Representations of Istanbul in two Hollywood spy films about World War I and World War II

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the representation of Istanbul in foreign spy films. Drawing on the work of Stephen Barber (2002), Charlotte Brundson (2007), David B. Clarke (1997) and Barbara Mennel (2008), the thesis proposes five city film properties, which are used when analysing Istanbul spy films. These properties are: first, ‘city landmarks, cityscapes and city spectacles’; second, ‘cinematic constructions of social life via social and power relations’; third, the ‘relationship between the protagonist and the city’; fourth, the ‘cinematic city trope and mise-en-scène’; and finally, the ‘story of a city’ or ‘the idea of a city’. It is argued in this thesis that Hollywood has represented Istanbul differently according to the West’s changing international relationship with Turkey; this is reflected in two case studies of espionage films. In Stamboul Quest (1934), Istanbul in WWI is mainly presented through the Orientalist representation of the city, since at the time the West was distancing itself from Turkey in its international relationships; the Orientalist framework depicts Istanbul as a dark and dangerous place, but also as a city with exotic allure. At the time of the production of 5 Fingers (1952), the second case study, the West and especially the United States wanted Turkey as an ally; this is reflected in the film, which depicts Istanbul as having modernised and Westernised lifestyles within its cosmopolitan and historic settings.

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ORCID for Tim Bergfelder: orcid.org/0000-0001-6585-6123

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