The Collapse of Public Morality: From Yeşilçam Films to Mafia Series

It has always been said that American films often contain political steering and prepare public opinion with subliminal messages ahead of many events. It would not be wrong to say that they influence us in many areas, right down to our daily lives. Especially in these times of social media and, with the effect of the coronavirus period, when we are so deeply entangled with conspiracy theories. American experts call this the “Hollywood Effect”. Our Hollywood is the Yeşilçam films. Although they did not influence politics much, their serious effects on our people and society cannot be denied.

Those of us who are middle-aged and older, and even the current young generation, grew up, so to speak, with Yeşilçam films. We all internalised and embraced even many of the bad characters. Especially in the gloomy atmosphere of the years when they first hit the screen, they were the only means that made us smile. Although the films exposed the shortcomings of their own time and criticised its mindset, we would see that they had much in common with today. When you watch Yeşilçam films, you can see very serious similarities with this period too. There were famous character types, especially in the films of Kemal Sunal and İlyas Salman.

The Films Are Funny, But…

They showed the main character, a clean and naive Anatolian, often being swindled by people, his good intentions abused, his rights taken from him, and the hardships he suffered as a result. As the solution, the message was given that he could only get his rights by being more of a liar, more of a crook and more of a cheat than those who did this to him (Tokatçı, Banker Bilo and others). In many films the beloved character is already a liar, selfish and a crook. Even when doing good, he expects something in return and steals from others to do it (Kapıcılar Kralı).

Again, many films arrived at the conclusion that it was impossible to get rich by working, and that getting rich was only possible by making money the illegitimate but easy way, or through games of chance. Perhaps these were true in terms of conveying the realities of that period, but the messages given to society by the viewer’s favourite character, in films that even small children watched often, were very wrong. Films that encourage imitation and affect the moral fabric of society should also convey ethically sound messages. Almost every citizen now over thirty grew up loving those people and taking them as role models. The current young generation, on the other hand, grew up with series full of mafia-style and highly violent content, themes and characters who resort very easily to weapons and power. We now have a young generation that sees it as normal to obtain what it cannot have through violence or with a mindset that regards every means as legitimate.

As a result, today people deceiving each other and cheating well are accepted as virtues. In society, clean and well-meaning people are called ‘suckers’. Even the word ‘pure’ in its good sense is mostly stressed as a deficiency. When people are done a favour or helped without expectation, it is interpreted as having other motives; helping without expecting gain is considered absurd. It is believed that earning money by the sweat of one’s brow is almost impossible, and that certain positions and opportunities can only be reached through trickery and flattery. People look at each other’s advantages and opportunities with resentment and malicious feelings. In fact, if the successful person is from one’s close circle or a relative, the dose of jealousy increases. Someone being in difficulty or in need is seen by another not as an occasion to help but as an opportunity.

Morality Does Not Pay, Honesty Is Not Valued

Today people eliminate those they see as rivals by slandering them without batting an eyelid, in order to reach positions they do not deserve.

Instead of helping relatives in difficulty, they lend money like loan sharks, with interest or against a mortgage.

They hoard products whose prices are rising and sell them at higher prices on the black market.

Cases of harassment, rape, violence against women and children, and killing are rising to unprecedented levels.

Because the values of morality and honesty are seen in society as obstacles blocking one’s way, they are rapidly being abandoned. In societies without morality and honesty, the concept of justice loses its value and becomes a stick in the hands of the powerful. Because there is no justice and equality, people do not receive the reward for their labour. People who do not receive the reward for their labour turn to illegitimate businesses that make easy money, or to games of chance, in order to reach their goals. This naturally leads to the collapse of the family and social order from the ground up.

Games of Chance Are the Thermometer of a Broken Economy

Wherever in the world it may be, you can tell a country’s income justice, or whether labour is rewarded, from the number of businesses that run games of chance. Of course, the prizes of games of chance in those countries do not go to the poor either. The saying “In gambling only the house wins” has become flesh and blood thanks to the new owners of the National Lottery.

As a result of the principle “You are governed as you are”, every crime committed by those who govern the country, such as theft, corruption, smuggling, tax evasion and favouritism, does not register in people’s eyes as a serious crime.

The AKP and a large section that supports it have adopted this and similar mindsets, pursuing filling their pockets with insatiable greed, without regard for the principles of right and law. Those who govern the country and the parties naturally reflect the thinking of those who support them in power.

With my words I certainly do not mean the well-meaning, naive Anatolian who cannot see the truth. The people I mean are those who act on the logic of “He steals, but he works”, who say “State property is a sea; whoever does not eat from it is a pig”, who do business through favouritism regardless of merit, and who, accepting as true whatever the political authorities say, do not refrain from slandering innocent people without investigating. Of course, it is not only AKP supporters who are in this situation. Almost all the other parties too show at every opportunity how far they can go when they have the same opportunities. This issue is fundamentally not about parties but about humanity and morality.

Cinema of course also has positive aspects in terms of shaping society. In Hollywood films it is possible to see very fine examples of democracy and fundamental rights. We can clarify the matter with a line that has become proverbial. A simple statement that every person, however guilty, has rights, and that does not allow officials, high or low, to look down on them: “I am a taxpaying citizen. You are paid with my taxes.” Unfortunately, we cannot be said to be very successful in this respect either. We have a media aspiring to one-man rule that constantly sanctifies the state on television screens and in cinemas, gives the message that all rights can be shelved when necessary, and portrays historical and important figures in almost every episode as people who cut off heads.

The Culprits Are Being Sought in the Wrong Place

Our country has hit rock bottom politically, economically, morally and socially. Describing those responsible for all these troubles and hardships as “foreign powers” or “fate” is nothing but protecting the perpetrators and continuing to deceive oneself. The perpetrators of all this are those who govern the country, those who remain silent towards them and those who support them. If every sheep were hung by its own leg, I would not have felt the need to write these lines. As it is, innocent people and our future suffer most from this situation. And as long as this mindset continues, they look set to suffer even more…

Since we began with Turkish cinema, let us end with a cinema scene. The AKP government loaded all our belongings onto a truck, saying we were going to the European Union. Then it brought us to the bloody geography of the Middle East and left us there. By the time we understood the situation, it was too late. And some still stubbornly refuse to understand the state we are in…