Dissertation

The intertopian mode in the depiction of Turkey-originated migrants in European film

On 7 September 2023 Didem Durak Akser successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

Author

Durak Akser, D.

Date

07 September 2023

Links

Leiden Repository

This study delves into the understudied relationship between utopianism and film with specific attention to the relationship between utopianism and European migrant film in the context of Turkish migrants’ hopes and fears. It proposes a new concept, the intertopian mode, by engaging with the relevant concepts in utopianism and migrant cinema. The intertopian mode is the space between the extremities of the utopianist spectrum, utopia, and dystopia at their most ultimate forms. 

This study provides close and socio-politically situated readings of the selected films that serve as case studies to test the presence of intertopian mode. It situates each case study/film in the specific contexts and applies the research questions to demonstrate the patterns. Hence, this study explores how utopian motives, as in the form of intertopian mode, appear in migrant film and it engages with utopianism as a method for representing change, socio-cultural issues, desires, hopes, fears, and values. It lays the foundation for future investigation of utopianism in film.

Supervisor: Prof.dr. I.B. Smits
Co-supervisor: Dr. P. de Bruijn