Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
2-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Program
Liberal Studies
Advisor
Susan Buck-Morss
Subject Categories
Continental Philosophy | Environmental Studies | Film and Media Studies | Nature and Society Relations | Political Economy | Social and Cultural Anthropology | Somatic Psychology
Keywords
Walter Benjamin, Critical Theory, Film Theory, Ecology, Climate Change, Anatolian Film.
Abstract
This thesis interprets the intersection of history, ecology, and politics through two contemporary Anatolian films: Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s About Dry Grasses and Murat Fıratoğlu’s One of These Days When Hemme Dies. We focus on the films’ portrayal of social relations and relationships to other living beings through interpreting the temporal layers and historical tensions present in the plots of the films. We introduce the paper by pondering over the question of whether these films are political. Drawing on Walter Benjamin’s concepts of “first nature” and “second nature”, the first chapter introduces the philosophical framework for understanding the connection between the timeless and ecological conditions of existence, with the transient and profane political realm of existence. The second chapter interprets the traits of capitalist modernity and its transformation of relationships on Earth. It is divided into four sub-sections: desacralization of nature, degradation of life’s bonds which focus on the alienating and exploitative effects of relations ordained by capitalism, the transformation of life’s rhythms and tempo (as well as the inability), and the phenomenological experiences of shock associated with modernity’s technological apparatus. The third chapter focuses on film theory and the political connotations involved in cinematic techniques as they relate to our films. We conclude by returning to our question of whether these films are political. Inspired by Benjamin’s call to politicize art for the sake of humanity’s self-preservation, this thesis investigates whether our two films fulfill this call amid our own historical crisis of ecological collapse.
Recommended Citation
Izci, Ceren, "A Benjaminian Rumination of Grasses and Tomatoes in Contemporary Anatolian Film" (2025). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6112
Included in
Continental Philosophy Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, Nature and Society Relations Commons, Political Economy Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Somatic Psychology Commons
