of Islamic society, clearly tended to subvert the religious experience, derived by the Sufi Islam doctrine that man is but a shadow manipulated by his Creator, and with the purpose to cause the inversion and reconstruction of power relations. Karagoz is identified as a member of the lower classes. His ambitions – gaining power, wealth, a job with status, a wealthy marriage – are common within big part of the Turkish society, and allow audiences’ identification with Karagoz character, acting at the same time as a powerful forum of self – definition, communal identity and self – identification, and creating relations defined by ethnic or even racist stereotypes. From about the 17 th century to the 19 th century, the political stance of Karagoz is that of common people criticizing the powerful. Karagoz performance was employed as a bottom – up political weapon to criticize the Ottoman society and the political corruption. Enjoying an unlimited freedom and deliberately violating cultural norms, values and linguistic codes, Karagoz represents the opposition, the people, who criticize the nobles and the ruler’s mistakes. Sexuality, abundant in 19 th century performance, becomes the medium for the inversion of norms, for the degradation of the higher. From the late 19 th century, and as Western moral values become increasingly important in the Ottoman Empire, restrictions were imposed on the previously free and uncensored art from, exemplifying the model of a top-down control to the former bottomup artistic expression. Though, despite intensive police controls, Karagoz maintained its political and obscene characteristics. In 1923, the Republic of Turkey was founded, and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the new state, attempted to modernize Turkey. In the period till 1945, attempts were made to transform Karagoz to a propaganda tool for reforms promoted in language, clothing and education. In 1932, the government set up the People’s Houses, government – funded institutions that were to educate the people and familiarize them with the reforms and the 15
new ideology. In a complete reversal of roles, Karagoz delivers the political message of the government, speaks in favor of the state and becomes a new model citizen. This transformation of the political process involved in Karagoz performance – from a bottom –up satire to a top – down propaganda tool – leads to the gradual loss of its power as a living art of opposition and criticism. 16
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