• Mon 15 05 2017 / 12:30 pm •
Turkey’s Authoritarian Turn: When Did It All Start?

with CÜNEYT CEBENOYAN, BANU CENNETOĞLU, TURGUT ERÇETIN, EROL MINTAŞ

This special panel discussion in Oberhausen is organized by the Academy of the Arts of the World together with the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and deals with current alarming rise of authoritarianism in Turkey. Clearly, the recent intensification of oppression and the attempts at erasing Turkey’s cultural diversity are particularly damaging for the intellectual and artistic scenes, which nevertheless are turning to sharp (self-) critical analysis. The situation in Turkey cannot be reduced to ‘authoritarian rule.’ Instead, it is part of a universal crisis of neoliberal capitalism, and also has more specific historical roots: the neoliberal rhetoric of the 1980s and 1990s claimed to soften the black-and-white picture of the 1980 coup d’état into gray tones, while at the same time finishing the job the military takeover had started. In the 1990s, the “gray” of neoliberal democracy gave way to the shrill colors of right-wing politics, leading into the darkness of today. Musician Turgut Erçetin, artist Banu Cennetoğlu, filmmaker Erol Mintaş and film critic Cüneyt Cebenoyan join to discuss whether or not the arts can offer a critical medium through which to better analyze the constellation of acts that feeds political reflection of today’s politics in Turkey.

The event takes place in Oberhausen and is a cooperation between the Academy of the Arts of the World and the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen.
Venue: Festival Center of the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen
In English

Jointly organized by the Academy of the Arts of the World and the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen