At the Crossroads of Feudal Tradition and Capitalist Economy: Social Transformation in Ömer Lütfi Akad’s The Bride (1973)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2026.741Keywords:
Ömer Lütfi Akad, Gelin (The Bride, 1973), Turkish cinema, Migration Trilogy, internal migration, rural–urban migration, feudalism and capitalism, patriarchy, women’s unpaid labor, cinematic spaceAbstract
This article examines how The Bride (Gelin, 1973), the first film of Ömer Lütfi Akad’s Migration Trilogy, represents the coexistence of feudal sociocultural structures and capitalist economic relations within the context of internal migration in Turkey. The film portrays a migrant family from rural Anatolia attempting to establish economic security in Istanbul while preserving hierarchical social relations, patriarchal authority, and cultural practices carried from the countryside. The study combines qualitative content analysis, sociological criticism, and elements of discourse analysis to examine the sociocultural, economic, and religious references embedded in the narrative. Particular attention is also paid to the visual organization of domestic space and family relations to understand how these tensions are conveyed through cinematic form. The analysis shows that the family increasingly adapts to the economic logic of commercial capitalism while continuing to reproduce feudal cultural norms within its internal social structure. Patriarchal authority and women’s unpaid labor play a crucial role in sustaining the household economy, while religious symbolism frequently serves as a moral framework legitimizing economic ambition. By highlighting how these different social orders coexist within the migrant family, the article demonstrates how The Bride offers a powerful cinematic reflection on the contradictions accompanying Turkey’s transition toward an urban capitalist society.
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