
Representation of An Unseen and Unhearted World in Cinema: The Example of The Film My World
Chapter from the book:
Berkün,
S.
(ed.)
2025.
City in Terms of Disadvantaged Groups.
Synopsis
Cinema is one of the most effective ways of representing social reality. Since cinema is also a field of cultural representation, the themes discussed are seen as a reflection of social life. The aim of this study is to reveal how disadvantaged groups are represented in cinema, specifically in the film Benim Dünyam, in which Uğur Yücel is the director and actor. For this purpose, the films were examined using the visual analysis method, which is a qualitative research method. In a world where popular culture and modernization are widespread, Turkish cinema plays an important role in transferring disadvantaged, fragile and stigmatized segments of society to cinema. Among these fragile groups, groups such as children with special needs, the disabled, women, the elderly, immigrants and the poor come to the fore and are presented to the audience through the silver screen. Disadvantaged groups are generally perceived as weak, dependent, needy, marginalized or alienated individuals. Although rare, the success stories and experiences of disadvantaged individuals are conveyed. These two situations reinforce the discrimination and marginalization that disadvantaged groups are exposed to in their daily lives. In this context, the relationship between Goffman's stigma perspective and the disabled individual has been tried to be explained. In this sense, the definition and dimensions of disadvantaged groups were discussed in the first part of the study. The method of the research and types of data collection were mentioned in the second part of the study. In the last part of the study, the results and findings of the research were given.