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The 1980s were painful years for the
Republic of Turkey, governed by the
Motherland (Anavatan) Party established
under the leadership of Turgut Özal
and consisting of mostly mustached
and potbellied parliamentarians. These
parliamentarians left the village but could
not become urbanites, and led an opulent
lifestyle. When the truck breaks down,
they look for a rescuer. They are Waiting
for Godot. The savior is Angut Memet, who
lived in Hamburg for some time and is now
rich (is Baydur referring to the European
Union or criticizing saviors that have not
internalized European culture?). Angut
Memet is two-faced. He is both himself
and his apprentice Ismail. When he does
not want to be visible, he leaves Ismail in
the shop and goes to the cherry fest. He
is dishonest and gambles. He wins many
times while playing backgammonwith Recep
and takes his money.
Play characters do not give up looking for
shortcuts despite difficulties. Recep goes to
the gas station to call Angut Memet. Angut
Memet’s apprentice Ismail describes a
shortcut to find the way back. On his return,
he does not meet Necati who is coming
after him to find Angut Memet. The problem
continues to get more complicated.
There are luxury items in chests loaded at
the back of the truck.This reminds us of the
characters during Özal’s term in office.
During this period, the taxes that created
an obstacle to importation were removed
in line with principles of liberalism. The
showcases of the poor country were
furnished with luxury goods. While citizens
had the liberty to buy these goods, they
48 Memet Baydur, Toplu Oyunları 3 [All Plays 3], 1st ed., ((Istanbul: MitosBoyut Yayınları, 1994) p. 130.
49 Memet Baydur, Toplu Oyunları 3 [All Plays 3], 1st ed., (Istanbul: MitosBoyut Yayınları, 1994) p. 131.
50 Memet Baydur, Toplu Oyunları 3[All Plays 3], 1st ed., (Istanbul: MitosBoyut Yayınları, 1994) p. 146.
51 Memet Baydur, Toplu Oyunları 3 [All Plays 3], 1st ed., (Istanbul: MitosBoyut Yayınları, 1994) p. 131.
52 Memet Baydur, Toplu Oyunları 3 [All Plays 3], 1st ed., (Istanbul: MitosBoyut Yayınları, 1994) p. 178-179.
could not afford to buy them. The working
class who carred the country on their backs
for years continued that role.
It must not be a coincidence that the writer
refers to Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe
in Kamyon. Şaban, as a curious man, reads
an article about Robinson Crusoe in the
newspaper and tries to understand it with
his insufficient reading ability. This article
is of importance for adding depth to the
play. Above all, the area where the truck is
stuck is reminiscent of a deserted island.
It is in the middle of nowhere, isolated
from everything. Like Robinson, the play
characters in Kamyon are waiting for a
saver.
Robinson Crusoe is a sort of utopia. As
mentioned in the play, in the medieval age,
only a small minority was making a profit.
The majority were being exploited. We can
consider Robinson Crusoe as a reaction
to this system. His story may be seen as a
utopia of sorts, in which a single man had
the opportunity to produce and consume as
much as was needed on an island, itself the
property of no one person.
There is a contradiction between Robinson
Crusoe and Kamyon. While “production” is
the dominant activity in Robinson Crusoe
(as Robinson made tools such as pickaxe,
shovel and hoe to cultivate the land),
“consumption” is the prevailing tendency in
Kamyon. While Robinson only satisfies his
basic needs, the chests loaded on the red
truck do not include any basic necessities
such as food, drinks or clothes.
The laborers who worked entirely on behalf
of others, and were responsible for loading,
unloading and carrying goods, could not
do anything when left on their own in an
environment without masters. This is the
“unbearable lightness” of liberty. Those who
question life (for example Abuzer) make
new decisions. Maybe this is why Baydur
describes Kamyon as “a play of bargaining,
bargaining for life.” 53
A Different Perspective on Play Characters
In Memet Baydur’s play Kamyon, although
the play characters are inspired by the
traditional theatre, the writer attempts to
break down the established perspective. As
explained above, in the play, there are six
characters with three ethnic origins also
seen in Karagöz and Ortaoyunu.
These are Turkish, Kurdish and Laz.
According to the Istanbul ( Ottoman) point
of view, all three are rural and other. What
makes the other perceived negatively is its
difference. 54
In Karagöz and Ortaoyunu, these characters
are looked down upon and even despised.
They are stereotypes subject to prejudices.
These characters, also appearing in Hırbo,
may be “a woodsman from Kastamonu, a
cook from Bolu, a pastry, desert, yogurt
seller, a ram shepherd, a shoe repairer.” 55
The Turkish character “has rough language
and rough behaviors, he is naïve. When he is
praised, he perceives it negatively; but when
he is insulted, he makes friends with his
insulter”. 56
In Turkish traditional theatre, particularly in
Karagöz and Ortaoyunu, the Ottoman point
of view centered in Istanbul governs how
characters are handled and presented. We
should not disregard that in that period the
audience of these plays were largely from
big cities including Istanbul. Today, in the
modern Republic of Turkey, theatre viewers
may be from any region of the country and
of any ethnic origin. In order to renew and
maintain the traditional theatre, it is first
required to break the prejudiced point of
view inherited from the Ottoman Empire
and to integrate contemporary values such
as equality, liberty and human rights into
theatre. Memet Baydur’s Kamyon is an
important step taken to achieve this goal.
Baydur takes a democratic approach rather
than a contemptuous point of view to the
characters in Kamyon. As a writer, he is
not cruel to his characters, and tries to
see them from inside rather than outside.
Although he does not come from an
environment where his characters live, he
strives to empathize with and understand
them, and to show their lives to us.
Baydur dedicates Kamyon to “all villagers
who were forced to leave their land”
whose names are mentioned or not
mentioned in the play. In this modern play,
which describes a single day, he creates
a miniature Turkey that brings together
people of three different nations around a
red truck. The play ends with hope despite
communication problems and conflicts
among the members of this small group,
comprised of workers, villagers and
farmers.
The fact that the characters find a glass
sphere in one of the chests is a real sign
of hope. This hope is represented not by
characters like Angut Memet, but in the
integration of Turkey with the larger world.
This hope will be seen more clearly given
53 Qtd. in Sevda Şener, “Kamyon [Truck]”, Sahne Dergisi, March-April 2011, p. 23.
54 Serhat Ulağcı, İmgebilim, “Öteki”nin Bilimine Giriş [Imagology, introduction to Science of the “Other”], 1st ed., (Ankara: Sinemis Yayınları, 2006), p. 106.
55 Metin And, Geleneksel Türk Tiyatrosu Traditional Turkish Theatre], (Istanbul: İnkıilap Kitabevi Yayınları, 1985), p. 478.
56 Metin And, Geleneksel Türk Tiyatrosu Traditional Turkish Theatre], (Istanbul: İnkıilap Kitabevi Yayınları, 1985), s.478.
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