries, cinemas and theaters will always shape the mindset of a population towards any given cultural or political event. It is naive to expect an immediate landslide change in government or cultural policy, despite protest and rioting, but even more so to expect none or little. Statues to colonial slave-traders are already being questioned, vandalized, or pulled down across Europe, including the well-publicized case of Edward Colston in Bristol, England, a symbolic cultural gesture, an almost artistic act. But of course, aesthetic acts like this are not enough to erase the painful legacy of colonial empires. Policy is not always a matter of government, or a matter of legislation, but anti-racist policy will come from cultural change, from protest, publication, and the visual arts.

The post How the Politics of Antiracism Impact Art, Culture, and Literature appeared first on Politics Today.

]]> Coronavirus and the Shift Towards a New Cinema https://politicstoday.org/coronavirus-and-the-shift-towards-a-new-cinema/ Sat, 13 Jun 2020 03:58:16 +0000 https://politicstoday.org/coronavirus-and-the-shift-towards-a-new-cinema/

Paradoxically the global lockdown could potentially create a new, more organic interest, and resurgence in the communal experience that promotional ‘entertainment’ centers and the non-profit independent cinema have been struggling with.

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The complete stoppage of film production and theatrical releases, due to the coronavirus, has spawned several articles and ideas about the future direction of cinema. The inability to work with other people on set (actors, camera, sound, costume, art departments, etc.) seems an insurmountable challenge to current production methods and the massive economic consequences have created a pessimistic outlook on working in what is generally referred to as ‘the industry’ (and in some ways, erroneously since there are multiple types of them around the world- including within the U.S.).

Alternatively, with a significant portion of the world in lockdown, there has been a massive and exponential increase in the online streaming of new, different and classic cinema as well as a potential expansion of audiences, viewers and markets. The history of cinema is filled with examples of new technologies and cataclysmic events, such as war, radically altering both production and distribution methods.

The advent of sound, post-war Italy and the invention of video are three significant periods in film history that resulted in massive shifts in how films were developed and produced. We are now approaching another significant period that could see a different approach to both the production and distribution of cinema.

Changing Production Methods: A Short History

The silent film Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) by F.W. Murnau showcases the possibilities of a cinematic and storytelling language that has reached a plateau of beautiful and evocative cinematography with lighting and shadows as well as shot selections (e.g. wide, medium, close-up) that both contribute to and open up the narrative. The performance of this film is understated and effective in capturing emotion through movement and expression with minimal use of inter-titles – in comparison the first sound feature with synchronized talking called The Jazz Singer (1927) was released the same year with a completely different approach.

Moonlit characters in German Director F.W. Murnau’s Hollywood film Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)

The fictionalized film Singin’ in the Rain (1952) gives a technicolor history lesson of Hollywood’s then past and how the advent of sound created a myriad of new problems: bulky, static microphones that picked up unwanted sounds; previously silent film stars suddenly with unusual or accented voices; and a shift in writing from showing the story to ‘telling’ it. These are some of the more obvious dilemmas that occurred with a sudden and dramatic shift to ‘talking pictures’- the result was a loss of stardom for many silent actors and more profoundly a period of stagnation especially in terms of storytelling and cinematography during the 1930s.

An over-sized mic inside the costume of the heroine in the Gene Kelly technicolor musical Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

The end of WWII lays the foundation for another radical shift in film production methods. Italy had been devastated by the fighting that had seen the Fascists dominate only to be dispersed with the country turning into a battleground between Italian Partisans, invading Nazi regiments and U.S. troops coming from the south. Classical monuments, local neighborhoods and entire cities were left in ruin. London stoically survived, Paris was left psychologically battered but relatively untouched, Berlin was divided by the victors and Japan was rebuilt. Rome and the rest of Italy were largely left to mend themselves. This created a myriad of locations for Italian filmmakers who had been trained in the studio system of the 1930s (ironically with the benevolent association of Vittorio Mussolini who was the second son of the Italian Fascist leader ‘Il Duce’).

Youths walk the war-ravaged landscape in Roberto Rossellini’s groundbreaking Italian Neo-Realist film Rome, Open City (1945)

Using large scale cameras, scripted stories and experienced technicians that used the style of the previous decade mixed with a dramatic use of non-professional actors, the use of actual locations of devastated war-torn cities and a myriad of extra people and sights, this confluence of time, place and talent became known as Italian Neo-Realism, and includes directors such as Roberto Rossellini (Rome, Open City – 1945) and Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves – 1948). This cast a long and influential shadow over cinema during the next several decades in terms of both production style and the preponderance of themes related to poverty and desperation.

The despondent father and son in Vittorio De Sica’s Italian Neo-Realist classic Bicycle Thieves (1948)

The Sony portapak (1967) is in many ways the start date of the video revolution – a small, affordable video camera with separate VTR (video tape recorder) attached by a cable. The resolution was low by contemporary standards and it originally only recorded in black and white but the technology was still seized upon by artists and filmmakers.

The ability to pick up a camera, shoot and see whatever you wanted without the (burdensome and expensive) process of learning the art of cinematography and waiting for several days to see the footage, appealed to visual artists who alternated between using it for documenting performance art and as part of the work itself.

Read: The Fight Against Social Inequality Is Fundamental to Defeat COVID-19

The Korean artist Nam Jun Paik famously created works that made use of video monitors in live multi-media performances such as TV Bra For Living Sculpture (1969) as well as large-scale gallery installations. The early video had its aesthetic despite its limitations – often hand-held with extreme contrast and sometimes brash colors.

Considered a pioneer of ‘video art’ this is one of Nam June Paik’s large-scale installations called Electronic Superhighway (1995, fifty-one channel video installation)

Video did not immediately replace film (in fact 16mm documentaries were still the standard in the 1970s and common in the 1980s)- but it has eventually come to dominate every form of Film and TV production just over half a century after the portapak.

Virtually every documentary is now shot on video (it has long been the best choice in terms of cost, accessibility, and flexibility), and almost every feature film is now shot in high-end digital video (albeit in the ‘cinematic’ style of traditional 35mm). Ironically the contemporary genre of ‘artist film’ to be projected in a gallery is the one area where 16mm or 35mm film is now used (mostly as a defining aesthetic to differentiate itself from what is now the dominant medium of video).

We have been living in an electronic age for several decades and home video has also exploded and spread from videotapes (the 1980s-1990s) to DVDs (2000s) and more recent instantaneous streaming.

More Change To Come?

When larger crewed productions resume, the sheer volume of canceled or delayed projects seems likely to be drastically reduced due to several factors such as minimized or canceled budgets, compromised locations and the inability to travel to certain regions or countries. Co-productions between countries has been the norm in the 21st century in terms of access to lucrative tax incentives for shooting in a certain state or country but this will likely change. There will be enormous political pressure and accountability in terms of funding and grants, and potentially difficult questions in terms of human logistics as well as things like location insurance and access to buildings and landmarks.

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In this context a new kind of cinema is ripe to be born both in terms of production and distribution; museums and galleries could take on a larger role in financing and promoting feature films and there could potentially be a kind of re-convergence between art and cinema.

The immediate inclination to create films without a crew points back to some of the early formalist work done by visual artists such as Hans Richter in Germany and Fernand Leger in France (who would take their painterly style and apply it to the new medium of cinema in the 1920s), or by the previously mentioned ‘video artists’ of the 1960s and 1970s where lo-fi works created a new kind of aesthetic. There are numerous examples of filmmakers working this way already and the current conditions could accelerate these trends, such as increased CGI and animated elements, or collaboration that is structured around a post-production exchange of footage, clips, music composition and interactivity.

The slowdown in the pace of life has also allowed many people to fill up their time with reading, listening and watching films again as opposed to simply flicking through clips (something that is surprisingly common in the 21st century – even among students of film).

Streaming sites have been enormously successful over the last half-decade and sites such as Mubi and the Criterion Channel offer more of a world cinema perspective alongside ‘classic’ Hollywood fare. The current streaming bonanza could potentially benefit a direct distribution model for tens of thousands of films (through new and different streaming channels) that have played at film festivals but had a limited reach to their target audience.

The concept of theatrical distribution has also been a hot topic for several years provoking much discussion and writing – the idea of going to the cinema as a kind of over-priced specialist event (like the Opera) or supporting your local ‘independent’ theatre that seats less than 100 as a kind of good-will gesture, have both been exposed as flawed business models that have been struggling to keep afloat.

Many smaller cinemas in Europe and North America have closed in the last decade and those that have survived are often pushed into watered-down programming choices in an attempt to appeal to as broad an audience as possible, while essentially offering a version of the same content that crowds the larger cinemas.

A decline in large-scale film productions could benefit filmmakers who may be shooting a more intimate and new kind of cinema. In many ways streaming sites, film festivals and museum (cinematheque) programs have already been the last bastion in offering an informed, diverse and experimental choice of feature films outside of the multiplex cinemas. Now may be a time to increase collaboration (streaming festivals online), look for innovation (broadened types of hybrid releases) and even switch economic models (tailored distribution).

Paradoxically the global lockdown could potentially create a new, more organic interest, and resurgence in the communal experience that promotional ‘entertainment’ centers and the non-profit independent cinema have been struggling with.

The post Coronavirus and the Shift Towards a New Cinema appeared first on Politics Today.

]]> Will Turkey’s Activism for Culture change its Negative Image in Europe? https://politicstoday.org/will-turkeys-activism-for-culture-change-its-negative-image-in-europe/ Fri, 05 Oct 2018 07:13:28 +0000 https://politicstoday.org/will-turkeys-activism-for-culture-change-its-negative-image-in-europe/

But will all this activism and enthusiasm at different levels – a veritable craze for UNESCO – be enough to change the negative perception of Turkey in Europe and in the U.S.? Time will tell, but a savvy and coordinated strategy with UNESCO as its center-piece seems the best way to make an impact in the long run.

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Bursa and Pergamon in 2014, Ephesus and Diyarbakır in 2015, Ani in 2016, Aphrodisias in 2017, Göbeklitepe in 2018. In the last few years, Turkey has been remarkably active in inscribing new properties on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the certified inventory of the most amazing cultural achievements of humankind and of the most fascinating landscapes on planet Earth. They are all considered of “outstanding universal value,” we should strive to preserve them for posterity.

These new inscriptions brought the Turkish total up to 18 sites, among which – already added in the past – Pamukkale/Hierapolis, the historical peninsula of Istanbul, the archeological site of Troy, and the national park of Göreme in Cappadocia. However, Turkey lags far behind Italy (54), France (53), or China (44) in the number of national sites on the list; its huge potential as a cultural powerhouse has hardly been fulfilled.

On the other hand, with 77 candidates in all of its regions (representative of different epochs from prehistory to Ottoman times), Turkey has the most extensive “tentative list” of prospective new inclusions; but since only one cultural and one natural sites are allowed in each year, catching up would take a few decades. For 2019, the nominations already advanced are those of the “Historic Guild Town of Mudurnu” and of the “Kızılırmak Delta Wetland and Bird Sanctuary” (it will be the first Turkish natural site).

This delay is entirely self-inflicted. Turkey ratified the World Heritage convention in 1983, 11 years after signing it; at first, the government opted for a low-key participation and presented new candidatures sporadically even though there was no quota at that time. It is the AK Party cabinet, more than 20 years later, that decided to play a leading role in the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization of the United Nations.

In 2009, it established a dedicated and highly professional Department of World Heritage Sites (Dünya Miras Alanları Şube Müdürlüğü, a special bureau of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism) tasked with supporting new applications and implementing management plans for the inscribed properties; all of them were judged positively by the UNESCO experts and by the other members states.

Turkey also started to increase its financial contributions and took a more visible and dynamic stance inside the organization. UNESCO became one of the many component of a complex but coherent strategy – along with the Yunus Emre Institute and the Alliance of Civilizations, at different levels – to enhance the country’s international reputation through culture and history, turning its rich and multi-layered past into an asset of soft power and into a marketing tool to attract new cultural tourists.

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Turkey’s upgraded status is demonstrated by its election – for the second time – to the World Heritage Committee in 2013 (for a four-year period), and by the choice of Istanbul as the venue for its annual gathering – where new inclusions are decided – in 2016; unfortunately, this last event took place the very week of the 15th of July coup attempt and it had to be cut short hastily.

Next December, the Turkish government will also host – in Istanbul again – the World Conference on Tourism and Culture, jointly organized by UNESCO and the Unwto (the United Nations’ agency for tourism) to discuss how to protect the cultural heritage of mankind while providing new opportunities for local and sustainable development – “For the benefit of All,” as the summit’s slogan says.

This new approach makes Turkey more responsive to new opportunities. Therefore, when the new list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was established in 2012 – to protect and promote music, dance, cuisine, crafts, performances, traditional sports – it immediately finalized multiple candidatures and is one of the most successful countries with 16 elements already inscribed, such as the Mevlevi sema ceremony, the kırkpınar oil wrestling festival, the culture and tradition of Turkish coffee, the art of marbling (ebru), or the traditional craftsmanship of çini-making.

All these successful nominations show a strong degree of cooperation – something not very common in Turkey – between state bureaucracy, local administrations, civic society and even the private sector (in a few cases such as Aphrodisias and Göbeklitepe it provided financial support and managerial skills). Municipalities big and small seem keen on being at least “tentative candidates;” over the summer the Turkish press was full of articles quoting mayors wishing their archaeological sites or museums to join the international circuit of cultural tourism through UNESCO.

Other administrators decided to join another UNESCO initiative, the “Network of creative cities:” Antakya and Gaziantep for gastronomy, Istanbul for design, Kütahya for craftsmanship. Universities are taking part in the process as well: Kadir Has established a “UNESCO Chair on Management and Promotion of World Heritage Sites” in 2015, Bilgi launched its own “UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policy and Cultural Diplomacy” two weeks ago; their main goals is to train technical experts and to raise awareness of the Turkish cultural heritage nationally and abroad.

But will all this activism and enthusiasm at different levels – a veritable craze for UNESCO – be enough to change the negative perception of Turkey in Europe and in the U.S.? Time will tell, but a savvy and coordinated strategy with UNESCO as its center-piece seems the best way to make an impact in the long run.

The post Will Turkey’s Activism for Culture change its Negative Image in Europe? appeared first on Politics Today.

]]> Contemporary Islamic Art and The Jameel Prize 2018 https://politicstoday.org/contemporary-islamic-art-and-the-jameel-prize-2018/ Tue, 18 Sep 2018 09:49:56 +0000 https://politicstoday.org/contemporary-islamic-art-and-the-jameel-prize-2018/

The Jameel Prize is ‘an award for contemporary art and design inspired by Islamic tradition’ and is currently on view at the V and A Museum until November 25, 2018. This is the fifth edition of the award and exhibition, which is organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the organization Art Jameel.

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This is the 5th edition of the Jameel Prize, which is awarded annually to a shortlist of artists who use ‘contemporary art and design inspired by Islamic tradition.’ The 2018 exhibition is back at the V and A Museum in London after the last event took place at Pera Museum in Istanbul (2016). The exhibition is prominent (to the left of the main entrance after you walk in) and is usually teeming with people. Being a historical Museum filled with the wonders of the world from everyday objects to intricate costumes and ornate works of art the viewer may be accustomed to soaking in innumerable works in finite rooms. However, the cramped location of the Jameel Prize would be better served by a larger and better installed space that would allow the viewer to ‘breathe’ and meditate on this art in a more contemporary context (something which felt more successful at the last edition at Pera- which is also a historical, albeit smaller, Museum). As one enters the exhibition a massive video monitor seduces many of the visitors (with benches nearby) and gives a 20-minute overview of each of the shortlisted artists which is both informative and well-produced but which tends to overshadow the actual work in both its prominence of place and scale.

Shawl, 2015 mixed media by Naqsh collective

And the winner is…

The world is (and has been for a long time) about lists of the best and winners and losers – sports culture is the perfect example of how the drama can be sustained, written about and marketed on a near continuous basis. Art on the other hand should be about an experience of contemplation, adventure, discomfort or even shock (or all of the mentioned and more) and the relevance of a ‘winner’ has to be questioned since there can be several works that are strong without having to choose a clear winner and loser. It should also be noted that as time passes, few people remember the winners at awards ceremonies but rather the great films, books and art that have been created over the last century. Mehdi Moutashar and Marina Tabassum were declared co-winners by the jury for this years’ prize.

Moutashar (b. 1943, Iraq – lives and works in Arles, France) is a veteran artist who in some ways feels like a ‘safe’ choice. Many modern artists (masters such as Klee, Matisse and Mondrian) were influenced by Islamic Geometric patterns and Moutahar’s work is reminiscent of early Malevich or the 1960s hard-edged, minimalist abstract painters such as Rothko or Elizabeth Murray with some added sculptural elements. In the biographical film he discusses the orientalist discourse he encountered when a student in 1960s Baghdad. However true this may be (and it certainly still happens) it feels very distant and out of step with the discussions going on today.

Tabassum (b. 1969 Bangladesh – lives and works in Dhaka, Bangladesh) is an architect and heads her own architecture firm that is interested in ‘climate, materials, site, culture and local history.’ Her use of light and materials brings to mind the legacy of Louis Khan’s work in Bangladesh (and a number of architects who have been influenced by his aesthetic). The Bait ur Rouf Mosque (2012) she designed places airflow (and the need for a building that breathes the humidity of Dhaka) alongside the creation of a minimalist sacred space of beauty. The curious observations are why is an architect’s building included in an Art competition; not because the two don’t overlap and mix but more because it is a completed building (that is six years old) and is represented by a scale model and photograph. An installation would make more sense since the viewer cannot experience, interact or appreciate a building or Tabassum’s interesting solutions to light, airflow and sacred space in this exhibition.

Ephesian Fog, 2016, multimedia installation view by Kamrooz Aram

Emerging women artists?

Some of the artists included have work which lack some of the sophistication and conceptually rigorous strands of the cutting-edge in contemporary Islamic Art. Instead their inclusion feels forced as part of a curatorial ‘balance’ of gender/youth.

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Hayv Kahraman (b. 1981, Iraq- lives and works in Los Angeles, U.S.) uses poetry to express a feminist discourse in her biographical video about her practise. The paintings use an interesting formal approach with a series of physical collages using wooden panels – the trouble is the repeated rendering of miniature-inspired self-portrait styled women feels underdeveloped both technically and conceptually. A disconnect between the poetry of identity, the use of a miniature aesthetic and the physicality of the display exists.

Hala Kaiksow (b. 1990- lives and works in Manama, Bahrain) has created a garment that appropriates Berber women with a contemporary fashion slant. She works with ‘traditional’ weavers and discusses process and the craft-based details extensively. The garments look similar to much of the fashion world over the past decade or more (many works like this could be seen in the early 2000’s in the NIFT fashion colleges of India). The work lacks a contemporary conceptual drive and tries to make up for it with a lazy ‘post-feminist’ slant that doesn’t seem convincing.

Wardha Shabbir (b. 1987, Pakistan- lives and works in Lahore, Pakistan) is another artist from the National College of Arts in Lahore. As stated in the biographical video many successful and cutting edge artists have emerged from this institution over the last few decades and several representative examples have featured in the Jameel Prize over the years (including last years’ winner Ghulam Mohammad). Shabbir invokes a minimalist aesthetic while borrowing from traditional miniature painting technique and is interested in light and temperature (and the scorching heat); the problem is Shabbir’s work feels underdeveloped in comparison to other NCA alumni and her discussion of future projects and where the work may go (installation?) prove more compelling than what the viewer is actually left with.

Two squares, one of them framed, 2017 mixed media installation by Mehdi Moutashar

Conceptualizing tradition

The strongest works in the exhibition are those that rigorously explore Islamic artistic traditions while bringing something new in terms of material and concept.

The Naqsh Collective consists of Nermeen Abudail (b. 1980, Jordan) and Nisreen Abudail (b. 1976, Jordan). Nermeen has a background in graphic design and Nisreen is an architect and the work they have collaborated on takes the delicacy of embroidery and places a textured sculptural durability within a large scale. The artists let the materials speak while also respecting and researching the tradition.

Kamrooz Aram (b. 1978, Iran – lives and works in New York City, U.S.) displays fragments that have an architectural quality to them. The juxtaposition of historical pieces with modernist, geometrical canvases and sculptural stands lets the viewer re-interpret how one should approach ‘Islamic Art’ in a Museum context. His approach is to ‘look at objects as contemporary objects’ and these ideas are at the core of the entire Modernist view and interpretation of Islamic Art and are a welcome perspective from a visual artist.

Younes Rahmoun (b. 1975, Morocco – lives and works in Tetouan, Morocco) presents a compelling work titled Tâqiya-Nôr (Hat-light) from 2016. The illumination creates a sublime feeling and effortlessly mixes new technology with the Sufi object (the head-gear) while touching on Islamic numerology (the prime number) and the ubiquity of repetition in Islamic Art and Architecture. He remarks in the biographical video ‘…7 and 3- I love these numbers…’ and he also draws from a large, generalized aesthetic and simultaneously creates something that comes specifically from his hometown of Tetouan (he reflects that ‘the medina is my house’). These admirable qualities become transcendental with the inclusion of light and a contemporary use of space and media make it the best example in Jameel Prize 5 of the possibilities for Contemporary Islamic Art.

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]]> “Artists Should Firmly Stand Against Neighborhood Pressure in Turkey”: An Interview with Kutlug Ataman https://politicstoday.org/artists-should-firmly-stand-against-neighborhood-pressure-in-turkey-an-interview-with-kutlug-ataman/ Tue, 11 Sep 2018 01:16:13 +0000 https://politicstoday.org/artists-should-firmly-stand-against-neighborhood-pressure-in-turkey-an-interview-with-kutlug-ataman/

During an interview with Isa Tatlican from Sabah, Kutlug Ataman emphasized that artists should not bow down to neighborhood pressure in Turkey.

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Director and screenwriter Kutlug Ataman, who was subjected to a lynch campaign by those hegemonizing the cultural industry during the Gezi Park provocations, gives some advice to the artists blacklisted by the left-wing only because they expressed hope about the future of the country, respect to the country’s values and lift the morale of the ones ruling the country: “They should stand up without minding the lynch attempts and be thankful for that they will see their true friends at the end of it. In a nutshell, I suggest all the artists subjected to lynching to trust “Ayse Teyze” (Aunt Ayse), for she knows and understands everything the best.”

You have been away from Istanbul for a while. How does Istanbul look when viewed from Anatolia? What are you doing lately?

Anadolu was once so far away from Istanbul. When I was a child, we used to have 2-3 days of train travels to Anatolia. Then buses came up and the travel time went down to 16 hours. Now, Istanbul is only 2 hours away. I still imagine a Turkey that will necessitate the formulation of this question differently. In other words, I imagine an order in which there is no difference between Istanbul and the rest of Turkey. Big cities have so far survived and made progress thanks to the labor of the locals of Anatolia. And now, the tendency to continue this progress in the east is manifesting itself. Before the FETO (Gulenist Terror Group) insurrection, the idea of Anatolian Tigers sounded very exciting to me.

What has changed with the FETO atrocity?

As already known, even though there has been a decline in the bourgeoisie of other cities with FETO, we are currently in a recovery process and thankfully the threat has been eliminated to a great extent although not yet eradicated completely. Another problem, particularly in the eastern cities, was that they could not develop due to terror and therefore the liberalization seen in big cities was not experienced by them.

What has changed in the east in the recent period?

With the elimination of the FETO threat, it became more evident that a great deal of progress has been achieved in the fight against terror. But it is not yet possible to see a full recovery. The most challenging task of the following period might be instilling the dynamism of big cities to the eastern cities and enabling this dynamism to flourish in an organic way rather than imposing it. In the east, the state is considered the most important locomotive of this change. But I do not think that the state has such a mission. The most important locomotive in this context will be businesspeople with entrepreneurial spirit, whereas the state should function as a regulating and facilitating body.

You moved to Erzincan, but you are still quite active in shooting and producing films. Will you promote any new work in the coming days?

I shot a feature film “Hilal, Feza ve Diğer Gezegenler” (New Moon, Space and Other Planets), which depicts my personal experience throughout the February 28 process, but it is not completed yet. It is a project that seeks to fathom our culture of polarization that is stuck in-between and aligns itself with neither the West nor the East.  Since we did not curry anybody’s favor, we shot it with mobile phones without receiving support from anyone. It was a very demanding process, but the final product is very genuine and exciting. Me and my collaborator Sercan Tevs are now endeavoring to remunerate this support given by our crew. Aside from that, we are making a documentary named “Wild New World,” which is an essay film depicting the neoliberal world and scrutinizing how we ended up with Trump’s America and rising racism in Europe.

You were subject to oppression in Turkey way before February 28, which dates back to the 1980 coup d’etat. Can you talk about those times?

I was not an artist, but a student at the time. On September 12, 1980, fascists staged a military coup controlled by the imperialists, which made everyone’s life miserable, including both nationalists and socialists. Of course, the period leading up to the coup was also very chaotic, but fascism and coup were not the right solution to that. Only imperialists could defend the mindset “set a thief to catch a thief” and Turkey was subjected to a great injustice because of the conniving Turkish oligarchy and the foreign-dependent state. Had the country looked at the past with courage as from the first coup that shook the spirit of the constituent assembly of the Republic, the July 15 coup attempt might have never happened.

I always saw you hopeful in the difficult period between Gezi Park protests and the July 15 attempted coup.

This difficult period will hopefully come to an end. I am hopeful and keep believing despite all the ups and downs. After all, we are all on the same boat. And this situation is not peculiar to our county. All countries face ups and downs through their history. We must stay calm and proceed on our way.

While mainstream political tendencies were in a different direction, you supported students wearing headscarf during the Feb. 28 process. What was your motivation in your support?

It is always prescribed that an artist must be dissident. First of all, I do not act with ready-made prescriptions. My outlook on life does not necessitate being dissident only for the sake of being dissident. I have my own conscience, beliefs and stance. That’s it.

So, what is your stance?

What are my principles? Don’t be a hypocrite, be honest. You must have the courage to frankly express what is right and what is wrong to you. If there is a prerequisite for being an artist, it is nothing but honesty. You do not have to be an artist to be honest, being a decent human being is enough. During the February 28 process, I just spoke out what I believed in and what I found wrong. As I was in Galatasaray High School, I resisted getting my hair cut and I insisted on wearing my colored trousers despite being beaten up for this reason. There was already no difference between my own experience and the people whose futures were darkened due to their headscarf or religious beliefs. Others were being subjected to what I went through at the time. I did not care whether they would jail me, I stood up.

We know your opinion on coups. What do you think about the July 15 coup attempt?

Every cloud has a silver lining. So, we must also be grateful for the bad things happening to us. The biggest difference of the July 15 from the previous coup attempts was that the source of the danger was outside the country, which was quickly grasped by the people and the enemies could be thwarted thanks to that. I must admit that I also suspected the military in the first place due to our past experiences since the military has always been the first institution that comes to mind in Turkey if a coup is in question. But it turned out in a short while that it was a terrorist insurrection organized against and despite the military.

What would have happened had FETO achieved to stage a coup?

If we could not have repelled the July 15 attempt, we might not be here today. Turkey would either be in a deep and desperate darkness or had already been dissolved. But we have overcome the threat by growing stronger. Thank goodness! Today, every segment of society including pro-government and dissident groups are explicitly using the word FETO. Of course, a complete purge could not be achieved yet whereas many people were subject to unjust treatment. But since 250 people were killed in the incident, I do not want to underline the unjust treatments I have been subject to.

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After July 15, the U.S. and the EU abruptly changed their approach to Turkey? What do you think about the motivation behind this sudden change of behavior in the West?

The word “West” is actually self-explanatory. The “West” according to whom? No matter whether they are right-wing, left-wing, or liberal, the Western people have a perspective in their cultural codes that distinguishes the “West” from the rest. This perspective is deliberately not scrutinized even by their “intellectuals” since they like to use it to their advantage. As a person who has lived in Europe and America for 30 years, I even felt this cultural code in my own case.

Can you open this up a bit more?

This is the first group. And now place the identity of a Turkish intellectual who imagines him/herself as a component of the West for years but could not achieve it, who is not wanted by the West and therefore does not feel comfortable. This segment, which is local but still domineering the country, has always looked down on their own people due to a serious inferiority complex caused by this feeling of incompetence against the West. How could the relation between the West and this segment be?

Who is this intellectual segment?

I am afraid the “enlightenment” who domineered the country for years was actually pitch-black darkness. Of course, this is a rough generalization. There have always been exceptions, but some of these exceptions were not considered “intellectual” enough as they even attempted to lynch a Nobel laurate. This segment’s relation to the West consists of unquestioning submission. This country may be the only one in the world unquestioningly assuming that what comes from the West is always right. Are they any different from those thinking that everything about the West is wrong? I do not think so. This is a serious inferiority complex, and their approach turned into a “complaint industry” in time due to the coups and other kinds of oppressive practices in the country. Complaining has been regarded as an art form. Everyone touching on any other theme was blacklisted and played down for “making art for art’s sake.”

Isn’t it problematic to narrate the unjust suffering of only one side while complaining about the country to the West?

Does Turkey not have problems to complain about? Of course, it does. But in the context of unjust suffering, they were always asked to tell only one side’s suffering and experience. For some reason, Western liberal values like questioning, discussing and being impartial only applied to the West as they turned a deaf ear to one side in our country. Opposing every discourse that criticizes the West was prescribed as a duty of our intellectuals and artists.

And those not conforming to that were blacklisted.

Exactly. Those who did not conform to that were blacklisted as “libos” (a Turkish slang word used for liberals in a derogatory way), “pro-government” and “nationalist.” As of late, even foreign funders started saying that they would support us only if we make a film against the government in Turkey. They recklessly ordered me to do this. What they mean is: Either you become our supporter, or we do not make any co-production. Of course, we refused to obey this and shot our film with mobile phones. But there is also the other side of the coin. From right-wing to left-wing groups and the state, this is the fault of everyone making us need the West. Hopefully, we will turn into a society that respects and supports artists of every opinion and bring an end to this vicious circle. In short, the approach of the West did not change after the July 15 attempt, they only started to speak more frankly.

You were stigmatized for various reasons in Turkey. In that sense, you are among the first victims of peer pressure. How did this pressure affect you?

In fact, I did not understand much when the lynch campaign started. I love working and sometimes I scarcely have time to breathe. And that incident coincided with such a period. During the Gezi Park protests, some names who acted as mouthpieces of certain groups tried to defame me by claiming that I opposed to the protests since I could not sell my art. The institution I spoke about threatened to sue me, but of course they couldn’t since I kept the e-mails they formerly sent me about their “prescriptions”. They tried to denigrate me but ended up being the losing party. During that period, some professional jealousies that I had not noticed before started to surface to my surprise. The next thing I remember was everyone’s organizing petitions against me. I must admit that I had not known they cared so much about me until then.

What did you do against this lynch campaign?

You must above all protect your self-esteem. I openly express what I believe in and no one can intimidate me. They tried to beat me up but failed. The “dissident” artists who received multi-million TL worth funds from ministries tried to label me as “pro-government,” and they failed too. But I am still here, working both in the East and the West even more than before while these people are either hiding or ashamed of their actions. It was like a flood that hit me. I could not understand what exactly was happening at that moment. But it had a good side since it cleared away the useless and insincere burdens in my life and when it was over, only real friends standing beside me were there. I have to say that I was distressed a little, but this is how a flood comes. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. And what if it killed me? I would only say that my time has come.

Recently, some others have also been subjected to peer pressure. What do you suggest to them?

There is a saying I like very much: If you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen. Our country is undergoing a series of radical changes. If you are an artist in such a country, being confronted with such things is unavoidable. Of course, peer pressure, exclusion and lynching are fascistic practices. It will be more relevant to call them pathological conditions. Can you imagine what would happen if these people come to power?

Why did they grow so aggressive?

These fascists formed a republic of fear in their own power domain, which is on the wane. As their power domain declines, they get more aggressive against the “other” while making life unbearable for one another. I prefer to stay calm by trying to be sympathetic because I learned to be unperturbed since I am afraid of my own anger. So, I just say that we must look at them from the perspectives offered by sociology. A segment who thought themselves as ruling power came to lose their grip as they started to see that their self-perception was not accurate, and they did not actually have a function in society. The West also does not support their attitude any longer. They utter threats like leaving the country, but no one cares, and European countries they want to go to don’t grant them visas. The political party who organized the lynch campaign is about to dissolve.

What do you think a person subjected to lynch should do in the first place?

They should stand up without minding the lynch attempts and be thankful for that they will see their true friends at the end of it. In a nutshell, I suggest all the artists subjected to lynching to trust “Ayse Teyze” (Aunt Ayse), for she knows and understands everything the best.

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]]> Art, Artists and Politics: No Limits for Transgression? https://politicstoday.org/art-artists-and-politics-no-limits-for-transgression/ Tue, 06 Mar 2018 07:28:13 +0000 https://politicstoday.org/art-artists-and-politics-no-limits-for-transgression/

It is impossible to think of artists as beings without political thoughts but when they cross the thin line between being political and being an artist, the value of art diminishes.

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Be it Susan Sarandon’s tacit support for the Trump administration following his presidential inauguration in February 2017, or Meltem Cumbul’s unprecedented discourtesy to Semih Kaplanoğlu, one of Turkey’s well known contemporary film directors, during the 24th Adana Film Festival award ceremony held in September 2017… There are countless examples that illustrate how artists intervene in the socio-political field, not particularly with their artistic production but their words and opinions, which are occasionally blended with clear-cut political positions, worldviews, or ideologies. No doubt, few can argue against the involvement of art in politics. However, the focus here is on the artist and the issue, being styles, kinds, and limits of artistic expression in engaging with politics.

In today’s world, power is not only about political power or governmental authority. There are centers of authority that simultaneously operate in society such as local, regional and global actors, pressure groups, lobbies, research centers, think tanks, foundations, trade associations, the media and academics that are all actively involved in the socio-political field. In other words, power is not composed of a single, political center alone. Every center of authority is in competition to produce, re-shape, or influence the perception of reality. Whether or not the scale of influence affects large masses is a separate matter.

Artists constitute one of these centers of power. Leaving aside debates surrounding the value of art in regards to the genre or convention to which artistic productions belong, individuals who are recognized as “artist” have partial influence not only on people who recognize them but also on those who do not. This is the point: an artist has potential to transfer the prestige and authority well deserved in the field of arts to the political arena but this transfer of authority might be problematic since the contents of arts and politics may intersect, their nature is different.

Like other citizens, artists can feel a responsibility to support or criticize political decisions and they are, in no way, expected to turn a deaf ear to socio-political or environmental issues. Moreover, for art to be counted as art, it does not have to be disconnected from life, the realities of time, society or politics. For example, a work of art, with its contemporary relevance, can, on a universal level, illustrate how a social or political status can open doors to character defects by negatively changing one’s self-perception. When this occurs in an artwork, the audience – whether a viewer or reader – is free in contextualizing the episode with contemporary circumstances. However, if and when this message is linked with contemporary affairs with vulgarity and asperity, the audience is ripped from the freedom of choice and is fiercely imposed with a particular perspective. When the message wanting to be displayed in the artwork is turned into countenance, defense or opposition to a political party, it becomes difficult to convince the audience that the work is not a form of political propaganda.

For instance, drawing analogies between the political affairs of contemporary Turkey and former European dictatorships through theater plays written during the communist regime in the Balkans, the fascist era of Germany, or dictatorial regimes in Italy and Spain, with apparently no contextual concern, merely reduces art to an instrument of opposition. This is evidently one of the aspects of social polarization in Turkey. Political charges made in theatre halls, in an exhibition, during an awards speech or in literary work, cause social polarization on the level of arts and culture. Transgressing the reasonable limits of criticism, by creating an “other” of its respondent, the “artistic” opposition diminishes any opportunity for communication on a common ground.

It is highly problematic if artists perceive themselves to be guiding society in the right direction through some sort of cultural and artistic elitism without questioning the position that they possess and acknowledge as a natural right. This is an example of the democratization of culture approach, well known in cultural policy research, but this time not coming from state officials but cultural elites, who hide their political ideology under the “unquestionable” narrative of art while speaking in the name of their own truth, however.

In fact, when talking politics bare and naked with vulgarity and asperity, an artist does not say anything about the art that he/she knows best and which brought him/her fame. The thoughts and opinions expressed by an artist in regards to the political agenda do not require them to be fed with the provincial authority of the arts. Just like other people, an artist has a political position that is shaped by a particular social background, an outlook on life, individual needs, expectations and preferences. If they do not have a unique experience, understanding or ability in politics, their political positions or arguments cannot directly be privileged. Of course, the particular circle one belongs to, their manners and proximity to certain networks will widen their possibility of producing more qualified evaluations and analyses. It must be noted however that a person who performs extraordinary works in the field of art can manifest extremely flawed ideas in politics. It is an open illusion to render authoritarian comments of an artist about political affairs justifiable merely due to a discursive authority driven by artistic capabilities. Therefore, a distinction ought to be made between the artist’s political statements and his/her artistic production.

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The reason for this is because art and politics are separated from each other in many ways. This includes their ways of thinking, modes of production, sources of information and social responses. Politics is, to some extent, more practical and concerned with the current. While taking care of issues that appear on the forefront, a politician has to decide on incomplete procedures on what can be described as a slippery and changeable platform, thus, governing in a form that includes quick thinking and practical action. In addition to burdens faced by politicians such as time constraints and social responsibilities, they also occupy seats in which they can be taken to account.

However, in comparison to a politician, an artist, or an artistic production, is derived from the individual to the social, carries aesthetic concerns in one form or another, is not under time constraint, has the opportunity to evaluate issues in depth, can appeal to the common feeling and finally, is a contestant in universal validity and durability.

On the other hand, despite all its meaning and vitality, political perspectives are often not of the nature to surround the aesthetic value and expressions of artistic reality. Positions in everyday politics are built on limited information, produced on certain alignments and shaped through various channels led by effective rhetoric. A good artwork is, however, long-lasting; its value exists independent of political perspectives and the uproars of everyday life, and it carries continuity within its own field. Therefore, in terms of nature and quality, art and politics are separated from each other.

So, where can one draw the line for a sound ground on which artists can talk politics? There is no doubt that “we” are all political entities. Artists might talk politics through their arts by focusing on universal humanitarian aspects of things, as otherwise instrumentalizing arts for the sake of political pragmatism not only belittles the artist but also diminishes the value of art. The reduction of art and culture to a tool of political opposition carries two dangers for all segments of society. First, impeding the prospect to form a common public, and secondly, deceasing the overall quality of the arts or debates around artistic production due to the political color they carry.

When viewed from a managerial and administrative point of view, extreme polarization and alienation between artistic and cultural sectors, like the present situation in South Korea, precludes communication and interaction between various actors operating in the cultural sector and thus restricts the opportunities for collaboration for new regulations to be made in the field. This dynamic works for everyone and makes it more complicated to keep governance and administrative mechanisms more transparent. Moving away from polarizing attitudes that lead to artistic infertility and narrow the sphere of the common public to a more moderate standpoint, while also ensuring that artistic production is not damaged for mere political interest, will be in the good for all the segments of our society.

This article has first appeared in Daily Sabah on March 4, 2018.

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]]> The Plural States of Cinema in Turkey https://politicstoday.org/the-plural-states-of-cinema-in-turkey/ Sat, 16 Sep 2017 02:10:59 +0000 https://politicstoday.org/the-plural-states-of-cinema-in-turkey/

Yeşilçam cinema was a particular mode of filmmaking which had developed its own unique, homegrown film language, utterly different from the Western conventions of filmmaking. Instead of relying upon classic Hollywood cinema’s strict practices of continuity editing and the creation of cinematic illusionism, Yeşilçam offered a modest yet ingenuous vocabulary of storytelling.

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“Whither Yeşilçam?” was a question asked frequently in the 1980s and 1990s – until it was realized that Yeşilçam, the popular film industry of Turkey, was indeed gone for good. Yeşilçam cinema was a particular mode of filmmaking which had developed its own unique, homegrown film language, utterly different from the Western conventions of filmmaking. Instead of relying upon classic Hollywood cinema’s strict practices of continuity editing and the creation of cinematic illusionism, Yeşilçam offered a modest yet ingenuous vocabulary of storytelling. Although some of these conventions were simply not adopted for practical and economic reasons (resulting in a lack of dubbing, poor special effects, and continuity mistakes), the quirks of Yeşilçam cinema also emerged as a continuation of the longstanding practices of the literary and performative arts in Turkey.

While Yeşilçam was gone for good, popular cinema in Turkey reemerged in a different form in the second half of the 1990s. This comeback triggered new questions at the turn of the millennium. Was this a “new” cinema? What made it new? Is it a movement similar to various movements which are called “new:” Italian Neorealism, French, British and Czech New Waves, Cinema Novo, Nuevo Cine Mexicano, New German Cinema, and New Hollywood? Is it less a movement than just a way of understanding the ongoing transformation of cinema after the demise of Yeşilçam?

There have been two intertwining arguments about the newness of cinema in Turkey: one revolved around the longstanding separation between art house and popular cinema (less evident in the Yeşilçam era) and the other, to which I will return at the end of this article, around a larger socio-political backdrop in relation to the transformations in the definitions of identity. At the time, the post-Yeşilçam era (i.e., since the 1990s) seemed to clearly separate popular filmmaking practices including production, distribution, and exhibition network and those of the art house and/or festival cinema. For some, popular filmmakers are seen in part as a continuation of Yeşilçam, while the “new cinema” encompasses art house and festival films. Obviously, this rendering of new cinema was a result of changing filmmaking practices (the introduction of international funds like Euroimages, new co-production dynamics, filmmakers having multiple passports and identities, and the minority filmmakers). However, while this initial separation was also about a struggle to “name” the changes and the transformations in the sociocultural practices, it later left its place to further bifurcations.

In my book , Cinema in Turkey: A New Critical History, which was published in 2011, I termed this era post-Yeşilçam or the New Cinema of Turkey. However, when I look back to this now, it might have been more accurate to identify the decade from the early-1990s to the mid-2000s as properly post-Yeşilçam (Burçak Evren initially noted this term) and what happened since then as a more pluralistic and competitive phase. To put these in perspective, the initial turn at the box-office took place between 1996 and 2002 with almost ten films selling over a million tickets. This initial wave of box-office success took another turn in 2003 with five films selling over a million tickets and the top two billed around 4 and 3 million tickets respectively. This continuous rise at the box-office culminated into high marks and since 2013, around ten domestic films are selling over a million tickets every year.

As Deniz Yavuz noted in his report on the “Last Five Years of Turkish Cinema in the Digital Age,” while on average 173 domestic and international films were released in Turkey between 1990 and 2003, since 2004 this average increased to 278 films. Additionally, the average number of domestic films shown at film theaters since 2007 is around 82, while this figure between 1997 and 2006 was only around 17. When one also looks at the annual total domestic and international ticket sales figures, since 2007 this figure was always above 30 million and it also exceeded the 50 million mark since 2013. Interestingly enough, when one looks at the tenth film at the box-office in those years, we have a sharper rendering of this change. Until 2003, the tenth highest grossing film consistently sold fewer than 80 thousand tickets. The tenth film sold over 250 thousand tickets in 2003 and since 2005, this figure was always more than at least 300 thousand tickets. This has also meant that since 2004, no art house and festival films found a place among the top ten grossing domestic films.

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While this picture seems quite bright, total ticket sales in Turkey is low in comparison to some major film countries such as the United States, France, Japan or India. Moreover, the majority of domestic productions still do very poorly at the box-office. Despite this, the continuation in the high number of domestic productions is enabled by the low cost of digital filmmaking technologies, market proliferation (the films are also making money through different channels such as sales of film rights to television, cable networks, IPTV, and even transportation companies), the influx of numerous young, first-time filmmakers, and finally non-profit oriented funding schemes (oftentimes, various filmmakers cover the total or the majority of the cost of their production through the Ministry of Tourism and Culture or other international funds).

Together, such changes in the production and exhibition of films show us that since the mid-2000s, the industry in Turkey not only rejuvenated itself but has also diversified in terms of production practices and filmic narratives. Unlike in the early post-Yeşilçam era where there was a straightforward separation between major popular filmmaking and art house cinema, now we have a more complicated picture: high budget popular films produced by major production houses, mid-range popular and independent films produced by different production companies, first-time filmmakers often relying on governmental and private funds and finally, established art house directors doing co-productions by utilizing domestic and international funds, as well as festival exhibition and award incomes.

Thus, the major productions are better organized and monitored in economic terms by practices unprecedentedly similar to those in Western countries: major local production companies use higher budgets (although still much lower than those in Western countries), employ star actors and better film crew and equipment, and market the films aggressively. The majority of Turkish film distribution and exhibition in Turkey is currently controlled by international companies (e.g., Warner Bros., UIP, Mars) which also help monitoring the market more closely with better data. A similar claim might also be made for established art house productions which are realized through better co-production mechanisms. However, the mid- to low-budget popular, independent, and first-time filmmaker films are the current wild world of production. These risky and poorly planned productions experience huge difficulty in terms of distribution and exhibition.

When one looks at the films themselves, in the last decade, usually half of the top ten grossing films are comedies. A few are dramas, often revolving around a love story. A few feature action-adventures (historical and crime). Horror films and documentaries are rare. On the other hand, established art house directors belong to what one might call as either “World Cinema” or as the Turkish New Wave, similar to recent new waves from various non-Western European countries such as Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Romania, and Iran. As for the mid- to low-budget popular and independent films, the picture is less bright and only a handful of them are successful either at the box-office or the international festivals.

One question that one might ask here is the following: while the contemporary Turkish TV series are doing very well internationally and while art house films perform reasonably well at international film festivals, why is this not the case for the top ten grossing films? A basic and straightforward answer to this question has to do with belonging and identity: both the TV series and art house films belong to readily accepted, clear-cut categories, the former to televisual melodrama (telenovelas, soap operas) and the latter to non-Western new wave cinemas. However, the top ten domestic films of the last decade are still very local in terms of their identity politics and cultural references. If they try to be global in terms of their storytelling and appeal, they are not strong enough to stand the competition coming from Hollywood, French and British comedies or dramas which have better production quality and a higher global appeal. It can be suggested that this also has a lot to do with the contemporary identity politics of Turkey, which is still laden with and driven by various domestic and regional problems. In this regard, what seems to be more necessary than ever is to address global issues and themes in popular cinematic narratives.

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]]> Turkey’s Publishing Sector Making Strides https://politicstoday.org/turkeys-publishing-sector-making-strides/ Thu, 15 Jun 2017 02:59:55 +0000 https://politicstoday.org/turkeys-publishing-sector-making-strides/

The total value of the publishing market in Turkey is TL6.3 billion, which is approximately $1.8 billion. According to the International Publishers Association's (IPA) data, the Turkish publishing sector is the 11th largest in the world.

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Turkey is the guest of honor at a major book fair that is to be held June 14-18 in South Korea’s capital Seoul. Taking close historical relations between Turkey and South Korea into consideration, it could be said that the fair will further improve relations between the two countries, especially cultural ties. Turkish culture and literature will be promoted via various activities during the fair. Additionally, a panel on the Korean War (1950-1953), for which Turkey had sent its military and lost more than 700 soldiers, will be held.

Turkey being the guest of honor at the Seoul Book Fair is not only because of the deep rooted historical relationship between the two countries, of course. Turkey has been focused for some years now on becoming a renowned international publishing center. This process started with Turkey attending the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2008 as the guest of honor – the book fair where people discovered that Turkish literature had many authors beyond Orhan Pamuk and Elif Şafak, as a publisher stated – was followed by the Geneva Book Fair in 2009, Doha in 2010, and the London Book Fair in 2013, which is considered as one of the most prominent book fairs along with the Frankfurt Book Fair. Becoming the guest of honor at the Budapest and Beijing book fairs in 2014, Turkey was also the guest of honor at the Madrid Book Fair in 2015. Last year, Turkey was the guest of honor at the International Sarajevo Book Fair. Activities promoting Turkey, Turkish literature and the Turkish publishing sector were held at all of the aforementioned fairs. Turkish authors of different genres and fields gave speeches, while publishers traded copyrights.

Turkey’s publishing expansion was not only due to active participation in the said fairs and being the guest of honor; in addition, Turkey started a program which encouraged the translation of Turkish literary works to other languages. The “Translation and Publication Grant Program of Turkey” (TEDA) is a program which subsidizes foreign publishers that want to translate and publish Turkish literature on culture, art and letters. By 2016, 2,312 books were translated from Turkish to various languages and published as a part of this program, which was established in 2005 by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. There are translations even from countries like Vietnam, Iceland, and Burkina Faso. Languages that received the majority of grants are Bulgarian, German, Albanian, and Arabic, respectively.

All of these developments are directly connected with Turkey having a strong publishing sector. According to the latest data, in Turkey, 666,865,579 books were printed in 2016 and 404,129,053 labels were acquired.* 54,446 applications were made for an International Standard Book Number (ISBN). 16% of the published books in 2016 consisted of adult research and review books, while 5% were adult literature and art books, 8% were children’s and teenager’s books, 13% were religious texts and 56% were books on education.

http://thenewturkey.org/the-lost-human-capital-of-28-february-1997-post-modern-coup-turkey/

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More than half of the publishing market consists of educational books (51.44%), while 39.21% consists of books on culture that includes books on adult-fiction, non-fiction, religion, and children. Turkey currently has a ratio of approximately 8.4 books per capita, up from 8 books per capita in 2015. Moreover, the publishing sector’s steady growth despite the attempted coup of July 15 by the Gülenist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) is striking. The total value of the publishing market in Turkey is TL6.3 billion, which is approximately $1.8 billion. According to the International Publishers Association’s (IPA) data, the Turkish publishing sector is the 11th largest in the world. Considering the figures, it is possible to say that publishing sector is one step ahead of Turkish economy’s world ranking.

Beside the book fairs abroad, there are book fairs of various scopes in many cities of Turkey. The International Istanbul Book Fair and the CNR International Book Fair are regularly held in Istanbul. The 36th International Istanbul Book Fair is to be held between November 4 and 12 this year, and approximately 621,000 people visited the fair last year. In addition, this fair is among the top ten book fairs attended by professionals. Meanwhile, 407,000 bibliophiles attended the 4th CNR International Book Fair this year. It should be stressed that the two said book fairs focus on promoting and selling books to readers, instead of appealing to professionals like the London Book Fair. Nevertheless, important steps are being taken in this direction as well.

At the most recent CNR Book Fair 2017 Turkish books’ publication rights for Arabic were sold to Arab publishers originating from 19 countries. Similarly, 30 publishers from Germany, the focal country of the fair, attended the last International Istanbul Book Fair. Beside attracting more professionals, these two fairs have certain shortcomings that should be addressed. The International Istanbul Book Fair is still having issues because of a politically balanced roster of publishers and authors. The CNR Book Fair, on the other hand, lacks institutionalization as it is fairly new. The Book and Culture Fair held throughout Ramadan and various local book fairs organized by municipalities also take place in Istanbul.

Turkey has progressed immensely in becoming a growing, democratizing and self-sustaining country in the last 15 years. Turkey increased its capacity by reforming numerous sectors; in other words, the country strived to achieve its potential. Economic stability that was established with political stability also contributed to the publishing and many other sectors. Book fairs in Turkey and abroad, applications for ISBNs, the number of published copies and the success of the TEDA program all indicate that Turkish publishing and literature can go even further.

* The free books (262,736,286 copies) distributed to primary and high schools by the Ministry of National Education do not require labels.

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