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October filminin fantezi evreni – Ali Polat, Engin Kurtay

Istanbul Institute of
Russian and Sovietic Studies

Rusya halkı, sağda solda düzenlenen birkaç cılız etkinlik dışında 7 Kasım 2017’yi normal bir gün gibi geçirdi. Komünist partinin yaptırdığı bir ankete göre Rusya halkının %58’i Ekim Devrimi’nin 100. yıldönümünden habersizdi (1).

Oysa Sovyet döneminde 7 Kasım, büyük törenlerin yapıldığı bir tatil günüydü.

Bağımsız Rus Tv kanalının editörü, belgesel film yapımcısı Mikhail Viktorovich Zygar, Rus basınının Ekim Devrimi’ne kayıtsız kalmasına çok şaşırdığını söylemişti (2).

Rusya Devlet Başkanı V. Putin, 7 Kasım’dan dört gün önce (3 Kasım 2017) Ekim Devrimi’nin kendi tarihlerinin karışık bir parçası olduğunu ve bu tarihe tarafsız ve saygılı davranılması gerektiğini söyledi (3). Continue reading “October filminin fantezi evreni – Ali Polat, Engin Kurtay”

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The Autopsy of the Film ‘Roma’: Why did Alfonso Cuaron discredit his own masterpiece? – Ali Polat, Engin Kurtay

Istanbul Institute of
Russian and Sovietic Studies

The film did not attract public interest when it was shown both in Mexico and in USA. The box office was a complete failure. Moreover, Spanish media reported that the film triggered racist attacks in Mexico. So was the reason for the lack of public interest to the film a deep reaction to bring the indigenious X white distinction and discrimination back to the top of the agenda?

In the modern-post-modern world, the relation between art and politics is as corrupted as the relation between art and the market. This relationship takes its roots from Trotsky’s art doctrine: Trotsky rejects all kinds of formalism in art, thus he rejects art education, institutionalization in art, and the patronage/support of the state apparatus on/for art. Continue reading “The Autopsy of the Film ‘Roma’: Why did Alfonso Cuaron discredit his own masterpiece? – Ali Polat, Engin Kurtay”

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Understanding the prodigy of Sergei Eisenstein – Ali Polat, Engin Kurtay

Istanbul Institute of
Russian and Sovietic Studies

Tamiji Naito, Boris Pasternak, Eisenstein, Olga Tretyakova, Lilya Brik, Mayakovsky…


Note: This study is being elaborated by revisions and appendixes. The Log of revisions is located at then end of the article.

Known for his leftist identity, Ken Livingston’s victory in London municipal elections in 2000 created excitement in the left circles in the UK as well as around the world. One detail that escaped from the eyes was that Ken Livingston participated the municipal elections as an independent candidate from the party, even though he was a member of the Labor Party. Simple tactical explanations were invented to explain this strangeness. We can, however, try to better understand this tactical choice through Eisenstein’s story we present below, within the framework of deep decomposition on the left, whose roots go back to 1908 and 1916.

Continue reading “Understanding the prodigy of Sergei Eisenstein – Ali Polat, Engin Kurtay”