Mihail Bahtin’in Karnavalesk Kavramının 12 Eylül Darbesi Bağlamında Temsili: Deli Deli Küpeli Filmi Üzerine Bir Çözümleme
The Representation of Mikhail Bakhtin’s Concept of Carnivalesque in the Context of the September 12 Coup: An Analysis of the Film Deli Deli Küpeli

Summary/Abstract: The September 12 Military Coup is one of the most important events in the political life of Türkiye. The coup had a negative influence on the cinema sector of the country and started to be the subject of domestic movies in the mid-80s. One of these movies is "Deli Deli Küpeli" (1986), starring Kemal Sunal. The movie is about the utopian order established by two lunatics who escaped from the mental hospital by taking another lunatic in the town with them. The union of tradesmen, bandits, and politicians who exploited the townspeople ended for a while until the ice was broken, and the inhabitants of the town participated in the absurd enthusiasm under the leadership of the lunatic district governor. This exuberant and cheerful utopian order filled with laughter is reminiscent of the carnivalesque concept proposed by the Russian thinker Bakhtin. The concepts introduced by Bakhtin—such as dialogism, polyphony, and the chronotope—are increasingly recognized as valuable analytical tools not only in literature but also in film studies. There is no doubt that the application of Bakhtinian concepts to cinematic art and film narrative represents a relatively recent trend in film studies. Among the Bakhtinian concepts that offer valuable analytical potential for film narrative, the concept of the carnival holds particular significance. Sunal's smile is the counterpart of Bakhtin's discourse "The carnival smile is the smile of the whole people" in Turkish cinema. This study aims to demonstrate, through an analysis of the film's narrative, that Deli Deli Küpeli aligns with Bakhtinian carnivalesque concept.

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