Contemporary Turkish Cinema

Hacivat Karagöz Neden Öldürüldü? / Who Killed the Shadows?

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Karagöz and Hacivat lived and died during the first clashes of the decaying Eastern Roman Empire and the early Ottomans of the 14th century Anatolia. Their stories and characters have been adapted for the traditional shadow theatre of the later Ottoman Empire, in modern Turkey and all over the Middle East, Greece and western Asia. Their legend and the truth about their tragic deaths are twisted and distorted, but their caustic humor still lives on. Hacivat Karagöz Neden Öldürüldü? (Who Killed the Shadows?) opens in 14th century Bursa, a lovely city on the border of the Byzantine Empire. Bursa hosts a multicultural life under the rule of the Ottomans, an emerging small Turkish tribe of that time. People who are exhausted from the tax hungry Mongolian attacks immigrate for a new life to this liberal city, which is also a shelter for the ruling class from various crumbling states and governments. Among those seeking refuge, is an illiterate but highly intelligent and sensitive Turkoman nomad, Karagöz, and a sharp, garrulous messenger, Hacivat. From the moment they meet, their conversations entertain those around them and eventually, they start to present stand-up shows where they humorously criticize the religious and civil authorities, and quickly accumulate a long list of enemies.

From the Press

During a time when the Seljuks have departed, Byzantium has retreated to its original borders, the Ottomans have not yet totally gained control, various principalities are fighting for dominance and Anatolia is still vulnerable to the Tartar and Mongol invasions, we observe a life which is painted with the tolerance preached by Sufism, as well as the reflection of that tolerance in the world of commerce through Akhism [a religious fraternity or trade guild]. As Akay emphasizes, Christianity, Judaism, Shamanism (the old religion of the Turks) are still as dominant as Islam. Karagöz, a trader whose mother conjures the help of shamanistic spirits, and Hacivat, a messenger between various principalities, meet, argue, fight and eventually transform into a very popular comic duo in this ethnic and religious mosaic. They are the ancestors of contemporary showmen, comic duos such as Laurel and Hardy, and one of the first examples of internationally renown entertainers. But as any comic who does his job properly, they have a tendency to criticize the ones in power. Thus, trouble is inevitable. (Atilla Dorsay, “An Era When Anatolia Was a Place of Chaos, Tolerance and Joy: Who Killed the Shadows?”).

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