The Representation of Turkish Stereotype in German Cinema

This thesis researches the depiction of Turkish stereotypes in German cinematography. Specifically, it investigates gender stereotypes in Turkish family as seen through the lens of German society and represented in German cinematography; this study accentuates the issue of gender stereotypes in Turkish family as most controversial, debated, and potent in terms of shaping the media image of Germany's Turkish community. The thesis covers long films of German production that deal with the issue of Germany's Turkish community. It spans the time period between 1970, when films covering the Turkish issue began to appear in Germany, and 2010, which enables to maintain a sufficient distance to investigate the film production. Theoretically, the thesis sets itself the task of researching stereotypes, providing its definitions, typologies, and discussing its relevance in research on cinematographic production. It then sheds light on the evolution of the image of a Turk in German society. It also provides a brief historical overview of German film production dealing with the issues of Turkish-German cohabitation in Germany. In the empirical part, the thesis explores two most representative films of the researched period (Gegen die Wand, by Fatih Akin, drama, 2004; die Fremde, by feo Aladag, drama, 2010) in..