(Person) Percentage - Sabanci University Research Database

The Asian Media & Mass Communication Conference 2010 Osaka, Japan
the iconography of the horror genre coming forth in the film. Dead ghost girl is the most wellknown
icon of horror genre.
In the film Araf, a cinema form which reminds classical Hollywood horror films is
dominant. In the film, different points of views and plans were preferred but in the following
parts of the film, an atmosphere like in Dark Water is tried to be created. In these parts, fixed
camera and relatively long plans are preferred. In the film light was used to increase thrill and
there is no effort to create a natural light effect. In shots outside color effects which vary
according to feeling in scene and people’s perception of reality was broken. In the film, the
influence of Hollywood in using effect is significant. Computer aided effects aiming to
frighten viewers but they are far from being plausible. Araf uses the iconography of
Hollywood horror genre: well-known spaces like graveyards, operation room, mental asylum
and dead bird and fetus. One of the most significant icons unique to the genre used in the film
are the lambs pending from the ceiling and creating a gloomy atmosphere by constantly
swinging. In Araf just as in Dark Water inner spaces in the house like bedroom and bathroom
were chosen as reliable and private spaces are used. Another similarity is that water is again
associated with water. In the scene in which Eda meets the ghost of her dead daughter, she
bends to the tap to wash her face. Similar to the video recording in the film Ringu as one of
the well-known examples of Fareast horror genre, in Araf there is also a video recording
which resolves the puzzle in Araf. Fear and death are the associated meanings of the video
recording which proves the existence of the little girl. In common with Dark Water film, ‘the
ghost of the dead girl’ appears to be the most important icon unique to Fareast horror genre
and it is the most significant horrifying element as in the film Dark Water.
4. Conclusion:
There are many reasons behind the increase in the number of horror films-whose
examples are rarely seen previously- in the 2000s. In the 2000s, the increasing interest of
Turkish cinema viewers to horror genre and the emergence of a new generation of director in
Turkish cinema are significant factors. However, although it is possible to come across the
beliefs in the films of these directors who do not have cinema tradition in horror genre,
traditions, cultures of the society in which they live, it is seen that they imitate representation
practices of foreign cinemas especially that of Hollywood originated horror films. After the
2000s, Fareast horror cinema’s starting to rise and attainment of significant commercial
success carried Fareast horror genre to Hollywood with adaptations. The effect of Fareast
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