Queer Portrayals in Turkish Cinema: Case Study of The Club and Selim Soygür

Authors : Deniz Gürgen Atalay, Nilay Ulusoy

Pages : 631-658

Doi:10.33708/ktc.1738111

View : 84 | Download : 629

Publication Date : 2025-11-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The historical drama series, The Club (2021–22), narrating the story of a night- club at the center of Istanbul nightlife during the 1950s, achieved great success by becoming the eighth most-watched non-English-language series on an international digital streaming platform. The significant public affirmation rose on the representation of the leading character – the nightclub star, influenced by respected queer performer Zeki Müren (1931–96). Müren has been credited as the greatest performer in Turkey and a modern male icon with his artistic excellence in singing and his outstanding stage performances for over 40 years. While Müren was performing his art on stage wearing a miniskirt, platform heels, and bright earrings, he had a celebrity persona that would be called the Pasha\\\" (\\\"army general\\\"). His homosexuality was known as a \\\"hidden reality\\\" (Arslan 2011:278-279). The referential association of the fictional character with Zeki Müren interpreted in the article to further discuss the portrayal of the queer performance in the series. For this purpose, the article introduced the conceptualization of nonosh, a polite yet explicit contempt, presenting an embraceable form of queer identity in Turkish society to define the common portraiture of queer in Turkish popular films and TV shows.
Keywords : Türk Sineması, Queer Performans, Nonoş, Zeki Müren, Kulüp (2021-22)

ORIGINAL ARTICLE URL