CINEJ Cinema Journal
type: channel
description: CINEJ Cinema Journal is a peer-reviewed semiannually published international scholarly film studies journal based in USA. It is published by the University Library System, University of Pittsburgh and is cosponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Press. There are no article processing or submissions fees, or any other costs required of authors to submit articles to this journal. The next deadline for submissions: October 15, 2024 For information on the full articles please contact the editor Murat Akser at makser@ulster.ac.uk. Publishers please contact the book reviews editor Murat Akser and use the address below to send books for review: m.akser@ulster.ac.uk. Feel free to contact for Print Issues On-Demand: Greg Sciulli at gsciulli@bc.pitt.edu ISSN (Print) : 2159-2411 ISSN (Online) : 2158-8724 Abstracting/Indexing: SCOPUS, Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals, MLA, EBSCO, ERIH PLUS, WorldCat (OCLC), Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), SHERPA/RoMEO (UK). Call for Papers: 25 Years of The Big Lebowski. Call for Papers for a Special Issue on The Big Lebowski. Please refer to the CFP here: https://www.muratakser.com/articles
publisher: University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
language: en-US
publication name: CINEJ Cinema Journal
issn: 2158-8724
copyright: Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms: 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. Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work. 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: 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. 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. 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 …
items: The Filmic Representation of Women: Paradigm Versus Perspective in the Depiction of Women in Funke Akindele’s Two Selected Works
items: Silent Frames of Social Realism: Exploring Economic Disparities, Urban Life, and Ethical Concerns in Pushpak Vimanam
items: From Cinema to Youtube: Globalization and Active Audience of KKN Di Desa Penari Film
items: Singin’ in the Cave: Singin’ in the Rain and Hollywood’s Sparkling Shadows
items: ‘The Dude is not in’: How the Coen Bros.’ slacker detective upends Joseph Campbell’s hero’s arc
items: The Deconstruction of Patriarchal Honor in Turkish Cinema: An Analysis Of Female Characters Resisting Patriarchy Across Three Genres
items: Deconstructing Japanese Romance Films through the Lens of Wabi-sabi, Mono no aware, Yūgen, and Kawaii (1990-2010)
items: Joyland: A Cinematic Representation of Pakistani Patriarchal Joint Family
items: ‘Everything Must Go’: Joker as a Banner for Postmodernism
items: Frank Sinatra: Jazz Actor
items: Spatial Thresholds and Existential Dilemmas in New Turkish Cinema: A Reading of Something Useful
items: Coding And Signification In Cinema: Semiological Perusal Of The Film In The Shadows
items: The Relation of Film, Literature, and Music: The Big Lebowski’s Soundtrack as a Means of Significance Beyond the Anglophone World
items: Is She Still There?: Child Sex Trafficking, Traumatic Memory and Resilience in Mischa Marcus’ Film I Am Still Here
items: An Investigation of the Relationship Between Violence and Emotion Perception: Evidence from Turkish Cinema
items: Queer Cinema and Melodrama: A Perspective from Queer Directors
items: Dementia, Cognitive Narratology, and Unreliable Narration in Florian Zeller’s The Father
items: Oral History Study on Erotic Cinema: Turkish Cinema from 1974 to 1980
items: Representations of Gothic and Spectral Identities in the Global South: A Study of Manichitrathazhu and its Adaptations
items: Deconstruction of Chinese Masculinity, Adaptation of Hong Kong Gangster Films, and Political Criticism in Television Series The Knockout
items: Use of ASMR Technique in Movies
items: Symbolic Metaphors of Film Epidemic Narratives: A Comparative Study of Chinese and Foreign Epidemic Disaster Films
items: Evaluating Turkish Comedy Cinema From the Perspective of a Female Audience
items: Audiovisual Strategies and the Unity in Diversity Principle of the EU: A Cultural Dimensions Perspective on European and Turkish Cinema
items: Zeki Demirkubuz as a Creator of Meaning: A Critique of the Film Hayat
items: The Aesthetics of Imperfection: A Theoretical Evaluation of the Meaning Layers of Glitch Aesthetics in Communication Design and Cinema
items: The Interrelation of TV-series and Interior Design in the Construction of Meaning: Cinematic Narratives and the Psychological Function of Space
items: Review of Rated A: Soft Porn Cinema and Mediations of Desire in India
items: Review of Architecture in Cinema
items: Review of Exposing Vulnerability: Self-Mediation in Scandinavian Films by Women
items: Review of Contemporary Art Cinema Culture in China

The Filmic Representation of Women: Paradigm Versus Perspective in the Depiction of Women in Funke Akindele’s Two Selected Works
type: item
description: Funke Akindele's holistic portrayal of women in She Must Be Obeyed and A Tribe Called Judah has transcended the biases of just putting women in the limelight given the multifaceted nature women, like men, possess. Subjecting the two films to a close viewing and placing the analysis drawn side by side with the backdrop of the parameters of feminist film theory, pushes for evaluating Akindele’s ideologies. The study found that Akindele prioritizes perspectives over paradigms in women's image projection in her works, making the works more inclusive in their representation of realities, a shift described as realistic-feminism.
creator: Sanjo Ilori
creator: Adewale Oyewo
creator: Olamiposi Oyeleye
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Sanjo Ilori, Adewale Oyewo, Olamiposi Oyeleye http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 1
ending page: 18
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.711

Silent Frames of Social Realism: Exploring Economic Disparities, Urban Life, and Ethical Concerns in Pushpak Vimanam
type: item
description: This paper analyses the movie in terms of Realism theory with the particular emphasis on the portrayal of economic variance that existed in India in the early 1980's. Realism in cinema is one of the attempts to show life as it is, without any exaggeration and over dramatization. In addition, Pushpak Vimanam follows this theoretical framework by using a non-verbal narrative to portray concrete societal issues such as unemployment, greed, and interpersonal relationships. The research is on how the lack of dialogue contributes to a higher level of realism through making emotions and conflicts accessible to all, thus breaking language barriers. This study also delves into the visual depth and cinematic liberty to show the contrast between the rich and poor society, culture and life. The cinematic work provides sophisticated social critique by using everyday environments, familiar characters, and silent film techniques that make the movie exciting with its storyline.
creator: Gopi Sathya Srinivas Narayanam
creator: Gomatam Mohana Charyulu
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Gopi Sathya Srinivas Narayanam, Gomatam Mohana Charyulu http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 19
ending page: 29
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.756

From Cinema to Youtube: Globalization and Active Audience of KKN Di Desa Penari Film
type: item
description: This article examines how youth consume the film KKN Di Desa Penari, one of Indonesia's cinema releases. The youth in this study are positioned as active audience. The article employs a narrative approach, selecting 18 youths who watched the film KKN Di Desa Penari on YouTube as informants. The objective of this research is to understand the reasons behind youth choosing to watch the film through alternative media platforms. The findings show that YouTube serves as an alternative medium for Indonesian youth with limited access to cinemas. Nevertheless, this does not diminish the autonomy of cinemas in screening the film. Youth have different experiences when watching KKN Di Desa Penari through either cinema or YouTube.
creator: Dony Arung Triantoro
creator: M. Agung Pramana
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Dony Arung Triantoro, M. Agung Pramana http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 30
ending page: 58
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.660

Singin’ in the Cave: Singin’ in the Rain and Hollywood’s Sparkling Shadows
type: item
description: The cinema, the seventh art, offers a reliable representation of reality more than any other art form. However, the cinematic image is created with the mediation of an always present mechanism. In other words, the promise of fulfilling the Aristotelian aspiration for mimesis (imitation of life), can be reached only with the use of artificial machinery. Following that, this article discusses the cinematic medium with the analysis of the film Singin’ in the Rain (Donen & Kelly, 1952) using the writings of Plato, Jean Baudrillard and Christian Metz. It raises insights regarding the dialectics between silent and talking films, the musical as a cinematic genre, the role of sound and music in the cinematic medium, the gap between the image shown on screen and the reality that it wishes to reflect and the significance of the cinema and the influence it has on its viewers.
creator: Talya Alon-Altman
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Talya Alon-Altman http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 59
ending page: 85
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.661

‘The Dude is not in’: How the Coen Bros.’ slacker detective upends Joseph Campbell’s hero’s arc
type: item
description: Joel and Ethan Coen’s The Big Lebowski (1998) simultaneously engages with and subverts Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey as articulated in The Hero with a Thousand Faces (2008 edition). While Campbell’s monomyth outlines a transformative cycle in which the hero confronts trials, attains wisdom and returns from his journey to spread knowledge unto others, the Dude—cast as a bumbling, slacker-detective—fails to achieve enlightenment or growth, effectively stumbling into partial solutions despite his lack of acumen. Through dream sequences, noir conventions and the figure of the extra-natural Stranger, the film teases the structural signposts of the Campbellian arc only to undermine them, positioning the Dude as both clown and unwitting hero who “abides” without transformation. Although the Dude could be said to be like Buddha in his come-what-may attitude, he never grows nor shares what he has learned with any acolytes—yet, paradoxically, his lack of development has produced a mythic afterlife in the real world through the rise of “Dudeism,” a secular, ironic mythos for non-diegetic consumers practiced by fans. Dudeism does not in fact become a diegetic religion in the same fashion as, say, Jedi-ism in the galaxy of Star Wars (Lucas 1977). Accordingly, the Coens craft a narrative that resists classical mythic resolution while nonetheless generating a cultural mythology, revealing how postmodern storytelling both dismantles and perpetuates the heroic paradigm.
creator: Eric Althoff
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Eric Althoff http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 86
ending page: 115
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.665

The Deconstruction of Patriarchal Honor in Turkish Cinema: An Analysis Of Female Characters Resisting Patriarchy Across Three Genres
type: item
description: In Turkish society, as in all patriarchal communities dominated by an honor culture, the concept of honor, while holding different implications for men and women, is largely reduced to the strict control of women’s bodies. This article examines examples of feminist cinema that challenge the stereotypical portrayal of honor in popular Turkish cinema, which mirror the androcentric values of society. The fiction film Mine (1982), the short film Derin Nefes Al (Take a Deep Breath, 2012), and the documentary Bekleyiş (Expecting a Grain of Sand, 2021) were selected through purposive sampling for inclusion in this study. The study employs qualitative content analysis to examine the female protagonists who resist patriarchal honor codes in the selected long fiction, short fiction, and documentary films produced across different periods.
creator: Hakan Ün
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Hakan Ün http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 116
ending page: 165
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.672

Deconstructing Japanese Romance Films through the Lens of Wabi-sabi, Mono no aware, Yūgen, and Kawaii (1990-2010)
type: item
description: This study takes a close look at Japanese romance films made between 1990 and 2010, examining them through both traditional and modern Japanese aesthetic ideas such as Wabi-sabi, Mono no aware, Yūgen, and Kawaii. By connecting this age-old aesthetics with today's pop culture, the research reveals how these varied principles create a distinctive cinematic language. By analysing films like Love Letter and Sky of Love, this study highlights the dynamic interaction between ancient philosophies and modern storytelling methods, showing how Japanese aesthetics have deepened and evolved in today's cinema. The study offers fresh insights into the cultural and artistic importance of Japanese romance films, providing a deeper understanding of their emotional impact and lasting charm.
creator: Fengmuhan Li
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Fengmuhan Li http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 166
ending page: 193
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.679

Joyland: A Cinematic Representation of Pakistani Patriarchal Joint Family
type: item
description: Joyland, a 2022 Pakistani film that gained popularity worldwide but got banned in Pakistan, depicted the problems of patriarchy, suppression of individuals’ self-identity, intervention in sexual and reproduction liberty of married couples, taboos associated with women employment, household participation, and sexual pleasure. This study adopts multimodal discourse analysis which critically discusses the patriarchal influence of Pakistani men in a joint family system, by purposefully selected scenes of the film that showcase the characters’ depiction of being dominated by the ideology of a patriarchal mindset. It further analyzes the role of a man, the eldest in the family, who decides everyone’s fate, irrespective of gender, financial status, or sibling positions in the family. This study also sheds light on how the sexual lives of individuals get affected through joint family pressures, which results in disoriented sexual relationships and indecisive preferences between partners.
creator: Rizwan Bashir Baloch
creator: Abul Hassan
creator: Syed Atef Amjad Ali
creator: Ali Ab Ul Hassan
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Ali Ab Ul Hassan, Rizwan Bashir Baloch, Abul Hassan, Syed Atef Amjad Ali http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 194
ending page: 220
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.709

‘Everything Must Go’: Joker as a Banner for Postmodernism
type: item
description: Joker, the commercially successful comic book movie that broke all records (Forbes, 2019), is set to release a sequel on October 4, 2024. Its profitability speaks to its popularity and unique ability to resonate with a broad audience, including the academic community. In a fictional Gotham, where Arthur Fleck works as a clown, Joker demonstrates the slow descent into madness of a man neglected by society. Arthur’s mental condition, his social awkwardness, and his ineptitude in dealing with many problems in his personal life placed him on the outskirts of society, physically and emotionally. This article argues that, as depicted in the film, Arthur's journey aligns with the postmodernist philosophy developed by the French thinkers Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida.
creator: Valdir da Silva Bezerra
creator: Justin Rathbun
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Valdir da Silva Bezerra, Justin Rathbun http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 221
ending page: 244
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.654

Frank Sinatra: Jazz Actor
type: item
description: Most of the literature about Frank Sinatra is about his musical career and barroom brawls. Those books and articles generally portray the singer as a man who expressed the contradictions of his inner life-his tenderness and romanticism, as well as his aggressive and menacing macho side--through his music. In regard to Sinatra's film acting career, every note he sings, every line he recites, and every gesture he makes demonstrate Stanislavsky's central credo that an actor must live the part every moment he's playing it. Although Sinatra never formally studied acting at the Actors Studio, he did rehearse every night with Montgomery Clift while shooting From Here to Eternity. Those "Methodist" lessons built his Oscar-winning performance around "affective memories," or "sense memories," storehouses of unconscious emotions from his personal live, in order to construct the fictional character Maggio. And, if nothing else, Sinatra expressed his inner struggles in both his singing and his film roles.
creator: Frank Tomasulo
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Frank Tomasulo http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 245
ending page: 267
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.708

Spatial Thresholds and Existential Dilemmas in New Turkish Cinema: A Reading of Something Useful
type: item
description: Cinematic spaces are defined by their ability to create new spaces through reorganizing physical environments, a process facilitated by cinema. Directors use unique spaces in their films to convey specific themes and emotions. In Pelin Esmer's İşe Yarar Bir Şey (Something Useful, 2017), the train serves as the setting for the film's initial segment, offering views of external lives from within through the window. This prompts individuals to reflect, question their existence, and experience diverse emotional states. The objective of this study, which examines the 2017 film Something Useful, is to analyze the spaces utilized and the spatial experiences of the protagonists at the threshold by examining them through the lenses of Gaston Bachelard's (1994) concepts of home, Stavroz Stavrides's (2010) notion of the threshold, and Michel Foucault's (2008) concept of heterotopia. The train, as an example of heterotopia, facilitates a transition to the protagonists' inner world while observing the external world. This space is characterized by a different experience of time, functioning as a transitional space that is both physical and metaphorical. It is marked by threshold elements, such as glass, which delineate and symbolize the space's function as a conduit between inner and outer realms. The house is an uncanny space for existential inquiries and suicide. It's a mix of cosmos and chaos.
creator: Ozlem Ozgür
creator: Mehmet Serdar Büyükpala
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Ozlem Ozgür, Mehmet Serdar Büyükpala http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 268
ending page: 311
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.712

Coding And Signification In Cinema: Semiological Perusal Of The Film In The Shadows
type: item
description: The aim of this study is to reveal how the art of cinema narrates stories through visual and auditory elements and the role of signs in the process of meaning production. Cinema communicates various messages to the audience through its unique language and encodes these messages using signs. In this context, film language is evaluated as a communication system that plays a central role in the production of meaning. The study adopts a semiotic film analysis method based on the production and transmission of meaning and applies this method to examine the 2020 dystopian film In the Shadows. Signs within the film, including characters, settings, color usage, and narrative structure are analyzed to elaborate on the multilayered nature of cinematic language in meaning-making. The findings demonstrate that film language is not merely composed of visual and auditory elements but also conveys deep meanings to the audience through cultural codes and symbols. Thus, this study clarifies the semiotic function of cinema in meaning production and how this function is encoded.
creator: Semra Kotan
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Semra Kotan http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 312
ending page: 358
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.725

The Relation of Film, Literature, and Music: The Big Lebowski’s Soundtrack as a Means of Significance Beyond the Anglophone World
type: item
description: Considering films as semiotically “multitrack” texts that integrate elements from different arts —writings—, this chapter analyzes the relationship between The Big Lebowski (1998), Carter Burwell’s soundtrack selection for the film, composed mainly of preexisting songs, and Raymond Chandler’s novel The Big Sleep (1939). In such a varied soundtrack, featuring well-known names like Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, and Creedence Clearwater Revival, we can discern the meaning behind the Gipsy Kings’ cover of “Hotel California.” The reason is that, like a cover song, the double cultural background of the music styles —rock and Spanish rumba —could connect the Coen brothers’ parodic film with other cinematographic genres, such as the Spanish quinqui films, contributing to the film’s memory and significance beyond the Anglophone world.
creator: Carlos Gerald Pranger
creator: Cintia Gutierrez Reyes
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Carlos Gerald Pranger, Cintia Gutierrez Reyes http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 359
ending page: 388
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.695

Is She Still There?: Child Sex Trafficking, Traumatic Memory and Resilience in Mischa Marcus’ Film I Am Still Here
type: item
description: This paper aims at contextualizing child sex trafficking, trauma, and resilience from the atrocities of sexual violence based on the reading of Mischa Marcus’ film I Am Still Here. The analysis makes its way from violence, trauma, and PTSD to resilience through the cinematic representation of sexual abuse. The film portrays the experiences of a child who is trafficked and the subsequent impact on her psychological state, using non-linear narrative techniques and sensory triggers to reflect the fragmented nature of traumatic memory. This study also includes a conversation with the director, which offers new insights into her directorial approach to depicting trauma and recovery, emphasizing realism without exploitation. Through consulting the aspects of the camera and theories on traumatic memory, PTSD, and resilience, the paper analyzes the fragmented nature of traumatic experiences and how they subvert common media tropes. Further, it also discusses the importance of supportive relationships in recovery, highlighting how the film depicts the crucial role of emotional support in healing from the trauma of sexual violence. Thus, this study is focused on a survivor of child sex trafficking, delving into a deeper understanding of child and adult resilient behaviors in dealing with trauma.
creator: Sheetal Kumari
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Sheetal Kumari http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 389
ending page: 425
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.730

An Investigation of the Relationship Between Violence and Emotion Perception: Evidence from Turkish Cinema
type: item
description: Violence has been a significant phenomenon throughout human history and has been studied across various disciplines. With the rise of interdisciplinary approaches, it has become a central issue in many fields. Adapting a psycholinguistic perspective, this study examines how films with violent content influence people’s perception of emotions. It was hypothesized that the violent content in film the participants saw would alter their perception of the emotional content of the words they were shown. To this end, they performed a rating task on a list of positive, negative, and neutral words before and after watching a violent film. A comparison of pre- and post-ratings revealed that valence ratings decreased for all word types after watching the film, while arousal ratings remained unchanged. These findings suggest that exposure to violent content can influence how emotional words are perceived. The results provide valuable insights into the impact of violence on emotional processing.
creator: Semra Keleş
creator: Filiz Mergen
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Semra Keleş, Filiz Mergen http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 426
ending page: 459
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.736

Queer Cinema and Melodrama: A Perspective from Queer Directors
type: item
description: This article examines the relationship between queer cinema and melodrama through the works of queer directors like Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Todd Haynes, and Ümit Ünal. It explores the intersections of gender, sexuality, and queer identities, focusing on conflicts between feminist and queer theories. The study examines the historical context, aesthetic elements, and evolution of melodrama in relation to queer cinema. Through case studies and qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews and document analysis, the findings reveal how melodrama highlights queer experiences, critiques social norms, and serves as a transformative force in queer cinema.
creator: Esra Yılmaz
creator: Çiğdem Tanyel Başar
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Esra Yılmaz, Çiğdem Tanyel Başar http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 460
ending page: 488
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.744

Dementia, Cognitive Narratology, and Unreliable Narration in Florian Zeller’s The Father
type: item
description: Florian Zeller’s The Father is a film about dementia as a narrative disorder. The film tells a fragmented story through the eyes of Anthony, who is living with late-onset dementia. In it, the spectator is asked to witness Anthony’s encounters with his environment, which always result in a cognitive blankness—a lack of recognition that is the symptom of his condition. The film both represents and enacts this blankness by asking the spectator to witness and misunderstand a series of scenes strung together by nothing more than that lack of recognition. The Father thus constitutes not only a narrative of dementia but also a narrative about narrative—about its grammars, processes, and agents; about the questions of narratability and cognition attendant to any act of storytelling, and about how the answers to those questions might change when they are posed in the cinematic.
creator: Slavica Srbinovska
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Slavica Srbinovska http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 489
ending page: 530
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.751

Oral History Study on Erotic Cinema: Turkish Cinema from 1974 to 1980
type: item
description: This study examines the “erotic film influx” period in Turkish cinema between 1974 and 1980. The research was conducted using information obtained from semi-structured interviews conducted with individuals who worked as projectionists during the erotic era, using a qualitative research design, such as oral history. The new developments that emerged during the influx were explored through the observations of the film projectionists, testimonies, memories, and experiences. Therefore, the study excluded the production practices of erotic films and focused on the distribution and exhibition of these films. The study found that the erotic film influx in Türkiye quickly created a new audience and cultural atmosphere which resulted in the emergence of a new, male-dominated audience, isolated from their families.
creator: Bahadir Kapir
creator: Ferhat Zengin
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Bahadir Kapir, Ferhat Zengin http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 531
ending page: 580
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.752

Representations of Gothic and Spectral Identities in the Global South: A Study of Manichitrathazhu and its Adaptations
type: item
description: Gothic as a genre in literature took its form in Europe but has existed within and outside Europe in various forms and formats. In nations like India, the colonial impact has influenced the way one imagines the supernatural and the uncanny. This paper studies the evolution of an ‘alternate gothic’ in the movies from India, focusing on the Malayalam movie Manichithrathazhu (1993) and its Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi adaptations. The paper examines how each version incorporates the regional culture, rituals, and social norms of the respective linguistic and geographic setting, thereby creating an ‘alternate gothic’ unique to the subcontinent. Through this lens, the film is read as an act of cultural negotiation, where local myths and social structures are embedded within a colonial framework of reason.
creator: Sethulakshmi Subhash
creator: Rukmini S
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Sethulakshmi Subhash, Rukmini S http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 581
ending page: 614
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.755

Deconstruction of Chinese Masculinity, Adaptation of Hong Kong Gangster Films, and Political Criticism in Television Series The Knockout
type: item
description: This study examines how the popular Chinese television series The Knockout crystallises political significance by mobilising intertextuality and deconstruction of masculinity. It argues that, The Knockout adapts the narratives and aesthetics of space, building, and natural scene in the Hong Kong gangster films to depict the crisis and precariousness of masculinity and thereby convey the criticism of China’s modernity and state authority. This research contributes to the under-researched field of alternative masculinities on Chinese screen and sheds light on how the Chinese television series struggles to negotiate the strict censorship. Also, it foregrounds the intertextual impact of Hong Kong genre cinema on contemporary Chinese television and the inter-regional adaptation on East-Asian screen.
creator: Xuechun Jin
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Xuechun Jin http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 615
ending page: 640
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.763

Use of ASMR Technique in Movies
type: item
description: The cinema sector has benefited from many innovations, especially in recent years, in terms of technology. The use of some new technology cameras and other equipment has increased in cinema films. In addition, it is known that there are new attempts not only in terms of technology but also in terms of some approaches and techniques. The ASMR technique, which is the subject of this study, has started to be used in cinema films, although it is not widespread. The most used medium outside of cinema films is YouTube videos. The main purpose of videos created on YouTube is to relax people. Another area where the ASMR technique is used after YouTube videos is advertisements. It is known that some brands in our country shoot commercials using the ASMR technique. ASMR is a phenomenon defined as autonomous sensory meridian response. Those who experience the ASMR sensation experience tingling and goosebumps around the head for a short time. This article aims to be a guide for the cinema sector by investigating the effects of the use of ASMR techniques in cinema films on the emotional states of the audience. In this study, a short video shot using ASMR techniques (squeaking, rustling, detailed sound, cutting sound, water sound, cat purring, etc.) was shown to 10 (5 female and 5 male) Communication Faculty students. The participants' opinions on the use of ASMR technique in movies were obtained using an in-depth interview technique. It was observed that the majority of the participants had a positive view on the use of ASMR technique in movies in a proper and appropriate manner.
creator: Fatih Diren
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Fatih Diren http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 641
ending page: 660
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.758

Symbolic Metaphors of Film Epidemic Narratives: A Comparative Study of Chinese and Foreign Epidemic Disaster Films
type: item
description: Epidemic disaster films take epidemics as the core of their narratives and involve a symbolic system with multiple metaphorical meanings. This study focuses on analysing 45 epidemic disaster films from China, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and the US. It is found that the medical symbols in Chinese and foreign epidemic disaster films that best characterise the epidemic narrative have referential meanings related to three main aspects, namely the occurrence of epidemics, the treatment of epidemics, and the public health system. Their direct and derived meanings provide cognitive information about mass infectious epidemics and methods of treatment and prevention. By integrating medical and non-medical symbols in the films, social and cultural symbols rich in metaphorical meanings are formed. “Tracing the origin of disease” involves a cultural metaphor that goes beyond medicine; “Responding to the crisis” involves a political metaphor of quarantine, rescue, and destruction; and “Rescue from the disaster” involves the human nature related metaphor of dilemma. Comparatively, the medical symbols and metaphors of epidemics in Chinese and foreign epidemic disaster films have more similarities than differences, while the socio-cultural symbols and their metaphors have more differences than similarities.
creator: Yankun Zhu
creator: Ming Cheung
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Yankun Zhu, Ming Cheung http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 661
ending page: 703
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.764

Evaluating Turkish Comedy Cinema From the Perspective of a Female Audience
type: item
description: This study, which examines the role of demographic factors in the reception of Turkish comedy films by female audiences, aims to examine female audiences' perceptions of Turkish comedy cinema in a multidimensional manner, encompassing participant profiles and viewing habits, character traits and representations in films, cultural and national comparisons, humor styles, viewing conditions and social context, film style and technical elements, and semantic and emotional evaluations. It also explores how these evaluations differ based on demographic variables. The absence of a study of this scope and sample size at the national or international level in the literature review strengthens the research's potential to make an original contribution to both the academic field and the Turkish film industry. Within the scope of the research, data were collected from 750 volunteer participants through online and face-to-face methods in 2024 and 699 valid surveys were analyzed by eliminating incomplete or incorrectly completed forms. The reliability of the scale was tested using Cronbach's Alpha coefficient and was found to be highly reliable. The data obtained were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test in SPSS Statistics 28. The findings show that female audiences' preferences, perceptions and evaluations of comedy films differ significantly according to demographic variables such as age, education and income level.
creator: Nergiz Karadaş Toktaş
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Nergiz Karadaş Toktaş http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 704
ending page: 733
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.759

Audiovisual Strategies and the Unity in Diversity Principle of the EU: A Cultural Dimensions Perspective on European and Turkish Cinema
type: item
description: The question of the study is, what the kind of impactss of the EU’s audiovisual strategy and its corresponding policies —rooted in the principle of unity in diversity—on the European and Turkish cinema there are. So, introducing a comprehensive answer requires handling culture, European cultures, almost all completely different from each other, which has historical roots. Within this framework, comparing the European cultural paradigm with Turkish cultural dynamics offers valuable insight into the study’s central theme. Study applies Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory—a widely used framework for analyzing cultural diversities—to explore and evaluate the differences between European and Turkish cultural influences in the context of cinema and the audiovisual sector. Drawing on the insights gained, the study presents concrete insights on both the European and Turkish film industries and proposes recommendations to support the development and internationalization of both sectors.
creator: Çağrı Kara
creator: Ayça Can Kırgız Özer
creator: M. Hakan Keskin
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Çağrı Kara, Ayça Can Kırgız Özer, M. Hakan Keskin http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 734
ending page: 772
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.814

Zeki Demirkubuz as a Creator of Meaning: A Critique of the Film Hayat
type: item
description: This article examines Turkish director Zeki Demirkubuz’s Hayat (2023) and the influence of Fyodor Dostoevsky and Albert Camus on the film’s narrative and characters. The central research question concerns how the intellectual worlds of these two writers shaped the construction of Hayat’s story and protagonists. Demirkubuz’s primary aim in Hayat is to portray, in practical terms, the typical features of characters living through an existential crisis and to indicate the possible paths toward its resolution. Both Dostoevsky and Camus devote significant attention to the basic and shared manifestations of existential crisis, but they differ on the question of overcoming this crisis. In Hayat, Demirkubuz thematizes the Dostoevskian resolution while also incorporating Camus’s conception of the absurd character. Viewed in this light, the director constructs a unique world of meaning; accordingly, he can be evaluated as an auteur in the sense of a meaning creator. This is the article’s working hypothesis. To substantiate this claim, the article first outlines the intellectual frameworks of Dostoevsky and Camus and then subsequently analyzes Hayat’s narrative and characters in relation to them.
creator: Barış Kılınç
creator: Elif Pınar Kılınç
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Barış Kılınç, Elif Pınar Kılınç http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 773
ending page: 811
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.834

The Aesthetics of Imperfection: A Theoretical Evaluation of the Meaning Layers of Glitch Aesthetics in Communication Design and Cinema
type: item
description: Glitch aesthetics based on digital errors and visual noise, has become a notable phenomenon in contemporary art, design, and visual culture, challenging the notion of digital perfection. This multi-layered qualitative study examines classic glitch works from early digital art experiments and contemporary glitch applications emerging in new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and the metaverse. The research aims to analyze how glitch aesthetics generates meaning in the field of communication design by comparing historical examples with various modern digital contexts. To achieve this goal, the study employs content analysis, case studies of significant glitch artworks (including “JPEGged Mona Lisa,” Kanye West's “Welcome to Heartbreak” music video, and Rosa Menkman's digital works), and conceptual evaluation methods to thoroughly investigate the aesthetic and communicative layers of glitch visuals. The findings show that glitch remains relevant in the digital age both as a critical art practice and an aesthetic strategy, continuing to produce multi-layered meanings in the fields of digital culture, communication design, and cinema. Overall, the study emphasizes the enduring importance of glitch as an intentional creative strategy and clearly demonstrates its impacts on communication design, digital art practices and cinema.
creator: Zuhal Akmeşe
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Zuhal Akmeşe http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 812
ending page: 844
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.905

The Interrelation of TV-series and Interior Design in the Construction of Meaning: Cinematic Narratives and the Psychological Function of Space
type: item
description: This paper explores the complex relationship between TV series and interior design, intending to emphasize the significant impact of spatial design on the construction of cinematic meaning. The study proffers the notion that both visual media and interior design function as potent storytelling instruments, employing spatial dimensions not solely to portray physical environments, but also to convey emotional profundity, psychological intricacy, and thematic richness. Through a detailed analysis, the study illustrates how interior design is employed to mirror the psychological states of characters, propel the narrative forward, and amplify the portrayal of emotions and social dynamics. Focusing on Turkish television series such as Masumlar Apartmanı (2020) and Şahsiyet (2018), the paper underscores the pivotal role of interior d in visual storytelling. These series demonstrate how meticulously designed spaces can enhance narrative depth and emotional resonance. The findings of this study offer valuable insights that can guide future research in the intersection of interior design and visual media, emphasizing the significance of spatial design in crafting compelling cinematic experiences.
creator: İdil Bolat
creator: Oylum Dikmen Güleryüz
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 İdil Bolat, Oylum Dikmen Güleryüz http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 845
ending page: 884
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.767

Review of Rated A: Soft Porn Cinema and Mediations of Desire in India
type: item
description: This paper reviews the book Rated A: Soft Porn Cinema and Mediations of Desire in India by Darshana Sreedhar Mini.
creator: Sourav Saha
creator: Shyamkiran Kaur
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Sourav Saha, Dr Shyamkiran Kaur http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 885
ending page: 892
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.780

Review of Architecture in Cinema
type: item
description: This paper reviews the book Architecture in Cinema, which explores the multilayered relationship between architecture and cinema from both generic and historical perspectives, offering a critical framework for rethinking the role of architecture within cinematic narratives.
creator: Ebru Erdoğan
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Ebru Erdoğan http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 893
ending page: 906
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.783

Review of Exposing Vulnerability: Self-Mediation in Scandinavian Films by Women
type: item
description: This review assesses Adriana Margareta Dancus’s Exposing Vulnerability (Intellect, 2019), which argues that first-person filmmaking by Scandinavian women mobilises vulnerability as an aesthetic, ethical, and political force, cultivating spectatorship that oscillates between intimacy and distance. Through close readings of Good Girl, The Reunion, Ida’s Diary, Sami Blood, and Fragility, Dancus links formal strategies—collage, haptic visuality, long takes—to consent, care, and circulation across public spheres. The review credits the book’s careful mapping of self-mediation as public address and its nuanced account of exposure becoming ethical encounter, while noting limits around audience heterogeneity and Scandinavian scope. Overall, it offers a teachable framework for courses on documentary ethics, feminist media, and Nordic cinema.
creator: Sinem Yankı Özcan
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Sinem Yankı Özcan http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 907
ending page: 915
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.848

Review of Contemporary Art Cinema Culture in China
type: item
description: This paper reviews the book Contemporary Art Cinema Culture in China by Xiang Fan.
creator: Ke Zhu
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Ke Zhu http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-03
publication date: 2025-12-03
volume: 13
number: 2
starting page: 916
ending page: 923
doi: 10.5195/cinej.2025.849