İdeolojiyi Meşrulaştırma ve Kamuoyu Oluşturma Aracı Olarak Sinema

Mass media are used to form and consolidate public opinion. Thanks to this feature, the media has stepped in to respond to the expectations of the masses in many problems and moments of social crisis. Cinema has also been used as a means of influencing the masses and imposing a certain idea on the audience since the day it emerged. In this context, cinema not only presents a story to the audience; it also blurs the boundaries between reality and fiction, paving the way for the audience to identify with this world. Viewers who identify with the characters they see on screen are influenced by the film and internalize the message more easily. The illusionary perception of reality causes ideologically produced fictional films to have a profound effect on the masses. This situation has resulted in states conveying the messages they want to convey to the masses through movies. There are similar examples in Turkey. In this study, the film Dağ 2 is analyzed as an example of the relationship between cinema and politics. This study, which aims to reveal the relationship between the film Dağ 2 and the Turkish foreign policy of the period and why the film was produced, is important in terms of showing that a film with prominent political and ideological features in Turkish cinema can both reach and be appreciated by a wide audience and that the state can support cinema for the purpose of forming public opinion. In the study, ideological analysis and mise-en-scene criticism methods were used together. The related analyses revealed that a discourse similar to the discourses of those who manage Turkish foreign policy is also present in the film, and that this discourse is supported by the mise-en-scene. In addition, it was understood that the movie Dağ 2, which was released in 2016, was used to increase public support for Turkey's cross-border operations and that the film aimed to create a perception in favor of the foreign policy of the period. Considering the parameters such as the fact that Dağ 2 was the most watched movie in the year it was released and that it had a high voting rate on platforms where viewers voted directly, it was evaluated that it found a response from the audience in terms of forming public opinion and legitimizing the ideology.