Blurring or shifting boundaries? Concepts of culture in Turkish–German migrant cinema

This paper aims to explore the developments of different concepts of culture in Turkish–German Migrant Cinema before and after German Unification. Key questions addressed will be: 1. How do these films express cultural differences and to what extent does this representation follow traditional concepts of culture? 2. How is the interconnectedness of cultures articulated and how far does this relate to current notions of interculturalism and transculturalism? 3. Which are the key differences of former migrants’ cinematic representations in pre- and post-unified Germany? Unlike common perceptions, this paper will argue that most films, including productions by celebrated directors such as Fatih Akın, continue to draw on traditional concepts of culture that break with the strong transcultural perspectives voiced by the same directors. While there is a development from rather separatist multicultural and intercultural representations in Turkish–German cinema before Unification towards more interconnected transcultural portrayals in post-Unification films, many contemporary productions maintain monocultural perspectives. All this seems to follow trends originating from German Cinema about migrants but there is also evidence that a traditional concept of ‘Kanaken’ culture developed in and disseminated via Migrant Literature and Cinema has made its way into German film