Tired Warrior: A Case Study of the Destruction of a Turkish TV Series

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2026.794

Keywords:

Tired Warrıor, Kemal Tahir, Halit Refiğ, censorship, symbolic violence, TRT

Abstract

This study examines the television mini-series Tired Warrior (Yorgun Savaşçı, Halit Refiğ, 1979), adapted from Kemal Tahir’s novel, as an extreme case of state authority over audiovisual memory in Turkey. Commissioned and produced by the state broadcaster TRT, the series was banned following the 1980 military coup, and its negatives and positives were ordered to be physically destroyed by burning. However, years later, a single surviving videotape copy—originally preserved as “legal evidence”—was paradoxically screened by the same state channel. Employing a case study methodology, this research examines the production, censorship, destruction and rebroadcast of the series through archival documents, press coverage, and memoirs. Tired Warrior thus illustrates the state’s symbolic violence on cultural memory and historical erasure, demonstrating how cultural works may be alternately destroyed and re-legitimized as political regimes and ideological priorities shift.

References

Aka, N. (2015). Kemal Tahir’in “Yorgun Savaşçı” romanında yapı ve izlek. Karadeniz Uluslararası Bilimsel Dergi, 1(27), 150-181. https://doi.org/10.17498/Kdeniz.39675

Akçura, G. (1993, 16 Mart). Konsey Egelilerin baskısı altında: Yorgun Savaşçının gizli öyküsü 2. Milliyet Gazetesi.

Akçura, G. (1993, 17 Mart). Bu film sakıncalıdır, gösterilmeyecek: Yorgun Savaşçının gizli öyküsü 3. Milliyet Gazetesi.

Akçura, G. (1993, 19 Mart). Filmde niye Atatürk yok: Yorgun Savaşçının gizli öyküsü 5. Milliyet Gazetesi.

Akçura, G. (1993, 20 Mart). Filmin ana negatifi ne oldu? Yorgun Savaşçının gizli öyküsü 6. Milliyet Gazetesi.

Akman, M. (1984). Halit Refiğ sordu, Macit Akman yanıtladı. Sanat Olayı, (20), 56-58.

Akser, M. (2017). For those who seek mastery and personality, by Halit Refiğ. CINEJ Cinema Journal, 6(1), 119-134. https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2017.161

Akser, M., & Durak-Akser, D. (2017). Fight for a national cinema: An introductory text and translation (Halit Refiğ, 1971). Film Studies, 16, 56-77. http://dx.doi.org/10.7227/FS.16.0005

Ateşalp, S. T. (2016). “Nitelikli televizyon”: Medya profesyonellerinin perspektifinden Türk televizyon dizilerinde nitelik. İleti-ş-im, (25), 9-37. https://doi.org/10.16878/gsuilet.283029

Balcı, D. (2014). Feyzi Tuna: Her film bir imtihandı. Agora Yayınları.

Bourdieu, P. (1998). Practical reason: On the theory of action. Stanford University Press.

Çavdar, T. (2010). Roman, tarih ve Kemal Tahir. In K. Kayalı (Ed.), Bir Kemal Tahir kitabı - Türkiye’nin ruhunu aramak. İthaki Yayınları.

Çilingir, A., & Can, A. (2020). Ulusal sinema hareketi çerçevesinde Halit Refiğ sinemasında doğu-batı ikilemi. Erciyes İletişim Dergisi, 7(2), 1501-1523. https://doi.org/10.17680/erciyesiletisim.724666

Dinç, E., & Akser, M. (2019). Four women in the harem (1965) by Halit Refiğ: The construction of “national cinema” in Turkey. Journal of Film and Video, 71(4), 51-64.

Güngör, A. C. (2020). Halit Refiğ’in sinema anlayışında Kemal Tahir’in etkisi: “Haremde Dört Kadın”. Turkish Studies, 15(5), 2399-2419. http://dx.doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.43334

Karadoğan, A., & Öztürk, S. R. (2022). Türkiye’de sinema sansürünün tarihi (1932–1988): Sansür karar defterleri üzerine bir inceleme. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı.

Karpat, K. H. (2015). Türk siyasi tarihi: Siyasal sistemin evrimi. Timaş Yayınları.

Kaya İlhan, Ç. (2022). Neoliberal politikalar çerçevesinde Türkiye’de televizyon yayıncılığının tarihsel sürecinin incelenmesi. Yeni Medya Elektronik Dergisi, 6(1), 21-30. https://doi.org/10.17932/IAU.EJNM.25480200.2022/ejnm_v6i1003

Kaya Mutlu, D. (2013). Film censorship during the golden era of Turkish cinema. In D. Biltereyst & R. V. Winkel (Eds.), Silencing cinema. Palgrave Macmillan.

Mumcu, U. (1986, 18 Şubat). Yorgun Savaşçı. Cumhuriyet Gazetesi.

Mumcu, U. (1992, 25 Temmuz). Yorgun Savaşçı dosyası. Cumhuriyet Gazetesi.

Onaran, A. (1992). Yeni film sansür düzeni. Istanbul University Faculty of Communication Journal, (1-2), 139-147. https://doi.org/10.17064/iüifhd.86317

Onaran, A. Ş. (1995). Türk sineması 2. Kitle Yayınları.

Öngören, M. T. (1980, 2 Haziran). Kölelik belgesi. Cumhuriyet Gazetesi.

Özçağlayan, M. (2000). Türkiye’de televizyon yayıncılığının gelişimi. Selçuk İletişim, 1(2), 41-52. https://doi.org/10.18094/si.94296

Özön, N. (2010). Türk sineması tarihi (1896-1960). Doruk Yayımcılık.

Öztürk, S. (2006). Türk sinemasında ilk sansür tartışmaları ve yeni belgeler. Galatasaray Üniversitesi İletişim Dergisi, (5), 47-76. https://izlik.org/JA83ME48TM

Refiğ, H. (2003). Sinemamızda bir reaksiyon olarak ortaya çıkan ulusallık meselesi bugün sanatın genelini kapsıyor. In Sinema söyleşileri: Mithat Alam film merkezi söyleşi panel ve sunum yıllığı. Boğaziçi Üniversitesi Yayınları.

Resmi Tanık Noter Memuru Hüsnü Işık Açıkladı. (1986, 19 Şubat). Milliyet Gazetesi.

Sala, B. (2017). Kemal Tahir, Asya tipi üretim tarzı ve Devlet Ana. Tezkire Dergisi, (60).

Selçuk, İ. (1979, 3 Ağustos). Yorgun Savaşçı ve TV. Cumhuriyet Gazetesi.

Serim, Ö. (2003). Devlet yapar devlet yakar. An Yayıncılık.

Serim, Ö. (2007). Türk televizyon tarihi (1952-2006). Psilon.

TRT Yönetim Kurulu Yorgun Savaşçının TV için filmi alınmasını onayladı. (1979, 11 Ağustos). Cumhuriyet Gazetesi.

Türk, İ. (2001). Halit Refiğ: Düşlerden düşüncelere söyleşiler. Kabalcı Yayınevi.

Yak emrine gerekçe olan tutanağı açıklıyoruz. (1986, 19 Şubat). Milliyet Gazetesi.

Yorgun Savaşçı için meclis araştırması istenecek. (1983, 29 Kasım). Milliyet Gazetesi.

Yorgun Savaşçı özgür. (1993, 6 Şubat). Cumhuriyet Gazetesi.

Yorgun Savaşçı sansürsüz. (1993, 10 Şubat). Cumhuriyet Gazetesi.

Yorgun Savaşçıyı yak emri. (1986, 18 Şubat). Milliyet Gazetesi.

Yurderi, M. M. (2018). Geçmişten günümüze TRT televizyon yayıncılığında sanatın yeri ve çağdaş sanatın medyayla bağ kurabilme ihtimali. Journal of International Social Research, 11(58), 407-413. https://doi.org/10.17719/jisr.2018.2554

Downloads

Published

2026-05-22

How to Cite

Balcı, D. (2026). Tired Warrior: A Case Study of the Destruction of a Turkish TV Series. CINEJ Cinema Journal, 14(1), 198–230. https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2026.794

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 1 (2026): Spring

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Dilara Balcı

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
  2. Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
  3. The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
    1. Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site;
    with the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
  4. The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  5. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a prepublication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
  6. Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
  7. The Author represents and warrants that:
    1. the Work is the Author’s original work;
    2. the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
    3. the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
    4. the Work has not previously been published;
    5. the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
    6. the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
  8. The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.

Revised 7/16/2018. Revision Description: Removed outdated link. 

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC