Screen production and exhibition in Istanbul under urban transformation

This research explores the relationship between new screen production and exhibition spaces and urban transformation in Istanbul. In the last two decades Istanbul, like many other metropolitan cities, witnessed a dramatic growth of urban reconstruction projects. These reconstruction projects create new screen production sites by transforming post-industrial areas such as old ports and docks, abandoned factories into “creative locales” as well as new exhibition sites such as multiplexes, luxury city club movie theaters, hotel and museum screening halls, which are adapted to the neoliberal urbanite consumption trends. This dissertation focuses on physical and representational spaces in the city and in TV series to provide a comprehensive understanding on the relation between media production, consumption and urban studies. Such analysis helps to understand the social and economic impacts of urban renovation projects on screen media and vice versa. The first part of the empirical research focuses on screen media production: how the TV series and film production has shaped the city in the last two decades and how this transformation is represented in films and TV series. The first paper explores on-location TV production sites; historical neighborhoods, post-industrial spaces and business centers to illustrate how TV production may promote gentrification in less visible yet more complex ways than other creative industries. The second paper discovers TV drama production studios of Istanbul and shows the relation between the construction of these studios, the content of the TV series and the ratings. The second part of the empirical research focuses on contemporary exhibition strategies in the city: from open-air cinemas to the construction of multiplex cinemas and contemporary alternative exhibition spaces and how and why they are used by film festivals and filmmakers. The third paper examines the nostalgic sentiments around the newly-established open-air cinemas in Istanbul and traces their history and disappearance that dates back to the urban transformation projects in the 1950s. The last paper looks at alternative film exhibition spaces in Istanbul, such as museums, cafes, cultural centers, exhibition halls and the politics behind their proliferation in the last decade. The research combines relevant research methods for each individual case study: content and visual analysis for cases on screen representation; archival research for historical data and interviews and participant observation for cases on media production and exhibition. Using such multimethod approach, this research aims to explore the entangled relationship between the film-TV industry and the urban renovation projects in Istanbul and show how both screen making and consumption are connected urban production and consumption patterns. Keywords: Urban media and communication, TV production, film exhibition, urban transformation, Istanbul

Publication year:2020

Keywords:Doctoral thesis

Accessibility:Open