Representation of the city in cinema: An analysis of kars architecture as a film setting

Abstract

Due to cinema's utilization of architecture as a filming location, the collaboration that has developed between these two disciplines has enabled the historical heritage of cities to be reflected on the silver screen. In this way, large audiences have become familiar with these cities through cinematic representation. As a border city that has experienced numerous occupations over time, Kars possesses a rich architectural, historical, and cultural background. These features have attracted the attention of many directors and screenwriters, and the city has taken on an almost leading role in several significant films. In this study, the ability of cinema to combine visuality and narrative has been examined through the spatial representation of the city of Kars in film. To analyze Kars's cinematic representation from a multifaceted perspective and to obtain comparable data, a scene-content analysis was conducted on three films selected via a random sampling method. The spatial settings in these selected films were analyzed semiotically, focusing on their visual and symbolic meanings. Through this approach, the interaction between the city and its cinematic representation over time has been explored. Ultimately, the elements conveyed indirectly to the viewer constitute the foundation of semiotics, forming codes whose meanings are gradually interpreted by the audience. These codes, as presented through the films, contribute to the construction of a collective subconscious that reflects either an authentic or fictionalized image of the city and its society. As a result, the locations where films are shot are marketed either positively or negatively, intentionally or unintentionally. The findings of the analysis reveal that in the selected films, Kars is commonly represented through a rural narrative framework and is employed not as a realistic urban setting but rather as a fictionalized cinematic space.