Full text of the Ararat film parts pf the book published in 2002 by Avrasya-Bir Foundation, ASAM - Center For Eurasian Strategic Studies, Institute for Armenian Research
CONTENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
CONTENTS
PRAFACE .
PART I.
ART AS A TOOL FOR ARMENIAN PROPAGANDA: THE MOVIE ‘ARARAT’ AS AN EXAMPLE
Sedat LAÇİNER
INTRODUCTION
Art As a Tool of Propaganda in Foreign Policy
Turkey as a Target for Propaganda
Purpose, References and Plan
CHAPTER 1
ARMENIAN PROPAGANDA AND THE MOVIE INDUSTRY
A. Armenian Propaganda Network and Its Motivation
Diaspora’s Negative Impact and the Identity Problem
B. Art as a Tool for Armenian Political Goals
Indirect Propaganda
C. Important People and Organizations in Armenian Propaganda Mechanism
The Armenian Film Foundation
Film International
MGN/ Paradise, Inc.
Arc Film
Bars Media
NAREK
AIM (Armenian International Magazine)
Local Governments
Armenian Student Associations
Armenian Media in Diaspora
Armenian Associations and Political Parties
Greek Associations
Festivals
The Church
Important Personalities, Theatre and Movie Halls
Other Firms and Organizations
D. Examples of Anti-Turkish Armenian Films
Voices from the Lake: A Film About the Secret Genocide
Forty Days Of Musa Dagh
Assignment Berlin
Mother (Mayrig)
The Yearning, Karot
The Armenian Genocide, Annihilation of the Armenian Population of the Ottoman Empire 1915-1923
An Armenian Journey
The Armenian Case
A Wall of Silence, The Unspoken Fate of the Armenians
The Forgotten Genocide
From Bitlis to Fresno: 100 Years of an Armenian Family in California, the Karabians of Fresno
Everyone’s Not Here: Families of the Armenian Genocide
The Hidden Holocaust: The First Genocide of the 20th Century
Cilicia… Rebirth
Historical Armenia
Komitas
Avetik
Nagorny-Karabakh; The Third and Fourth Volume of the Armenian History
On The Old Roman Road
Dark Forest In The Mountains
Mandate for Armenia
Where Are My People?
The Armenian Americans
California Armenians: The First Generation
Ararat Beckons
Back To Ararat
Legacy
This is Armenia
Films Made in Armenia
Conference Recordings
E. The Effects of the Political Armenian Movies in the West
F. Conclusion
CHAPTER 2
ATOM EGOYAN: A DIRECTOR WHO LATER REMEMBERED THAT HE WAS AN ARMENIAN
A. Early Years
B. Egoyan Realizes That He is an Armenian
C. Calendar: Egoyan’s Armenian Identity Meets Cinema
Exotica
D. SWEET HEREAFTER: Egoyan, an Oscar Nominee
E. Main Characteristics of Egoyan’s Films
F. Egoyan’s Opinions About the Armenian Problem
CHAPTER 3
ARARAT: ART OR PROPAGANDA?
A. Subject, Purpose and the Message
A Son Who ‘Understands’ His Father Who is an ASALA Terrorist
‘Poor Armenians, Evil Turks’
Scenes That Portray Turks as ‘Barbarians’
‘Anatolia: Lost Armenian Lands’
Prejudices Hidden by Art
B. THE NAME (ARARAT) AND SYMBOLS USED
C. DIRECTOR AND ACTORS
Director: Atom Egoyan
The Cast
Charles Aznavour
D. A Movie Supported by Armenia
E. Recording Stage
F. WHO IS FINANCING THE MOVIE?
G. ARARAT’S EFFECTS IN THE WEST AND THE REACTIONS
CHAPTER 4
REACTION TO ARARAT WITHIN TURKEY
Reactions From the Turkish Art World
Reactions Of The State Bodies
Culture Ministry
Turkish Parliament
Prime Ministry
Foreign Ministry
Higher Education Board (YÖK)
Public Opinion
Reactions of Turks in Europe and America
Reactions After The Premiere
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION AND GENERAL EVALUATION
Can the Movie Really Damage Turkish Interests?
Last Words
“During my childhood I was desperate to assimilate. In Victoria, I wanted to be like the other kids.[2] They used to call me the little Arab boy because I was a little darker, had a strange name and came from Egypt. It wasn't until adolescence that I realized something had been lost in my life,”[3]
Atom EGOYAN
“This film (Ararat) is very destructive and harmful for Turkish – Armenian relations. This film should not be shown in Turkey. This style used in the film Ararat cannot be our style in writing or in film sector.”
Hrant Dink
Editor of Armenian daily Agos, Istanbul.
‘It is in our blood to hate the Turks. However, we hate Bulgarians and Greeks also. The Jews like Turks, but they hate Arabs. The Arabs, in their turn, are not in favour with the Turks. And the level of hatred is rising’
Narek Mesropian[4] [5]
Introduction
The celebrated Armenian director Atom Egoyan, who is based in Canada, in his latest movie ‘Ararat’, has attracted great deal of attention even before he started filming. Even though the movie has yet to be shown in theatres, it was used all through 2001 as a tool to bring up Armenian accusations and of course to criticize Turkey. Against this background, some groups in Turkey remarked that the movie had been ‘exaggerated’ too much. But, as maintained in this study, the movie apart from being a typical propaganda movie does also contain some racist connotations. The movie’s budget, of more than 50 million dollars, clearly demonstrates the extent of the campaign, which made this movie possible. Their official contacts in France, Armenia and Canada make it obvious that this movie is more important than originally thought. In this context, this study investigates Ararat as a case-study and its possible effects. It should be helpful to inform the reader that most of the comments made, were done using the final draft script of the movie though some parts of the study were revised after the showing the movie.
Art as a Tool of Propaganda in Foreign Policy
As the effects globalization increased, almost every issue has become a part of international relations. As relations become more intricate, it has become impossible to prevail with the classic tools (tanks, artillery and etc.). Today, states have to prove themselves, not only in economic and political spheres, but also in sports, literature and other artistic fields. Actually, the current situation is not new. This inclination is based in the 19th century dynamics. Hitler’s wish use the Olympics to demonstrate the superiority of the German race, the fact that the fiercest battles of the Cold War were fought on the sports fields show how important these are in international relations and as propaganda tools. With the coming of the second half of the 20th century, states have begun to reach their goals not only through the power of their armies but through their power to influence the global public opinion and their successes in portraying themselves as one of the main contributors to civilization. A perfect example is Cuba, which is tiny compared to the United States (US) in economic terms but has been successfully defying the US with her achievements in sports and arts. Another proof is, the amount of money that changes hands in Hollywood based the US movie industry and the US propaganda area, which is more than the GDP of Turkey.
The most popular tools used in generating propaganda can be listed as posters, movies, newspaper advertisements, newspaper articles, radio and TV programs and news bulletins, brochures, sports teams, tourism, cultural exhibitions and etc. Some states might even establish their own TV or radio stations in order to use them as a tool of propaganda.[6] The first objective of propaganda performed is to advertise the country’s achievements and to show how ‘modern’ and ‘civilized’ the subject country is. Successes in technology, science, and art can easily convey these messages. The most important cause for promoting a country’s modernity and culture is to legitimize the policies of the government. An unknown country or nation’s action might not be understood or even draw hostility. During the Cold War, this was the chief difficulty the Soviet Union faced: the US and its allies portrayed the Soviet block of nations behind an iron curtain, where decent human values were ignored. According to this propaganda, behind the iron curtain, everything is ‘dark’. On the other hand USA and its allies were the land of freedom. As it can be understood by this example, the first objective of propaganda is to communicate and then to promote the positive aspects of the group or country. Negative propaganda, which aims to denigrate a rival group or country, is less common. Because attack and accusation requires the need to demonstrate proof, the use of negative propaganda necessitates more credible tools to be utilized. The reason is not because literature or paintings convey a clearer message. Quite the contrary. Because these works are full of emotion, they usually convey a one sided messages. But it can be said that art, science and sports touch a wider audience and are more realistic. There effects are more lasting. Most important of all, these works, even if they are a part of a large propaganda agenda, are not usually perceived that way. That’s why almost all countries try to increase their number of internationally renowned artists, scientists and sportsmen and use them for their national policies.
Even though propaganda activities are initiated using many tools and methods, they are fundamentally a product of a larger strategy. No matter how many messages it usually seems to convey, the number of messages is very few. These messages are expressed with prioritized symbols. Symbols should be easily understood, should be associated with the message but should not be ‘repulsive’ with respect to those who are actually directing the propaganda. If we give an example from the Cold War strategies, USA never voiced complex or detailed criticisms. ‘Iron Curtain’, ‘Land of Darkness’, ‘Evil Empire’ are the most popular expressions. The message that is being sent is both simple and can be understood by a wide portion of the society. ‘USSR is a country that destroys freedom, makes people poorer and is run by bad people.’ The messages sent from the Soviet side are also quite simple and substantive. For example, ‘USA is an capitalist and imperialist state.’ If we summarize, propaganda is based on simple messages and associated symbols and Armenian propaganda, as will be seen, is no different.[7]
Turkey as a Target for Propaganda
Similar examples can be observed in the propaganda activities against Turkey. Ever since the Seljuks, Turks have had a serious image problem in the Western World. Turks carry two important characteristics that the West perceives as danger. These are ‘Islam’ and ‘having originated from Central Asia’. Turks, for centuries, were considered an important rival in the West. Prejudices and inadequate communication have created a suitable environment in the Western countries for the negative propaganda against the Turks to be successful. This environment was professionally and systematically utilized and manipulated in the times of war and rivalry. The period of the break up of the Ottoman Empire is an obvious example. The propaganda machines of the great powers targeted Turkey and then the ethnic groups of the empire, in order to create their own states fought against Turkey or became tools of the other countries’ Foreign Policy. Armenian problem is an outcome these developments. It is a well-known fact that, in the last years of the Ottoman Empire, Russia, France and Great Britain courted the Armenian separatists. During the First World War, Great Britain, through the Propaganda Office she created against Germany and Ottoman Empire, concentrated on the Armenian problem. Britain used every tool available to her in order to manipulate the US public, declaring that the Turks were murdering Armenians. It will be remembered that a similar attempt was made by Hitler against the Jews and Allied Countries. [8]
The emigration of Armenians and Greeks to Europe and the USA and them becoming an important pressure group has made it very hard for Turkey to put her own message across. All through the 20th century, Turks have been the target of abuse, in the guise of art and literature, like ‘barbarian’, ‘wild’, ‘dirty’, ‘anti-civilization’ and etc. Some writers and artists were just following their historical prejudices, while others, coming from the increasing Armenian or Greek minority in these countries, were translating their personal and national hatreds. As a result, there is broad variety of so-called art, where anti-Turk messages are conveyed. This fed the prejudices against the Turks.
Turkey, especially after the Second World War, cooperated fully with the Western block and even her new friendships could not break her away from the negative bias directed at her. The movie ‘Midnight Express’ is a clear case in point. Every society should face up to the negative sides of it. Movies should be made about them. Turkey should not be an exception to this point and her past wrongs should be brought to surface. But when the Midnight Express is watched, it can be clearly seen that the movie does not portray a reality but just aims to vilify the Turks. In the movie, there is not a single ‘good Turk’ and all the characters in the movie use disparaging expressions against Turks. In the court scene of the movie, the lead in the movie accuses the Turks of being corrupt as a race and says, ‘I don’t understand why a race who is like a swine does not eat pigs.’ proves that the movie does not have good intentions. Even though it is accepted that its value as art is low, in some Western Countries it is broadcast two or three times a year (e.g. by ITV in UK). If the effects of Midnight Express on UK are examined, important clues can be gathered. It has strengthened the prejudices that the British Media hold against Turkey. The personal experiences of the writer of these sentences a day after the broadcasting of the movie demonstrates this fact:
“A British university student who watched the movie, asked me whether the things that were shown in the movie were true or not. I told him that the movie was full of prejudices. But the person was so affected by the movie that he was talking about Turkey like it was somewhere in space. One of the questions he asked was whether homosexuality was as wide spread as it was portrayed in the movie. I told him that homosexuality existed in every country and in Turkey it was less common then in the Western countries and added that such a scene shown in the movie would be abnormal in Turkey. He said, ‘but it’s not that common in Britain’. If we consider that UK is one of the most important centers of homosexuality, we can easily see how effective the movie has been.”
At the same time, it is considered normal, even by the Turkish media, that extreme leftist or separatist groups entering the field or opening banners when the Turkish sport teams go to Europe, anti-Turkish photograph and painting exhibitions opening in important capitals or Turkey being criticized at certain concerts.
If we summarize, some anti-Turkish groups utilize artistic and sports activities in an active and coordinated way. It is hard to say that Turkey is responding effectively to these activities. It was said that Turkey is unable to prevent such activities. But if we look closer, a more grave state of affairs can be seen. Turkey reacts on a case-by-case basis, panics every time and delivers short-term, exaggerated and ineffective responses. This causes the problem to be more insolvable and Turkey’s reactionary responses feed this propaganda machine, without a significant retort from Turkey.
Purpose, References and Plan
After this brief introduction, we can say that the latest example of the anti-Turkish propaganda is the movie of ‘Ararat’ by Armenian director Atom Egoyan, which became known in 2001 and developed into a serious issue in 2002. Due to the discussions it generated even before the start of shooting, it became obvious that Ararat would cause even more problems than Midnight Express film for Turkey. In this context, this purpose of the paper is to evaluate Ararat and its possible affects on Turkey. It is not the purpose of this study to condemn this movie on the basis of political criteria. The author seems to distance himself from any political disagreements and adds that Ararat was done especially with this type of disagreements in mind. The main purpose of this study is to find out whether Ararat is a product of a large and long-term propaganda campaign or not. At the same time the director’s earlier work, personality and political opinions will be assessed and the background of the movie will be constructed.
The main sources for this study were publications of Armenians from the USA and Europe (Asbarez, Armenian Reporter, Armenian Forum, Groong, etc.). Some Armenia originated publications were also used. In a study like this, the most important resource is the script of Ararat. Comments about the movie are based on the final draft of the script, dated 2001 and the film itself. For the reactions that the movie generated in both Turkey and the World, we used newspapers from the Turkish (Hürriyet, Sabah, Star, Yeni Şafak, Akşam, Zaman and etc.), Canadian (The Toronto Times, Toronto Sun, National Post, Daily News and etc.), the US (New York Times and etc.) and British (The Independent, The Guardian and etc.) media. In the analysis of the movie and Egoyan’s earlier work, the most useful were the cinema critics’ magazines (Holywood Reporter, Filmforce, Filmmaker, Beyaz Perde and etc.).
The structure of the study is as follows. The first section is about the general Armenian movie sector and its role in the Armenian propaganda network. In this section it is argued that in the core of the Armenian problem lie, not the emigration or their experiences during the Ottoman period, but the Armenian nation’s self examination in the diaspora and their attempts at overcoming this by using their experiences during their emigration. According to the author, this structure, which was supported by some groups and organizations (church, political parties and etc.), overtime, transformed itself into this propaganda system. Especially since the second half of the 20th century art has been utilized as a political tool. This section concentrates on cinema’ role in this mechanism. Due to the effects and the importance of Armenian propaganda – cinema relationship, this section gives details about various organizations and movies.
Second section introduces Ararat’s director Atom Egoyan’s works and his artistic and personal evolution until Ararat. His environment, connections and the reasons behind the making of the movie are analyzed in this section.
Third section concentrates on the film Ararat. The planning process, financial supporters, Armenian lobbies, connections with Armenia and other countries, its technical specifications, story and probable successes are analyzed. Also in this section, the interest the movie generated from the Western media and art critics are included. The main theme of this section is a detailed examination of the movie’s script.
The forth section includes Turkey reaction towards Ararat. Media, non-Governmental organizations, and the government’s reaction towards the movie is examined and contradictory ideas are discussed.
Finally in the fifth section, the topics discussed in the previous sections are summarized. Additionally, the author suggests what to do and especially what not to do, after the movie starts being screened.
CHAPTER 1
ARMENIAN PROPAGANDA AND THE MOVIE INDUSTRY
When movies and anti-Turkish stance are discussed in Turkey, mostly Midnight Express and another few movies are remembered. But it must be kept in mind that in the last 30 years, this has become an important part of the movie business. Even though the Turkish media believes that there are only a few movies made by Armenians dealing with Armenian accusations, documentaries, Television shows and movies dealing with the subject are widely broadcast in Western countries. In this section this propaganda network and its strength and Ararat’s place in this environment will be investigated.
A. Armenian Propaganda Network and Its Motivation
Before examining the Armenian Cinema and the publishing sector, the reason why Armenians spent so much time and resources in order to make Anti-Turkish movies should be investigated. All explanations converge on the opinion that Armenians bad intentions against Turks. But their real strength lies in Armenians’ belief and sincerity. The communication between Turks and the Armenian Diaspora are close to naught and for these Armenians the ‘fact’ that their ancestors were massacred by the Turks is unquestionable. For the preservation of their national identity, the Genocide myth is as important as their Christianity. It the fact that proves their ‘Armenianness’ and most probably is the bond that hold them together in a foreign land. The fact that Armenians have not been able to get back at Turks, unlike Greeks, feeds their hate and anger. Armenians obsessively believe that they were massacred by the Turks and do not understand why Turks do not acknowledge this fact. For Armenians this is the point that angers them most. According to them Turks, with blood of millions of Armenians on their hands, can still strut as a respectable member of the international society. They view this as a blatant insult to their ancestors. The genocide myth is so strong among the Armenians of the Diaspora that they usually name their businesses in the most remote places in Canada and USA names that remind them of the genocide myth. Even though most have never seen East or South East Anatolia, in order to establish their claims to these regions they choose names for everything they own city or town names from the region. For example Mount Ararat is one of the most used shop and product names in Canada and the USA. Many construction companies, restaurants, schools or catering firms are named Ararat. The most popular jam among the Armenians is also named Ararat. Many firms have chosen their names from among the town names in Anatolia. This demonstrates how firm their convictions and beliefs are with respect to the events of 1915 and the Turks. In other words, it cannot be said that Armenians, just to disparage Turks, are proclaiming opinions and beliefs that they really do not believe in.[9] Their strength comes from their conviction. While the Turkish side seems to be unsure of its claims and is having trouble convincing anyone of the truth, on the other side there are millions of people who identify themselves with the Armenian Genocide and anti-Turkish behavior.[10] It’s hard not to think that in an environment such as this, these deep emotions will not be translated onto the black screen or other fields of art.
Diaspora’s Negative Impact and the Identity Problem
One other point to consider is that Armenians mostly have been living in diaspora. Several generations have seen neither Armenia nor the Ottoman lands and have found their identities within the community they have been living. Ararat’s director Atom Egoyan is a typical example of such a person. Egoyan identifies himself as both Armenian and Canadian and considers himself as a member of that community. This has, knowingly or not, helped them to manipulate the open society according to their wishes. The most unfortunate side, with respect to the Turkish and Armenian question, of this life in Diaspora arises in the context of finding ones identity. Armenians, who emigrated from Sudan, Russia, Egypt or Cyprus to Paris, London, or Los Angeles, have almost nothing in common. Languages and traditions have been diversified. The lands they have originated from are so diverse that these people who call themselves Armenian are hard to call a single nation. The host countries’ (the USA, Canada, France and etc.) culture, language and etc. have developed more than Armenian culture. In this way, assimilation is unavoidable. Although the old generation is less susceptible to this force, younger generations are more open to outside influences. For example, in London, the younger generation celebrates their Christmas on the 25th of December instead of January 6th according to the Armenian customs.[11] Younger generation feels that the British culture is stronger than Armenian culture and realize that they live in a new society, where to be different also means to be apart. This process continues until assimilation is completed and the diaspora looses its characteristics that differentiate it from the society in which it lives. This is actually a horrific development for the Armenian people who live outside their motherland, who constitute most of the Armenian population in the world. The assimilation of overseas Armenians means the dying out of the Armenian nation. It is obvious that Armenians living in Armenia, who are only 2.5 to 3 million, cannot become the future of the Armenian nation. First of all Armenia is a poor country. Its population is constantly emigrating and consequently its population is falling. Another handicap for Armenia is that only Muslim neighbors surround it. In this context, it is apparent how alarming this assimilation process taking place outside Armenia is.
In addition to the problems stated above, it seem that the bonds that hold the Armenian nation are not that strong. As known, the most important components that hold the nation together are common successes and pains. If the Armenian history is studied, we can see no large empires, political or legal successes. Apart from a short period (Klikya Armenian State) Armenians have been governed by other nations. Their successes in many fields like medicine and music cannot be overstated, but these successes were recorded in history not as Armenian successes but successes of the dominant nation. Armenian society could not recognize these accomplishments as a part of their national consciousness. For example, there were many Armenian musicians in the Ottoman Empire, but the music they created has been branded as Turkish music, not as Armenian music. Also their financial and commercial successes were on a personal and local level.
In this environment, the only thing that can hold them together is common pain. From this perspective, there does not seem to be any valid subject matter apart from the events of 1915. For nearly a thousand years, Armenians had lived quite comfortably under the Turkish governance. Armenians, who lived mainly in the commercial centers or interior regions, can be said to have experienced not a single serious invasion. Armenians, who lived in the eastern border regions, did not suffer like the Balkan Turks or Jews by the Russian invasions, because they were both Christians. Especially in the 19th century and the last periods of the Ottoman Empire, they cooperated with the Greeks and other Christian groups and attracted significant support. It is not a coincidence that during this period, Armenians and Greeks were dominant in the trade with USA, Britain and France. In an environment like this, it’s hard to find a common national moment, apart from the uprisings instigated by the radical Armenian groups. We are not going to give details about these uprisings here apart from saying that these uprisings instigated by some nationalist and leftist groups over a period of 50 years caused a lot of Muslim and Armenian deaths. The year that these events reached their climax was 1915, when the empire was fighting on many fronts in the First World War. Compounded with forcible migration, these events caused a lot of deaths on both sides. While many of the Turkish deaths were caused by Armenian armed groups cooperating with the invading Russians, most of the Armenian deaths were caused by cold, illness and economic shortcomings. The soundness of the decision to forcibly migrate tens of thousands of people under very hard conditions can be questioned. But it is obvious that to call it genocide is not accurate. The numbers of death being very high on both sides can be explained by the environment of the time. If we consider that in Sarıkamış, near the Russian border, 100,000 thousand Turkish soldiers died of cold and illness, around that time, it is obvious how civilians, without similar equipments and under very cold conditions, would cope.[12] Whatever the extent of the events, Armenians considered the disaster only from their own point of view. Those who were attacked by armed bandits; those who suffered hunger and illness and those who lost their loved ones on the road to exile always accused Turks for their misery. If the current population of Armenians is considered, it seems that most of those who forcibly migrated reached their destination and then went on to migrate to third countries.[13] The real problem arises here. In other words, if there had been a genocide that wiped out 75 percent of the Armenian population, there would not have been the strong Armenian block in the Western countries. Most of them reached their destinations in Syria or Lebanon and then moved to third countries. Another interesting point is that, among the first generation Armenian migrants, anti-Turk attitudes were much less than today. If we separate nationalist and leftist Armenians, ordinary Armenian is upset with the Ottoman state and the Turks and misses his or her country of origin. Especially those that were forced to migrate from big cities miss their neighbors and their old life styles. Among these people, it is hard to see a strong hate towards to Turks. In other words, forcible migration was less important to those who lived through it than to the second or third generation migrants who did not live through it. It is hard to understand how an event that happened a century ago, could still be an issue that generates hate between two people. If this was the norm, no country in Europe should have good relations with any other European country and Turks should have reasons to hate all their neighbors.
It can be said that the time that the hate of Armenians reached today’s level was in 1950’s and 1960’s. These times were also the period when the Armenian Diaspora attained its final shape. Rising Nationalist movements and economic difficulties in the Middle East caused Armenians in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus and many other countries to move to Western nations. While these migrations created new organizations, the need for a new Armenian identity became acute. Both the Armenian Church and ideological Armenian groups reached the conclusion that the only way to overcome this impasse was religious and ideological radicalism. As explained above, they found that the best tool in their hands was the events of 1915. As a result, in order to justify their and the Armenian nation’s existence, they strengthened the Propaganda network, that was weak in the previous generations and created a legend around the events of 1915. With the use of publications and meetings in Armenian, they succeeded in generating hatred towards Turks in the second and third generation Armenians. This education, which started at very young ages, was transformed into a lifelong education and as a result of this education, people accepted the myth as a unquestionable fact. This network of hate consists of hundreds of Churches and thousands of organizations in America, Asia, Europe and Australia have become a permanent part of the Armenian identity since 1960’s. If the 1915 events are taken away, Armenian Churches would not be able to collect donations, and many parties and organizations would not be able to justify their existence. Additionally, for many Armenians, the distinction of being Armenian would steadily erode.
In conclusion, the hurt the first generation exiled Armenians felt towards the Turks have been transformed into an uncontrolled hate in the second and third generation Armenians, who have never met a Turk or visited Anatolia. This hate naturally fed many fields of art and an exceptional propaganda mechanism arose as a network of hate.
B. Art as a Tool for Armenian Political Goals
After considering the pattern above, it is natural to expect anti-Turkish propaganda, wherever an Armenian is present. In fact, ever since the beginning Armenians have described their ‘pains’ to the Western public in a one-sided and sometimes untrue manner. These descriptions through media, literature and almost all fields of art, were accepted by the prejudicial Western Media without any doubt or questions. Armenians, even as early as 1920s and 1930s, taking heart from the Greeks similar activities, portrayed the Turks to the British, Americans and the French as a race who enjoy killing those people who they govern. The books and memoirs of Armenians published at that time, in USA are especially interesting. Tens of Armenians, who safely made their way to overseas, wrote their memoirs that considerably exaggerated the events. These books were translated into other languages and were promoted by various Armenian organizations. These books eventually became a part of university and public libraries. Additionally, Armenians, who shifted from trade to education[14] and media, rose in these sectors and become important tools for the Armenian accusations. One of the most important tools in this process is definitely art.
Theatre, movies, music and literature have always been popular among Armenians. Rouben Mamoulyan, Sergei Parajanov and Saroyan are just a few names that come to mind. This interest became even more pronounced for Armenians of Diaspora, because it could be used to make the majority understand them. In other words, Armenians became more artistic and this made it easier for the society to accept them. Without doubt, the principal loser of this development is the Turkish – Armenian relations, because the most popular topics of Armenian art are the events of 1915 and Turkish barbarity. The biggest incentive to chose these topics were personal emotions, belief in ‘genocide’ and public pressure. Artists who produced works of art that dealt with ‘genocide’ were eulogized, and were given financial and emotional assistance. Armenian organizations, the Church and political parties were the biggest contributors. As a result political objectives became an integral part of Armenian art. Armenian artists, referred to the Armenian question in every platform and event. Armenian photographers reserved part of their exhibitions in London or New York to the ‘genocide’, Armenian classical musicians dedicated their songs to those who died in the genocide and asked for support from their admirers. Some exhibitions, concerts and plays are solely dedicated to the so-called genocide and influence on the spectators was considerable. In the movie and Television business the outlook is even more depressing.
The movie and television sector, which at first developed on its own, became a powerful and conscious propaganda mechanism. After the partial ending of the Armenian terror campaign (post 1984 and the following period) Armenian lobby was reorganized and begun to use more ‘peaceful’ methods of persuasion. In this context, rich Armenian organizations in USA and Europe started to set up budgets for propaganda and lobbying. On the one hand, full time political lobbyists were hired and on the other hand organizations, which would support and direct Armenian artists were founded. It is thought that this mechanisms propaganda arm alone has a budget close to 100 million dollars. Moreover this budget does not include gifts or donations. For example, when Atom Egoyan decided to shoot the movie ‘Ararat’ in Canada, Canada based Armenians donated tens of thousand Canadian dollars worth of objects related to the period of the said movie. As a result, it became possible to do more with a smaller budget. Works of art, which supported the Armenian cause, not only received financial backing but were also honored by Armenian organizations as the ‘movie of the year’, ‘photograph of the year’ or ‘song of the year’ and the artists were proclaimed as ‘heroes’. The professional evolution of Canada based Armenian theatre director Hrant Alyanak is an obvious example. Alyanak, who is originally from Sudan, came to Canada in 1967. After his play, which dealt with the ‘Armenian genocide’, was presented in 1997 he said that he realized that most of the guests were Armenian and that he received significant support for producing more play dealing with the same topic.
“I decided for my company, Alyanak Theatre Productions, to exhibit a play about Armenians at least once every two years. I could also request funds from the Armenian population. Armenians were very supportive.”[15]
We can say that artistic activities of Armenians became professional in around 1960s. Before this, while they had some personal successes, for them to become influential as a group took time. There are two main reasons behind this development. The first is that Armenian Diaspora in the West became an effective force. While Armenians have been a migratory people for hundreds of years, their population being small impeded them from becoming a important minority in the West. During this time, majority of Armenians were living in eastern countries. Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Cyprus and Iran had significant numbers of Armenians. Third World nationalism that was awakened after the Second World War affected the stability of the region and caused reprisals against minorities. Armenian migration that started in Cyprus and Lebanon around 1960s due to rising tensions, intensified in the 1970s and as a result a considerable number of Armenians established themselves in the Western capitals. With these migrations, Armenians who left Middle East, Africa and Asia for a better life in Europe and North America started to feel more Armenian in the Armenian quarters of the cities. Especially in the Anglo-Saxon countries (UK, USA, Canada, Australia and etc.) they received support from central and local governments for developing their identity. Consequently, Armenians gave more emphasis to artistic endeavors. The other reason for the developments in the 1960s is because Armenian groups started to bring up the Armenian Question as a political problem more frequently. Increase of communications within Armenians, expanding financial well-being and the ideological environment of the time caused these groups to view art as an important tool for their goals.
If we look at the beginning, we see that art at first for the Armenians in Diaspora was in Armenian and for the Armenian population. As they adapted to their parent society and mastered the language, the number of Armenian artists increased. As success was attained, it became easier to install the topic of genocide onto the movie screens, stage or exhibitions. So, this process, which at first grew on its own, became a conscious well-maintained system after the introduction of Armenian political groups.
If we investigate the link between Armenian artistic and political activities during the Soviet period such a picture surfaces: Armenian accusations frequently appeared and continues to appear in the media during and after the Soviet period. There are also a few movie projects considered. There projects, due to being in either Russian or Armenian, is overlooked by the Turkish media. But, due to Russian language being spoken in a large part of the Eurasian mass, nations living in this region have been developing considerable anti-Turkish attitudes. Unfortunately, these regions also include Central Asian Turkic Republics. The most important handicap for these projects is that they are not in English and cannot reach the Western media. Additionally, having small budgets causes the projects to have low quality and limited exposure. On the other hand, cooperation between Armenian companies established in America and Europe and Armenia based companies, show that in the future many anti-Turkish movies might appear in Russia and Armenia. Furthermore, it is observed that many Armenian and Russian movies have been dubbed or subtitled by Armenians in the Diaspora. Right now, many Armenians who have been moderately acclaimed in USA, France or Canada dream of the day when they can produce an art object that deals with the Armenian ‘genocide’ and collaborate with Armenia. After Armenia declared its independence, these activities intensified. Armenians became more confident and relaxed after the appearance of a country that would bestow unreserved support.
Indirect Propaganda
In addition to the direct propaganda tools we investigated above, there exist Armenian artists and art objects that do not deal with the Armenian accusations, which are perceived as a part of the propaganda mechanism. These artists, while making movies or other art about universal topics or about their parent nation’s problems, bring up the Armenian problem at the most awkward moments and use their status for political objectives. While admittedly direct propaganda is more obvious, we can say that indirect propaganda is more effective. Because the society trusts an actor who is not known as a political activist than an actor known as one. For instance, when the US Congress or another parliament starts debating on the Armenian problem, such names sending letters or giving out short statements might be very influential. Politicians and their need for vote might cause them to appease the artists’ fan base. Additionally, it is interesting to note that some well-known Armenian artists, while not being perceived as political, support the Armenian artists in their environment.
We can give Arthur Sarkissian as an example for Armenian artists who deal in universal topics. Sarkissian, who co-produced the popular movie Rush Hour, had not seemed to be interested in the Armenian problem until he announced that he would like to be involved in the making of projects like Forty Days Of Musa Dagh.[16]
C. Important People and Organizations in Armenian Propaganda Mechanism
After summarizing how Armenian propaganda network uses visual arts for their own purposes, we can concentrate on their most popular tool movie, theatre and television programs. The reason why this study gives so much importance to the movie, theatre and television programs is due to the importance given to them by the Armenian groups and the effectiveness of this medium.
The Armenian Film Foundation
It might be the most important organization, which uses art as a tool for Armenian political goals. This foundation was established in 1979 and provides support for recording and distribution of movies without handing any financial assistance. Its founder is J. Michael Hagopian. If the movies are examined an obvious anti-Turkish bias can be seen. His apparent fanatism can be noticed in most of his work.
Being a non-profit organization makes the foundation eligible for considerable tax benefits. Additionally, because its vocation covers art, education and culture, it gets substantial state and national grants. It also can be said that it performs an intermediary role for the Armenian society’s donations to be spent on ‘artistic’ endeavors. While the foundation receives financial support from all of the Armenian society, the largest contributor comes from the south of the state of California.
The principle beneficiaries of the funds collected are film students. While majority of those who receive these grants are Armenian students, some students with similar ethnic background have also benefited.
The foundation itself also produces movies. Movie projects supported by American organizations are given priority.
The foundation sets up campaigns in order to promote Armenian films in the West. In this context, its activities on the Internet are very successful.
It also is trying to establish a distribution network for its own and for some other films. It is giving special importance to the distribution of videocassettes.
Armenian directors with limited funds obtain technical and financial support from the Armenian Film Foundation.
The foundation has created an Armenian Movie archive. The archive is open to all media organizations and researchers. The archive also supports many cinema and media organizations. Some countries, which have contacts with the foundation, are Britain, Japan, Australia, Brazil and Israel. As to be expected, all movies that are sent to these countries are pro-Armenian. It is not known whether a similar archive exists in Turkey.
Officials of the foundation or experts invited by it attend conferences all over USA. At these conferences movies are shown to create a more pleasing visual atmosphere. Speeches highlighted with visual demonstrations are obviously more effective.
The foundation also has a biannual Armenian Film festival.
Film International
A Los Angeles based video distribution firm that deals mostly with the sale of Armenian movies.
MGN/ Paradise, Inc.
MGN / Paradise is an important firm in the Armenian show business. It has offices in Moscow and Yerevan besides Los Angeles. It deals with both movie distribution and promotion. Some important television channels collaborate with this firm.
Arc Film
It is a film company established by Roger Kupelian in 1994. Kupelian’s, who worked in the digital production of the movie of Lord of the Rings, most important work is a documentary called Dark Forest of the Mountains. The firm, which mostly concentrates on distribution, currently is working on the movie project ‘Fugitive Prince’. We can say that the firm mostly deals with marketing over the Internet. The links it gives on its Internet site are all sites, which represent the most radical segment of anti-Turkish Armenian accusation. On one of the links a movie, which repeats the Armenian accusations is shown.
Bars Media
A documentary film studio based in Yerevan, Armenia. It mostly deals with Azerbaijan – Armenia ethnic conflict from an Armenian perspective. The studio, which has links with Television channels, produces its works in cooperation with both ex-Soviet block and the Armenian Diaspora. Additionally, it has successfully completed many projects in collaboration with international agencies like UN, UNDP, UNICES and etc. Among its productions are Winter Melody, To be and Never to Forget, Prison Art and Non-Stop.
NAREK
It is a firm that markets Armenian books, video and music cassettes. Its activities are most done over the Internet. It markets all the movies that are described below.
AIM (Armenian International Magazine)
It is published in English and is widely read by the Armenian Diaspora. While the magazine includes cultural and political articles, it describes and markets movies by at least three Armenian directors. Most issues contain introductions to movies about ‘genocide’.
Local Governments
In the West local governments are largest contributors to Armenian visual arts. Because Armenians usually are concentrated in particular neighborhoods and cities, it is easier for them to be influential in that region. During election periods they use their power to act as a group to dictate their wants. Normally, people close to governments are used. Additionally, in some regions of France, USA, and Canada number of Armenians involved in politics is quite large. These people use the prestige of their positions in order to help Armenian artists. Especially the free use of municipality concert, exhibition or cinema halls by Armenian artists provide substantial opportunities for all that are involved. The assistance the local governments provide in the promotion of the artists cannot be overstated. Municipalities, which have the opportunity to publicize a person all around the city, sometimes set the ground for Armenian artist to become famous. Additionally, local government sponsored exhibitions and plays, lend a lot of credibility to Armenian artists. While the number of supportive local governments is numerous, the most supportive are Paris, Toronto, some cities in Quebec, Canada, Boston, Los Angeles and some other cities in California, the USA. Especially in Anglo-Saxon countries small groups of immigrants are encouraged to cultivate ethnic identities. For example in London, local government encourages all ethnic groups, including Armenians, to publish at least one newspaper or magazine and lends financial and residential support for them to continue their cultural activities. Local Armenian population, which is about 10 thousand, makes full use of this assistance. Armenians in London have established their association (CAIA) in a building supplied by the government and use the financial support given to offer lessons to children, social functions for the elderly and to create political or social contacts with the Armenians and the English public. Armenians publish books in both Armenian and English languages and as a result, use the funds they get from the British government to inculcate their version of events to the British public. The latest example is CAIA’s statement giving total support to the movie of Ararat and its director Atom Egoyan, and requesting its member to do the same. The same association decided to hold a London Armenian Film Festival on the last five days of June 2002. During the festival, Armenian film in both English and Armenian are shown but priority was given to films made by Armenians in Diaspora.[17] The directors’ desire is to bring Atom Egoyan and his movie Ararat. No matter if its shown or not, it is obvious that the a large promotional campaign for the movie will be arranged during the festival.
The Turkish readers might be irritated by this image and might even accuse the London government for this happening. But reality is quite different. The Turkish population in London, including those coming from Anatolia and Cyprus, is known to approach 300 thousand. That’s why the Turkish population receives considerably more support from the local government. But the most active parts of the population, the Turks from Cyprus and extremist Kurdish groups do not use this assistance wisely.[18]
Armenian Student Associations
Armenian student associations have become very important in the last few years in bringing Armenian Propaganda films to the viewer. Armenian associations present in most Western universities have been organizing single film screenings and film festivals with the financial support of they get. The most recent example was at the California State University in 2001. At the Armenian Film Festival, organized by the Armenian Student Association and with the financial help of the university, a number of short-films were shown. Mostly young directors were chosen to show their work, while the topics were carefully chosen among mostly universal subjects. But some still included the typical Armenian accusations of ‘genocide and massacre’. While some readers might find this as a positive development, in reality diversity of subjects would make the festival more interesting, as opposed to a number of boring political movies, and make the Armenian problem appear more valid and real.[19]
Armenian Media in Diaspora
Armenian media in diaspora plays a very important role in using the Armenian movies in order to reach their political objectives. Especially Armenian newspapers and magazines that are published in English, French and Russian languages provide page spaces for the promotion of movies made by Armenian directors, and they work like a missionaries in marketing the movies to the Western media. The first stage of the strategy concocted by the Armenian media is to mention the so-called Armenian genocide, no matter how political the movie they are promoting is. We see that the word ‘genocide’ is included in the review, even when the movie or other artistic events are about love or financial problems. Another stage is to make non-Armenian persons say what need be said. Armenian media acknowledges the positive feedback made about Armenian movies; it either ignores negative criticisms or uses them to fill in gaps in pages just to make their stories more credible. A third stage is to examine the home country of the Armenian director introduced in the magazine. That’s why the headlines usually are like ‘A nice film from Germany’, ‘A French movie narrates the Armenian genocide’ even though all of these movies are done by Armenians and most of the actors are Armenians. Lastly, they immediately translate articles published in Armenian and Russian into English and French. Some news articles are even translated into Turkish.
With the development in communication and information technologies, its use as a propaganda tool has become more widespread. The fact that the number of web sites about the movie of Ararat and director Egoyan has exceeded 100 gives an idea about the Armenian propaganda web.
Armenian Associations and Political Parties
We briefly mentioned above that some extremist Armenian groups and associations justify their existence solely by the continuation of the Armenian problem. These groups promote Armenian movies and do everything in their power to make these films a success in the West. Furthermore, some moderate groups, in a nationalist passion, also help in the distribution and promotion of Armenian movies. Armenians like to smarten every political, cultural or scientific social event with a screening of an Armenian movie. Additionally, during benefit gatherings the cassettes of these movies are sold at prices much higher than market value. It’s known that campaigns held for generating funds for furthering the cause of ‘genocide’ accusations are also done by such groups.
Greek Associations
One of the groups that give the most support to Armenian propaganda in the West is the Greeks. Especially, the Hellenic nationalists and the radical Cypriot Greeks consider Armenians having a common cause and support every activity that belittles or criticize Turkey or the Turkish people. In this context, local governments controlled by the Greeks give considerable support to productions of Armenian artists.
Festivals
The festivals held by the Armenian associations that promote Armenian movies in the West were mentioned earlier. Another tool, as influential as this, is international festivals. While, festivals held at cities with an Armenian population are usually attended, Armenian artists also attend some festivals that are concerned about cultural variety, minority rights and political divisions. We can list the festivals that regularly have Armenian movies as: Toronto Film Festival (Canada), Cannes Film Festival (France), New York Film Festival, The Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema (the USA), International Rotterdam Film Festival (Netherlands), Gothenburg Film Festival (Denmark), Canada Film and Video Festival, Cine-World Film Festival and etc.
The Church
The Armenian Church is very influential in the use of Armenian movie industry for political purposes. Especially in the USA, the Church is prominent in the promotion of political movies. In addition to promotion, it also finds theatres for the movies to be screened. The screening of the movie Voices from the Lake in the Armenian Church in Richmond (Virginia, the USA) is such an example. Another reason for screening a movie in a Church is to legitimize the accusations made in a movie in a house of worship.
The Armenian Church can also use its connections all around the world with other religious organizations in order to request the screening of a movie. It is unfortunate that the role of the Church presents the Armenian-Turkish problem as a religious or civilization problem.
Important Personalities, Theatre and Movie Halls
We encounter certain names when we investigate who is involved with the production of movies spreading Armenian accusations. Among these, some actors, directors and theatre personalities will be introduced, when individual movies are examined. Additionally, there are people who are involved in the technical production and financing of these movies. In the USA, Canada and Europe established Armenian businessmen support the Armenian Cinema. If the movie is about the Armenian political claims, then more funding can be collected from these businessmen. This is also another incentive for Armenian actors and directors to make anti-Turkish movies.
Additionally, movie and theatre halls owned by Armenians make the screening of Armenian movies in the West so much easier. Georgia Krikorian is a good example of an Armenian from the diaspora who invests in movie business. His family is originally from Bursa (Turkey). He is based in California and owns many movie halls. Each of these movie halls, which mean an investment of millions of dollars, can be and is utilized to the benefit of the Armenian political cinema.[20]
Other Firms and Organizations:
Don Film (Armenia), Askarian Film (Germany), Molorak Films Inc., etc.
D. Examples of Anti-Turkish Armenian Films
Voices from the Lake: A Film About the Secret Genocide
This movie was completed in 2000, and is one of the most well known Armenian movies of the last few years. It is 86 minutes, in English and was produced by J. Michael Hagopian. The Armenian Film Foundation made the movie. The story of the movie is like a summary of the Armenian allegations. It continuously states that the events of 1915 were “the first genocide of the 20th century” and claims that “it’s still a secret”. It is asserted in the introductory leaflets of the movie that, the Voices from the Lake is “the first documentary movie about the Armenian Genocide”. While this assertion can be justified as an advertising strategy, this documentary movie is latest and one of the most ‘successful’ documentary that deals with the Armenian allegations. The movie claims that the film is based on documents and observations of Western witnesses, though it avoids any questioning of its accusations by the viewer. It stresses the use of the memoirs of the people who lived through these events. Another part of the introduction states that the film uncovers many secret documents and reports that were unknown until now. Considering that some of the radical nationalist Armenians have falsified many documents in the past, we can’t be sure how authentic these “new” revelations might be.
It can be said that the videocassette of the movie is one of the most popular among the Armenian videos. The movie is sold either with or without an introductory booklet. The booklet restates the Armenian allegations in the movie in a more acceptable way.
Forty Days Of Musa Dagh
This 120-minute movie is one of the most important films that present Armenian allegations. The language is English and Independent Production produced it. The movie tells the story how Turks committed ‘genocide’ and massacres against Armenians. The movie portrays that Turkish soldiers like to use torture on victims. The movie is based on the book by Austrian author Franz Wertel.
The Turkish and the US governments were blamed for trying to stop the recording and distribution of the movie. However no evidence has been produced about that. Some Armenian researchers claim “the book was to be made into a movie in the 1940s but Turkish lobbying stopped it from becoming reality”.[21]
The videocassettes of the movie are still on the shelves. Additionally, Armenian organizations show this movie to a large number of viewers on every April 24th.[22]
Assignment Berlin
The director and producer of Assignment Berlin is Hrayr (Peter) Toukhanian, who is based in Detroit (USA). The movie portrays the assassination of Talat Pasha in Berlin, solely from an Armenian perspective. The assassin is shown as a ‘hero’ of the Armenian people, not a terrorist who committed one of the earliest terrorist acts of the 20th century, while the terror victims, Talat Pasha and his friends are described as “the real terrorists”. In the introductions, it is stated that the objective of the film is to immortalize the murderer. After watching such a film, it is only natural for the Armenian youths to think that terrorism is a tool to reach their objective.
Assignment Berlin is said to be the first full sized movie that was made about this subject. All posters of the movie state that Talat Pasha was the main architect behind the so-called massacres. The most used phrase on the posters is “an actual history event”. Additionally, the popular claim of massacre of 1.5 million Armenians is repeated both in the movie and in the introductions. The director first thought of recording the movie in Berlin, but after visiting the place saw that most historical buildings were destroyed during the Second World War, and decided on to record the movie in Detroit.[23] The majority of the movie was recorded in Masonic Temple in Detroit.[24] The première of the movie was also made in the Masonic Temple in front of 1500 ‘enthusiastic’ viewers on February 19, 1982. As can be guessed, most viewers were Armenians and they transformed the occasion in to a spectacle. The West Side première of the movie was on 14th and 21st of October 1982 in front of 2000 viewers each. These screening were widely promoted by Armenians and tickets for the event were sold out.[25]
The recording of Toukhanian’s movie took the course of a typical political Armenian movie. Firstly, Armenian population in the USA gave considerable help and some Armenian accepted to work at lower wages. However, the real assistance came from the US based organizations. Because the film was recorded in Detroit, Toukhanian received funding from the firm New Detroit, the Mayor, local media and other companies for his help to the local economy. Additionally, Detroit City Art Council also helped in the funding of the movie. Some of this assistance might have political connotations, but Toukhanian used funds that are open to every US citizen in order to further his nation’s cause. In conclusion, the director gathered one million dollars of funding for his movie. While it is modest compared to today’s norms, with inflation and current funding, we can say that the assistance he received is a few million dollars at today’s prices.
Another feature that this 94-minute movie shares with Ararat is that the movie came to fruition as a result of the labors of both the director and his wife. Hrayr Toukhanian, who portrayed the movie as an outcome of their love and marriage, said that his wife Sona Toukhanian wrote the script of the movie.[26] The movie of Ararat is also a product of combined labors of Atom Egoyan and his wife Arsinée Khanjian. In summary, both movies are a product of professional assistance, amateur instincts and idealism. In other words, most people on the front line of the propaganda mechanism are those who are amateur in heart and think that they are doing something worthwhile. Another point to consider is that the wives are more idealist and nationalist than their husbands. Both directors stated that when they were worn out their wives were a driving force pushing them on.
While some moderately well known actors played the lead parts in the movie, Toukhanian let some local and Armenian actors play the lesser parts.[27] Similar to Egoyan’s political choices in casting Canadian actors, Toukhanian tried to guarantee the success of the movie by casting moderately well known actors and actresses from Detroit. This achieves both objectives of making the movie a part of the US and Detroit cultural landscape and assist in the careers of Armenian actors.
The movie received enthusiastic appraisal from the Armenian audience and almost every Armenian in the West watched it. At the regions, where Armenians are an important minority, local population also was interested in the movie. The firm, which distributed the movie, International Releasing Corporation, states that the movie was screened in France, Italy, Spain, Greece, USSR, Australia, Thailand, Taiwan and all South American countries. Additionally, the copies of the movie were distributed in videocassettes and other recording tools. The distribution firm stated that in spite of all the efforts of Armenian groups, they did not profit from the movie. However, this statement does not seem to convey the truth, because the movie is still being sold all around the world in DVD and videocassette format and over the internet. Additionally, Armenian organizations through mass screenings during festivals have been showing the movie to new members and the young generation. Obviously the other ethnic groups in the neighborhoods where the organizations are located also view these movies. The latest such example is the mass screening held by ARFYOC in the Armenian Community Center. On the 25th January 2002 Assignment Berlin was shown without charge to a large audience and the all costs were covered by ARFYOC Armenian organization. This incident shows that the movie still has not lost its effectiveness.
Mother (Mayrig)
Henri Verneuil produced this movie and the lead actors are Omar Sharif (Hagop) and Claudia Cardinale (Araxi-Anne). Some other actors who played in this movie are Gerard Torikian (Zaven), Nocolos Silberg (Defence Lawyer), Stephane Servais (Azad). This movie, which was recorded in 1991, is seen as one of the most important movies that puts forward Armenian ‘genocide’ claims. The main story of the movie is the difficulties faced by an Armenian family, which migrated to France in 1921. Turks are shown as the bad guys in this movie. The movie was praised for highlighting the role Armenian women in the family.
While the movie disappointed at the box office, Mayrig is a focus point for Armenian activities in the movie business. The movie is still shown in French with English subtitles in most countries in the world. The mass screening of this movie is still continued by Armenian organizations. The latest screening took place in London at the Gulbekian Hall on the 5th of February 2002. The distribution of the movie is done by M Pathe (Switzerland) and AMLF (France).
The real name of French citizen Henri Verneuil is Ashot Malakian and was born in 1920 in Anatolia (Turkey). He is seen as one of the most important figures of French cinema. In 1996, he received an honorary Cesar Awards, which is considered France’s Oscar, for his contribution to cinema. His most successful movie is considered as La Vashe et le Prisonnier (1959). He worked with the most famous personalities of the French Cinema, like Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alan Delon. In spite of his considerable success, his most cherished dream was to make a movie about the Armenian Genocide and he accomplished this with Mayrig. The director died on the 11th of January 2002.[28]
The Yearning, Karot
This movie was produced in Armenia in 1990 and is 137 minutes. It is promoted and distributed by the Armenian organizations in the Armenian diaspora in the West. The lead actors are Levon Sdharafyan, Rafayel Atoyan and Galia Novents and Frunze Dovlatyan directed it. The story of the film is quite dramatic:
An Armenian named Arakel Aloyan’s village has been burnt down and the Turks raped all women of the village. As a result Aloyan moves to the USSR but he still misses his village. Later, Aloyan cannot overcome his emotions and goes back to Turkey in a wholly caring outlook. His aim is to visit the graves of his family and to kiss the walls of the burnt Church, which he was married at. However, the government of the USSR perceives this as a spying attempt and the story follows on from there.
The beginning of the movie shows in detail the ‘Turkish brutality’ Aloyan witnessed. Additionally, Armenian nation is revealed as a nation divided between East and West, where Turkey is repeatedly portrayed as “Western Armenia”.
The movie is in Armenian but has subtitles and is widely promoted in the USA.
The Armenian Genocide, Annihilation of the Armenian Population of the Ottoman Empire 1915-1923
It is a documentary produced by Atlantis Productions in 1991 and is 25 minutes. It is sold in the videocassette and VCD forms and is aimed to ‘educate’ school children. A tutorial booklet is given with the videocassette. A teacher’s edition was produced for instructors. Armenian organizations in the USA give this video as a reference for ‘history of genocide’. We can say that besides Armenians, mostly Americans sensitive about genocide and Jews are interested in the documentary. We can easily guess those American and Jewish teachers who want to instruct their pupils about the subject of genocide might show this documentary in order to better explain the Jewish Holocaust without really knowing the subject of Armenian problem. As a result, this documentary not only forms an anti-Turkish bias but also tries to draw apart the young Jews and Turks in the USA. Atlantis Productions claim that the documentary was produced for The Curriculum Development and Supplement Materials Commission of the State of California.
An Armenian Journey
It was first screened in 1987 and was produced by WGBH Boston. In this 56-minute documentary, Theodore Bogosian visits places where the so-called ‘massacres’ took place with a survivor of the ‘genocide’.
The Armenian Case
This documentary was written and produced by J. Michael Hagopian and was first screened in 1975. It is 45 minutes. The documentary consists of interviews with people claiming to have survived the events of 1915, in a totally Armenian perspective. The story begins with the start of the First World War, apart from showing many examples of the ‘terrible Turk’, it explains how Armenians migrated to all over the world and started a new life in diaspora. Another interesting point is that most evidence provided comes from Western and especially the US resources. The US President Wilson’s plan on minorities and Armenians form an important base for the arguments made in the film. The producer Hagopian is an important personality in the Armenian film industry. He is also the founder of the Armenian Film Foundation and the chairman of the Atlantis Productions, which produces many Armenian movies. Since 1954 he has aimed to spread Armenian political opinions and one of his main objective is to integrate cinema and education. That might be the reason why he concentrates more on movies similar to ‘The Armenian Case’. In other words, he produces movies that can be shown in the American schools. It is obvious that as the age of the viewer decreases, the movies’ affects on him or her increases. Michael Hagopian, who has produced over 70 films, has also given lectures at various universities. It is also important to mention that the US Office of Education and Ethnic Heritage Program, California Endowment for Humanities and California Ministry of Education, have funded most movies of Hagopian.
A Wall of Silence, The Unspoken Fate of the Armenians
It was made in 1997 and was directed by Dorothee Forma. It is in English and is a 54-minute documentary. The accusation that, “the first genocide of the 20th century was committed against Armenians” is repeated in this documentary. The documentary is based on the life stories of two people, Taner Akçam and Vahakn Dadrian. The producer introduces Taner Akçam as a “Turkish historian”, which is false. As known, Taner Akçam is a graduate of the Middle Eastern Technical University, Economics and Management Sciences Faculty, Ankara who later completed a Sociology Doctorate in Germany. In his research, his main handicap is to ignore the historical facts and to concentrate on his personal observations and opinion. Taner Akçam is included in the film as a balancing influence, but his representative capacity can be easily questioned. However, the director does not really trouble himself with these arguments. His objective is to prove that the Armenian genocide really happened by using Akçam and Dadrian’s opinions. Akçam states here that Turkey has to face its past and has to reassess the ‘wrongs’ it did in its history. The name of the film implies that Armenian allegations do not receive the attention it deserves. The production of this documentary is done by HBF.
The Forgotten Genocide
This is another J. Michael Hagopian film. The narrator is the famous actor Mike Connors. While it is a 28-minute documentary, its influence has been broader than much longer movies. The documentary was nominated for two Emmy Awards and this clearly shows how much interest it had generated. Its name alone was inspirational for many pro-Armenian people. It is claimed that in the movie, interviews from witnesses and archival documents prove that Armenian accusations are factual. Later, a 17-minute extension was made to the movie.
From Bitlis to Fresno: 100 Years of an Armenian Family in California, the Karabians of Fresno
It is a 56-minute documentary film. J. Michael Hagopian both wrote and directed the film. The most important objective of this type of movies is to both prove that Armenians are integrated to the American society and that Armenian homeland is Anatolia.
Everyone’s Not Here: Families of the Armenian Genocide
This documentary, produced by the Armenian Assembly of America, mostly targets educational institutions. A tutorial booklet is given with the videocassette of this 28-minute film. Well-known accusations are repeated in this film and the most sensitive part of American psyche, separation of families, is seized.
The Hidden Holocaust: The First Genocide of the 20th Century
It is a 45-minute documentary produced by A & E Home Video.
Cilicia… Rebirth
It is a 27-minute documentary, sold in the videocassette form. It is produced and written by the J. Michael Hagopian, who was funded by The Armenian Film Foundation. Historical consultant of the documentary is Prof. Avedis K. Sanjian from UCLA. The documentary claims that Armenians had created a great civilization in South-Eastern Anatolia and some parts of Syria. According to the claims made in the movie, Armenians who survived the massacres of the First World War arose again in the city of Aleppo (Syria). It is a typical Hagopian movie, portraying the Armenian people as a nation that was never overwhelmed by the tragedies it suffered and found the strength to rise again. It will be seen later that Ararat has a similar premise. This belief is widely accepted among the Armenians, who relate their torment to the myth of Noah’s Ark.
Historical Armenia
This film is a 53-minute documentary written and directed by J. Michael Hagopian. It is narrated by Guy Runnion. It is interesting to note that, while it is claimed that the homeland of Armenians is visited, the cities visited are Istanbul, Ankara, Gaziantep, Van and Bitlis, the Turkish cities. A person who watches this film would think that the homeland of Armenians and Anatolia are one and the same. The purpose seems to be this anyway. The film, just like the others, tries to prove their theories basing them on ‘American sources’. In the introduction of the film, we are informed that the film crew is following the path taken by the US mission sent to Turkey (The film says ‘to Turkey and Armenia’) in 1919. Consequently, an emotional bond between the film and the viewer is cultivated.
Komitas
It’s a 96-minute movie produced in West Germany. It is one of the most internationally renowned Armenian movies. The director is a Soviet Armenian, Don Askarian, who is based in Germany. Some see Askarian as the most important Armenian director after Sergei Paradjanov.[29] He was born in 1949 in the region of Upper Nagorny-Karabakhbag and found success during the Soviet era. While working as an associate-director in Moscow, he was jailed for his seditious remarks. He then migrated to West Berlin (West Germany) in 1978 and has been living there ever since. Don Askarian is one of the most popular Armenian directors in the world.
In Komitas, with Samvel Ovasapian as the lead actor, ‘the Turks massacring millions of Armenians’ is accepted as a fact and the story goes on from there. According to the movie the main character, Komitas is a Kütahya born Armenian monk, who losses his mind after witnessing the 1915 massacres the Turks perpetrate.
The biggest success of Komitas is receiving the Interfilm prize. The reason why the jury, which had close links with the religious establishment, gives us an idea how political this choice was.
“We share in the pain of the monk and composer Komitas, who kept silent and the Armenian nation, who still grieves, after the mass killings of 1915.”[30]
Some other actors who took part in the movie are Onig Saadatian and Margarita Woskanjan. The movie is in German but has English subtitles. The movie is still acknowledged with the phrase of “The Armenian genocide perpetrated by the Turks.”[31]
Avetik
It is another Don Askarian movie. It was made in 1992 as a Germany Armenia collaborative project. It is in Armenian but has English subtitles. It is in color and is 84 minutes long. The leading man of the movie is an Armenian director who is exiled to Berlin, just like Askarian himself. The movie mentions sad events like German racism, 1989 earthquake and the 1915 episode.[32] As can be expected, the events of 1915 are told from the Armenian perspective. Because the movie portrays many events like the 1915 incidents, Nazi soldiers and the Nagorny-Karabakh conflict, concurrently, viewers might have made a correlation between Hitler’s Fascism and “Turkish barbarity”. Since all reviews of the movie mentions the “genocide perpetrated by Turks”, this conclusion is easy to reach. A paragraph from a review from The Japan Times sets a good example about such impressions:
‘…These convey Avetik’s thought during his exile. German Racism, Armenian genocide in 1915 perpetrated by Turks (an terrible episode comparable in extent to the Holocaust), 1989 earthquake which cause great devastation (Armenian’s believe the earthquake was caused by Russian seismic devises),…’[33]
The movie is hard to watch due to recollections, dreams and unusual dialog and music. Askarian, as with his other movies, reach only a very restricted audience. However, the audience he reaches is the upper echelons of the society. We see that the film reaches the widest possible audience with considerable efforts of the Diaspora organizations.
Nagorny-Karabakh; The Third and Fourth Volume of the Armenian History
The film is a 1988 German production. This 60-minute movie was directed by Don Askarian and produced by both Don Askarian and Margarita Woskanian. The language is Armenian and Russian but the movie was screened on German Television with German and English subtitles. The documentary, which is currently sold in the videocassette format, portrays the state of Azerbaijan as an unlawful and oppressive regime.
Some claim that Askarian secretly recorded the large demonstrations for Nagorny-Karabakh that took place in Armenia in 1988 and produced this documentary. Naturally, the film consists of more than recordings of the demonstrations. There are some accusations against Azerbaijani Turks. Even though Armenians are currently forcefully occupying a large part of Azerbaijan, Armenians are shown as the victims. The movie includes many rape, torture and murder scenes, which are all attributed to the Turks. The effects of the movie, which was shown in many international festivals, can be surmised if one looks at one of the reviews that said, “A depiction of the dirty troth of ethnic cleansing”.[34]
The film is one of the most important creations of the Armenian lobby in the last decade that targets the German media.
On The Old Roman Road
This is another Don Askarian movie that describes an exiled artist. It was made in 2001 and lasts 76 minutes. The movie takes place in Rotterdam (Netherlands) and is about an Armenian author Levon, who struggles between his past and present life. He remembers some many inconsistencies about his past like a Turkish Policeman, a woman with red hair, a relative who is robbing dead Turks, pressure, tears, camels, dogs and etc. The director portrays these as a consequence of the contradictions between esthetic and political pressures bearing on the character. Later the director ties all these happenings to today’s Netherlands. In this part of the movie we witness the tragedies of a Kurd and am Armenian terrorist.
The movie is in both English and Armenian. Additionally, when necessary, English subtitles are used.
Dark Forest In The Mountains
The issue of Nagorny-Karabakh is maybe the last subject that Armenians can claim any moral authority. To defend the Armenian military aggression that currently occupies one fifth of another nations territory, turns one million people into refugees against every international rule of law, is very hard to justify. However, cinema is a magical tool. Cameras sometimes do not show the truth, but the reverse. Silver screen does not show the righteous. The latest Armenian political movies are the best examples of such a distortion of this tool. Dark Forest in the Mountain is a case in point. In this Roger Kupelian film, the victim and the captor have traded places. This movie, which has been shown in many university and cinema halls, prove that Armenian political cinema also use current topics for its own political benefit.
Director Kupelian states why he made this documentary:
“At that time, there was an unknown war waged between Azerbaijan and newly established Armenia. There was a Bosnia issue. The government of Azerbaijan was trying to banish Armenians living within the borders of the country draw by Stalin. The media was writing things about the issue but it had no influence. As a person who had a blood connection with the region, I took upon myself to go there and record the true story.”[35]
Mandate for Armenia
It is claimed in this 25-minute documentary that some very secret US documents are brought to light. The story is about American President Woodrow Wilson sending General James G. Harbord to Anatolia for investigations, and the same Armenian accusations are repeated. We frequently see Ankara, Istanbul, Harput, Diyarbakır, Mardin, Erzincan, Erzurum and Yerevan in the film. The narrator and historical advisor of the film is Richard G. Hovannisian (UCLA). It is also acknowledged that James B. Gidley from the Kent State University also helped as a historical advisor.
Where Are My People?
This is a classic 28-minute J. Michael Hagopian production. The period during and after the First World War is studied from an Armenian perspective. This 1965 film is considered as the first film that put forward the Armenian accusations of ‘genocide’.
The Armenian Americans
One of the most interesting features of American and Canadian Armenians are their closeness to each other. When one Armenian succeeds in what he or she is doing, immediately they help others less fortunate then themselves. This film show a similar understanding.
The film The Armenian Americans, which consists of the life stories of famous Armenians who live in the USA, tries to show how much they have contributed to American culture and become a permanent part of the American cultural landscape. Turks, of course, do not receive many praises in this film.
This 90-minute movie was made in 2000 and is in color. The dialog is in English. Producer and director is Andrew Goldberg. Some names included in this film are the tennis player Andre Agassi, author Peter Balakian, actor Mike Connors, actor-author Eric Bogossian, actress-author Andre Martin and NCAA basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian. Additionally, some familiar faces are also included. Some of the names included in this film have collaborated in many other cinema projects, which prove their professional and private links to each other.
California Armenians: The First Generation
This is another Michael Hagopian production. It is a 30-minute documentary. It tells the story of how they came to California from the Ottoman Empire lands (In the movie “Turkey” is insistently used instead of the proper “Ottoman Empire” word) and what hardships they endured. As always ‘genocide’ accusations pepper this film. The videocassettes and VCDs of this movie are still being sold in the USA.
Ararat Beckons
This movie informs us how important Mount Ararat is for Armenians as a 49-minute documentary. Art and Armenian accusations are joined in this film. This is also a 1995 Hagopian production and is narrated by Mike Connors. Atlantis Productions, Inc produced it. The language is English, but an Armenian version was also made.[36] In the introduction, it is claimed that the movie was secretly smuggled out of Turkey.
Back To Ararat
This movie repeats the genocide accusations of Armenians and is strangely introduced as the ‘first movie that deals with the issue’. This movie was made in 1988. The director is Swedish producer Pea Holmquist. This 100-minute film, which is still being sold, can be found in most local libraries in the United States. The review of the movie in The Boston Globe on 8th of June 1989 shows how effective this movie has been on the national psyche:
“Back to Ararat is at its best when it interviews survivors of 1915 (children then. they are now In their 80s) and when it takes us to the beautiful but empty countryside in Turkey that once was Armenia. An old woman who still lives there describes herself as "a refugee in my own country." Survivors who now live in Germany and New York describe how. Armenians were shot, thrown down wells, stabbed or forced on death march to Syria that, for many, ended In being burned alive in caves. The government of Turkey still denies that massacres of three-quarters of the civilian population took place and talks Instead about "resettlement" and wartime Inhumanities that occurred on both sides. In the film, a spokesman for a Turkish-American group waved away the suggestion of genocide as "hearsay." The film would have done well to stick to straight historical documentary. Instead, it loses its focus by shifting to present-day politics. There's an Interview with an Armenian extremist who shot a Turkish diplomat, and a lengthy portrait of a young Armenian couple living in New York who quixotically hope their homeland will be liberated from Turkey.[37]
In a segment recorded in Turkey, there is an interview with a 92-year-old elderly woman. The elderly woman recalls those days with great sorrow. She says, “be careful. If the police hears of this, they’ll take you away” to the camera crew. No one asks how an Armenian woman who utters these words could have lived in an Anatolian village for the decades. It is obvious that the journalists like to present an unknown country (Turkey) as a mysterious place under a ‘fear and terror governance’ and the Armenian propaganda machine provides what the newspapers like to report. Actually the reality is less exciting, less ‘attractive’: Now about 100.000 Armenians live in Turkey in peace. They have schools, churches, social foundations and all the rights as the other Turkish citizens have. Moreover their rights are protected not only by the Turkish laws, but also by the written agreements and the European legal system.
Legacy
This movie was produced, directed and written by Hagopian. Any event that can be used to blacken Turkey and the Turks is used in the 23-minute documentary. From burning of İzmir (Smyrna) to Armenian massacres in the deserts of Syria can be found in this film. The narrators are George Deukmejian, Mike Connors and Walter Karabian.
This is Armenia
This film is in English and lasts 60 minutes. It was directed by Arsen Aslanian as a 1988 MGN / Paradise production.
Films Made in Armenia
While the Armenians in diaspora make most of the Armenian movies, many movies are also made in Armenia. If any of the Armenia based movies are deemed good enough, they are translated into mainly English and French. For example Our Fatherland Armenia (1999)[38] has both an English and Armenian version. Additionally, almost all Armenian films are presented with subtitles in a second language (English, Russian, German or French).
Conference Recordings
Apart from the movies and documentaries mentioned earlier, recordings of conferences held by Armenian lobby groups, are also sold in videocassette, VCD or DVD formats. For example, Prof. Ron Sunny and Vahakn Dadrian’s speeches are sold separately as videocassettes. No detail will be given in this study about these recordings due to the broadness of the subject.
E. The Effects of the Political Armenian Movies in the West
These type of movies create a environment where Armenian accusations are accepted as fact. While it is hard to examine how influential these movies are on powerful people, we can guess how effective they are on impressionable young children who are the future. Another consequence of these movies is to strengthen the already existing religious and historical prejudices of the West. The anti-Turkish activities of Greek and Armenian lobbies cause a deterioration of the image of Turkey and the Turks.
The most seriously affected group of all is the Turkish Diaspora. Especially those who live in France or US states where there is a significant Armenian minority have been suffering under the prejudices that result in these films. Some Turks even try to hide their nationality because of questions asked about Greeks, Armenians or Kurds. Even more upsetting is the abuse Turkish children receive in states where the Armenian ‘genocide’ is accepted as a fact into the school curriculum. These children who are at a very impressionable age will take these memories to their deathbed. There are two consequences of these abuses on the Turkish youth. Majority reacts in an emotional and extreme way, which usually make the matter worse. Minority, due to their limited education in Turkish history and culture, starts believing in the Armenian accusations.
Additionally, we can only guess how harmful these movies and propaganda is on the economic and political interests of Turkey. However, the only victims are not Turkey and the Turkish people. Maybe the most terrible harm is done on the Armenian nation itself. If a nation makes hate of another nation its ideal, it cannot be successful and hate becomes the defining characteristic of that nation. Unfortunately, we see the systems of this hate in the Diaspora Armenians. Bilateral relations between Turkish and Armenian nations have also suffered. These movies and other activities of Armenians are feeding the hate and poisoning the relation between the people. It also is destroying hope for dialog.
F. Conclusion
While Turkey is mostly unaware, Armenian art has become a useful tool in the hand of Armenian political objectives. This is more clear-cut within the Armenian Cinema and Theatre. Extremist Armenian groups have convinced their generation of the ‘truth’ of the genocide and created a myth around the event. Armenian groups dispersed all around the world have taken advantage of Turkey’s silence, and have convinced their host countries. The current objective is to transform political organizations and the international community into an anti-Turkish body. As the lobbying activities increased, Armenian propaganda network has become more and more professional. Financial incentives for being included in to this network have drawn both members from the Armenian and other ethnic communities. This network has developed beyond worst nightmare of Turkish politicians and has caused considerable harm to Turkey. While the Turkish media and the government took into account these developments only at a crisis point, this network in cooperation with art has developed into a very powerful force.
This section showed that movies like Ararat couldn’t be judged individually. These movies are a part of a wider network and should be judged in context of this network.
CHAPTER 2
ATOM EGOYAN: A DIRECTOR WHO LATER REMEMBERED THAT HE WAS AN ARMENIAN
“During my childhood I was desperate to assimilate. In Victoria, I wanted to be like the other kids.[39] They used to call me the little Arab boy because I was a little darker, had a strange name and came from Egypt. It wasn't until adolescence that I realized something had been lost in my life,”[40]
Atom EGOYAN
A. Early Years
Atom Egoyan is a Canadian citizen, a well-known film director and scriptwriter. He was born in 1960 in Cairo (Egypt) as the first child of Joseph and Shushan Yeghoyan. Then the family was in the furniture business. However, his parents were interested in arts. Joseph Yeghoyan, in his youth, had studied painting in the Art Institute of Chicago. Sources say that the reason behind the family naming their first-born ‘Atom’ was the building of the first nuclear reactor in Egypt.[41] The family migrated to Canada three years after Atom was born. While there was a considerable Armenian population being established in Montreal and its environs, the family settled in British Colombia with their newborn daughter ‘Eve’.[42] In other words Atom Egoyan found himself a part of the Canadian society from an early age and was detached from the Armenian culture. The family deciding to change their last name to Egoyan shows their struggle to found a new life and to forget the past. The family continued to do their furniture business in Canada. Atom, in his youth ignored his Armenian background and lived like a typical Canadian. For many years, he was so hostile to his Armenian identity he refused to learn how to speak Armenian. Egoyan believes that this was due to living at a place where there were no Armenians and the people around him were unreceptive to foreigners. In other words, Egoyan who was discriminated by the environment felt a lot of resentment to his own identity and tried very hard to be a part of the dominant culture. Egoyan describes those years by:
“During my childhood I was desperate to assimilate. In Victoria, I wanted to be like the other kids.[43] They used to call me the little Arab boy because I was a little darker, had a strange name and came from Egypt. It wasn't until adolescence that I realized something had been lost in my life,”[44]
‘I was powerless on the issue of assimilation. I wanted to be like other kids[45] in Victoria. Because I was darker, came from Egypt and had a strange name, they called me the little Arab boy. I did not know what I had missed until I reached puberty.’[46]
According to himself, he became aware of his ethnic identity when he started his university education in Toronto. We can easily say that the reason why assimilation is the most prevalent topic he uses in his movies, is due to his experiences from his childhood and youth.
As a student, Egoyan worked at the Empress Hotel as a busboy for four summers. Egoyan says that his experiences there prepared him for what he was to do later in his life. He summarizes these experiences as “to see events through many angles”. The movie Speaking Parts (1989) might be the movie where he used these experiences the most because it takes place at a hotel room.
Egoyan intensified his artistic endeavors while continuing his higher education at the Toronto University Trinity College. It is interesting to note that Egoyan chose to study International Relations. While studying diplomacy, Egoyan learned how to play guitar and continued his attempts at writing a script.
B. Egoyan Realizes That He is an Armenian
As mentioned before, Egoyan for years denied his Armenian identity. His transformation corresponds with his years in Toronto. Maybe under the influence of the politics education he was receiving or maybe in Toronto’s particular environment, Egoyan rediscovered his Armenian roots and joined an Armenian association at the university. As a member of this association he concentrated on the history and language of Armenia and under the tutelage of an Anglican priest, developed his Armenian identity. Afterwards, he was active in every Armenian social event and tried to develop his identity as an Armenian. Egoyan explains those times by, “Armenian student events at that time became a part of my life”.[47] According to Egoyan his revolutionary transformation was due to him being in a part of an Armenian group for the first time in his life. Egoyan, who lived apart from Armenians for many years, discovered that being an Armenian was not something to be ashamed of, and started to enjoy having a different ethnic identity. In this framework, it can be said that Atom Egoyan became an ‘identity convert’.
If we study Egoyan’s artistic identity, we should not be surprised that he turned out to be an artist, considering he grew up in a family -that gave primary importance to art. Young Egoyan started writing plays when he was only 13 years old and continued this hobby into his university years, becoming more professional. The writers that influenced him the most were Eugene Ionesco, Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter.[48] During his years in university, he also became interested in music and cinema. Egoyan started to make short films when he was at the university. His first movie, Howard In Particular (1979), was made with help from Hart House Film Board. This movie brought him an award from Canadian National Exhibition. This became his first of many awards. This success brought many other opportunities and Hart House continued to help him with other short films.
Atom Egoyan also discovered his talent for writing screenplays during his university years. Open House, which he wrote while he was at the university, was a movie script for a half an hour-long film. Canadian organizations acknowledged his talent and Egoyan received every support they could provide. In forming his identity, his struggles with the Hollywood and Western culture and the policies of local governments were influential. The backing provided by the Canadian Art Council for his script support this conclusion.
After graduating from Toronto University in 1982, Atom Egoyan started working at the Tarragon Theatre as a play writer. At that time Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) became interested in Open House and bought its broadcasting rights and later broadcasted it on national TV (1982).
In 1983, in spite of his moderate successes, Atom Egoyan was trying to overcome his identity crisis, trying to succeed in what he was doing but was known only by a limited number o people. While working on his first long-movie, Next of Kin, he met his current wife Arsinée Khanjian, and she helped him find himself and later his Armenian identity became more dominant.
Arsinée is a Lebanese Armenian and she migrated to Canada when she was 17 years old. In other words Arsinée Khanjian is an Armenian who lived as an Armenian for much longer than Egoyan. This caused her Armenian character to be stronger, distinct and maybe more radical. Arsinée was working as an actor in an Armenian movie called Mousetrap. Arsinée was a young actress, who was helped by her dentist husband, in trying to get famous. The dentist husband insistently followed Atom Egoyan for giving his wife a chance. While this caused him to lose his wife, she eventually became famous. The professional relationship between Atom Egoyan and Arsinée Khanjian soon became a passionate love affair that lead to marriage. For Arsinée, getting married with a talented director was important. However that director being an Armenian was even more important. Arsinée summarizes this situation as such,
‘I had met an artist with my history and culture. This had always been, maybe unconsciously, my dream.’[49]
Atom Egoyan’s relationship with his wife affected his professional life and forced him to think more strongly about his Armenian identity. Egoyan admits this:
‘Our relationship with Arsinée merged with the stories of the movies.’
Egoyan’s nickname for his wife, ‘Armenian Princess’, shows that the basis of the relationship is being Armenian.[50] Khanjian’s nationalism is at such a level that, when the role of a Latino woman in the TV program Foolish Heart was given to her, the character was changed in to an Armenian woman. Because the story of the program was about a middle class lady’s ‘liberal’ adventures, Arsinée admitted that she was a little worried about how the Armenian society would react towards it.[51] In other words Arsinée tries to keep her relations with the Canadian Armenian society at the highest level and in this way, can also influence her husband.
After finding ‘his desired actress and wife’, Atom Egoyan recorded his first long movie Next of Kin in 1984. This movie is also the first film in which his Armenian identity becomes apparent. [52] The movie is about the relations between an Armenian family and the lead character (Peter). This movie was also funded by official Canadian organizations. Without the help of Canada Council and Ontario Art Council, this movie could not have been made. The movie was screened but it’s hard to say that it received much appraisal from the viewers. The movie was judged as being ignored by a movie critic.[53] At that time Egoyan was in dire straits and some television projects provided his only income.
Soon after this period, Egoyan agreed with CBC to direct a political movie about the life of an Irish boxer. As a result In This Corner (1989) came to being. These successes brought him many other projects from Canadian and the US television corporations. Egoyan, based in Toronto, directed many TV shows until the mid-1980s.
In the mid-1980s he directed his second long movie, Family Viewing. The story is about a woman’s relations with her husband and stepson, and Arsinée Khanjian and Gabrielle Rose play in the lead. The movie was first screened in 1987, and was the first movie of Atom Egoyan to attract considerable attention from the cinema world. Egoyan started to appear in many international and national film festivals. At that time he emphasized his support for the development of the Canadian culture and as a result was duly awarded. It is not surprising to see Armenian actors is Atom Egoyan’s movies that are full of Canadian nuances. In an interview, Egoyan stated that he felt this movie to be closest to him.[54]
Family Viewing was followed by Speaking Parts (1987).[55] The story of the movie is about a Hotel maidservant’s love and surrounding stories. It was shown in 1989 Cannes Film festival.[56] The Adjuster made in 1991 is one of the rare big budget movies of Egoyan. The budget was 1.5 million dollars and was the second movie of Egoyan to be shown in Cannes.
Adjuster was a movie with many sexual overtones.[57] Even some critics said that the movie was an important illustration of Egoyan’s “sexual obsessions”. The lead of the movie was again Arsinée Khanjian.[58] Cannes appearances attracted the Orion Classic to sign a US distribution deal with Egoyan. As a result, Adjuster was the first Egoyan movie to have received wide audience viewing in the USA and Egoyan became a well-known director. Moreover Adjuster received the Jury Award at the Moscow Film Festival. This one million-ruble award laid the foundations for his next movie in Armenia. Because a special clause of the award was to make a movie in the old Soviet Union lands. Egoyan became known as the ‘Canadian director’ as a result of this movie. The movie also received the ‘Best Canadian Film’ and 250 thousand dollars from the Toronto Film Festival.
C. Calendar: Egoyan’s Armenian Identity Meets Cinema
Until 1992, Egoyan created some small Armenian characters in his movies but his dream was to make a movie wholly about Armenians. We can say that he made the movie of Calendar with this in mind. As mentioned earlier, Egoyan had to make a movie in the old Soviet Union lands in order to collect his 1 million-ruble prize. This condition gave birth to the movie of Calendar. As time went by the prize decreased and Armenia was separated from the Soviet Union. As the movie project was about to falter, Atom Egoyan contacted the German Television Channel ZDF during the Rotterdam Film Festival and with its financial backing reinitiated the project.
The crew went to Armenia, but because of financial and time limitations the most important scenes of this 75-mimute movie had to be recorded in 10 days. Most parts of the movie were recorded by a home-camera and script had to be shortened. It is even claimed that the movie was recorded without a set script. Soldiers were in attendance for the duration of the recordings. In conclusion, Egoyan’s dream turned out to be not what he desired, due to a small budget (80,000 dollars) and unsuitable environment. However this was his first ‘historical’ movie and could be considered as his first step towards Ararat. The director not achieving what he really wanted in Calendar tried again in Ararat. The director also acted with his wife in this movie. Ashot Adamian, was the other lead. Even though the movie could not be distributed widely, it received good reviews. Issues these reviews most discussed were the close connection set between Armenia and Canada, family relations of the director, sexual relations and problems faced by an ethnic minority (Armenians) that the movie cultivated. Another point that has to be considered is that Calendar was one of the most promoted movies of the director. Especially in Canada, the USA, the UK and France local Armenian organizations worked very hard to promote the film.
Calendar, as mentioned earlier, is the second movie by Egoyan, which deals with Armenian identity. Egoyan, in this movie, studies being an Armenian on three levels. a) Nationalism, b) Diaspora, c) Assimilation.[59] The driver-photographer’s wife and photographer-wife relationships represent these levels in the movie. The movie is based on three characters and three time periods. Changing timelines is one of Egoyan’s most prominent specialties. In Ararat he uses two different timelines. Calendar begins in the bedroom of a Canadian Photographer (Atom Egoyan). There is a 12-page calendar on the wall with photographs of historical Armenian Churches and all through the movie the photographer has affairs with many women speaking in different languages. From time to time he looks at these Churches and remembers his wife (Arsinée Khanjian) he left back in Armenia. When he went to Armenia to take the photos of the Churches for the Calendar, a nationalist Armenian (Ashot Adamian) worked as a guide and driver for his wife. The dialog between the wife and the driver is always in Armenian and the director did not use any subtitles. Further on in the movie, we see that the photographer and his wife have separated and we learn about his thoughts on the relationship between the driver and his ex-wife. The real reason of the tension between the photographer and his wife is that he takes the photos of the churches and considers this just another job while his wife respects what these churches stand for.
The last word we can say about the movie is that the director found this movie to be too ‘personal’. The separation scene between the photographer and his wife is even thought to represent the separation of Egoyan and his wife.[60] While the couple discounts these claims, Egoyan states that Calendar put himself and his relationship on the forefront and included some sections of his life. In other words, Calendar contains some clues to Egoyan’s thought process and his life.
Exotica
The next important work of Egoyan after Calendar, was a British-Canadian production, Exotica (1994). This was the Egoyan’s largest movie until then (5 million dollars). Egoyan studies an isolated life, mixed emotions and their consequences to ones sexual life in this movie. The movie takes place at a striptease bar called Exotica and deals with a young lady Christina (Mia Kirshner), her close relations and her customers.[61] Exotica became the most successful Egoyan movie up till then. It entered the official contest of the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and received the International Film Critics Award. It found a large audience in Canada and received 8 Gerie Awards. Its distribution in the USA was done by the Miramax, which is also doing Ararat.[62] Additionally, positive response from the US media created large opportunities for Egoyan. Some say that Exotica was the movie that opened the doors of the US movie industry to Egoyan.[63]
Egoyan’s success in the US increased his popularity in Canada. According to the distribution firm, it is hard for a Canadian director or movie to attract attention in Canada.[64] Canadians usually wait until a Canadian artist becomes well-known overseas before they embrace him or her. In this context, Egoyan success overseas, especially France, made Egoyan and his films much more popular in Canada.
D. SWEET HEREAFTER: Egoyan, an Oscar Nominee
Sweet Hereafter[65] is the last movie by Egoyan that is important for our study. We can say that this movie made him the success that he is. This movie was the successful movie that the Canadian movie industry was dreaming about and made Egoyan one of the most important movie personalities in Canada.[66] Sweet Hereafter was made by Egoyan adapting Russell Banks’ novel to the silver screen.[67] While novel takes place in New York, Egoyan changed it to Sam Dent (British Colombia). This change emphasized the Canadian character of the movie. British actor Ian Holm plays the lead.[68] The movie premièred in Cannes Film Festival and received the Special Jury Award, International critics Award and the Ecumenical Jury Award.[69] The movie also opened the 1997 Toronto film Festival and became the international pride of the small Canadian cinema.[70] The movie won eight Genie Awards from 16 nominations in 1997 and first time in the history of the Canadian cinema a Canadian movie was nominated for two Oscars in 1998 (‘Best Script’ and ‘Best Director’). It was considered ‘unbelievable’ for a Canadian movie and Canadian director to be nominated for Oscars. Apart from the awards, international critics’ reviews were also very positive.[71] Especially, appraisal from Le Monde, The New York Times and USA Today made Egoyan’s connection with the American and French public that much stronger.
In spite of all this success, Sweet Hereafter, just like other Egoyan movies, was not a box office success. This should be tied to Egoyan’s style and stories, which are hard to understand by ‘intellectual’ and popular audience.[72]
While the movie has nothing to do with the Armenian problem, Armenian groups still could find some connection between the movie and their accusations. For example Hrag Vartanian’s review about the movie;
‘Some see the affects of the genocide in Sweet Hereafter. It is based on Russel Banks’ novel of the same name, and is about the trauma of a town in British Colombia that has a deadly bus accident. Critics say that this is a unconscious representation of the unhealed scars of the Armenian nation and the Turkish denial’[73]
His following movie Felicia’s Journey is also a typical Egoyan movie. While it did not bring large box office revenues, it was still considered as quality work by the viewers. With this movie Atom Egoyan became the first Canadian director to have competed three times (at different times) in the Cannes Film Festival.[74] The movie is a thriller that tells the story of a young Irish girl’s adventures in Birmingham (UK). This film also gave the director the opportunity for him to strengthen his connections in both the UK and Ireland.[75]
E. Main Characteristics of Egoyan’s Films
If we list the main characteristics of Egoyan’s films in the context of Ararat:
- Egoyan stresses his two identities. Being a Canadian and being an Armenian. His emphasis on being a Canadian returns as financial assistance from a nation that is hungry for artistic success and makes him a ‘hero’. Having found his Armenian roots later in life makes him much eager to remind people of his Armenian background. However he present this issue as not conflicting with being a true Canadian. The Toronto Star newspaper even describes him as a Canadian nationalist.[76]
- The issues and style he chooses to use in his films are sometimes found incomprehensible and too deep and this decreases the box office revenue he generates. However, Egoyan’s choices are found to be very valuable for Cinema and bring considerable respect from his peers. To be perceived to form an alternative to Hollywood also brings him respect.
- He is known for bringing a new dimension to movies, compared to American films. He is a perfectionist and seems to demand the viewers’ attention. Actor Ian Holm summarizes this as, ‘You might not see him. Maybe you even have to watch the movie three times in two weeks. But he is always there. This is his style, the use of Light, sound and shadows, his surroundings and time. This is his everything…’[77]
- Director has a special link with France. Especially Cannes Film Festival is where his real success started. That’s why it is not surprising for him to make his new movie’s (Ararat) première over there.[78] There are two more reasons why the director has close relations with France. The first is the special relationship between Canada and France and secondly, the important Armenian minority in France.
- Most of his movies, even those that mainly deal with his Armenian identity, received funding from Canadian Art Council, Telefilm Canada and local governments. In other words, he cannot be accused of being sponsored solely by Armenians. Egoyan states that the most important reason behind him making his movies in Canada as official funding and claims that government support frees him from market pressure.[79]
- In Egoyan’s movies structure is more important than dialog.
- It can be said that he likes using his camera from an unusual angle. However, with increasing fame, his choice in stories and presentation has become more conservative.
- Stories mostly deal with assimilation, identity crisis and personal problems. Director ties this to his personal experiences: ‘Characters I form in my movies are usually those who want to find a place to settle.’[80]
- While Egoyan’s movies have small budgets, their influence has been much greater than most big-budget movies.
F. Egoyan’s Opinions About the Armenian Problem
After examining Atom Egoyan’s art and movies, another important issue in the context of Ararat is his opinions about Armenian problem. First of all, as mentioned earlier, Egoyan’s stance during his university years and his stance before are completely different. We can say that this transformation radicalized him. When one experiences a transformation as great as he did, in order to justify ones identity, a person moves to the edge and his or her emotions and thoughts become more radical. We can also see similar changes in Egoyan. His wife, who is known to have radical opinions, has not helped him in his transformation. She even encouraged him to be more radical. Arsinée Khanjian was so radical that she could legitimate terrorism for her political aims: As known three armed Armenians stormed the Turkish Embassy in Ottawa, and they killed a Canadian security guard and the ambassador was badly wounded. The attackers took his wife and daughter as hostage. When asked her about this terrorist attack Arsinée Khanjian said “it really put the Armenian genocide on the table”.[81] It can be understood from these words that she is obsessed with the 1915 events and she could not see the evil behind a terrorist attack.
Media learned about Atom Egoyan’s radical opinions about Armenian problem in 1999.[82] Around those times, Canadian officials discounted the ‘genocide’ claims of the Armenian lobby and a member of the Parliament from Liberal Party Julian Reed took a openly hostile stand against Armenian accusations. Egoyan in response reacted surprisingly and entered an aggressive discussion.[83] On February 15, 1999, Parliamentary secretary of Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy, deputy Reed made a speech in response to the special proposal made by the House of Commons under the direction of Armenian lobby. In the speech he stated that, arguments and counter arguments made by both Armenians and Turks made it impossible to discern between the right and wrong and had placed the Canadian Parliament in an uncomfortable position. Reed, in his speech stated that, ‘These days there is a tendency to use the word genocide outside of its meaning, sometimes even figuratively… What happened in 1915? Both sides take a different view and each tackle different events.’[84] He said that around 700,000 Armenians had died as a result of these vents. However, he continued, most had died from illness, hunger, harsh weather conditions and to have had to survive in open air. According to Reed, it is unacceptable for the Canadian government to pick a side or to take a stand where Turks would be accused of being guilty. He added that, the proposal would not solve the problem. Because, Reed said, the proposal forces us to chose a side to be hostile to the other.[85] Egoyan’s reply to Reed was very harsh. Famous director, in a statement to the media, openly accused the Canadian Government and Deputy Reed as:
“To form a cloud of misinformation around the problem, to bend the truths and to make it harder to find the real answers is to ignore the seriousness of the issue at hand… It appalls me to see that an issue that has had a great influence over my and other families to be discussed in such an old-fashioned way… I always tried not to get involved with politics. However, these actions have shocked me… Armenians believe that there is significant evidence to convince the most cynical observer that this genocide really took place… Reed’s statement seems to approve the Turkish governments point of view... An issue as important as this cannot become a tool for propaganda.”[86]
Another occasion that Egoyan conveyed his thoughts on Armenian accusations is 1999 Cannes film festival. The director, who attracted attention with his movie Felicia’s Journey, stated that Turkey had to accept the Armenian Genocide and added that his struggle would continue until this happened. Egoyan, who was interviewed by a Italian journalist, continued,
‘I have lived my life always feeling the wounds of the genocide. However, the world still does not acknowledge the Armenian genocide. This is the reason why my struggle continues.’[87]
Egoyan continued to express his views anytime Ararat was discussed and stated that he had made this movie in order to make the Turkish government to accept the fact and his only desire was Turkish acknowledgement.[88] In another interview about Ararat, he said that he felt this project to be a great responsibility for him and added that all Armenians had been waiting for decades for a big movie about the Armenian ‘genocide’ and it was his desire to answer that call:
“I think, as an Armenian filmmaker (he was born in Egypt and raised in Canada but is of Armenian heritage), you're always wondering about this film, because it has never really been made, as such. It is a unique piece of history. The crime has never been admitted by the Turkish government that perpetrate it so, that makes for a very interesting dramatic situation, dealing with issues of denial.”[89]
* Institute for Armenian Research senior researcher and lecturer in Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, the Department of International Relations.
[1] ASAM, Institute of Armenian Studies (Ankara), Atatürk university, Erzurum, skantarci@eraren.org
* Institute for Armenian Research senior researcher and lecturer in Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, the Department of International Relations.
[2] Stressed by the author (s.l.).
[3] Hrag Vartanian, ‘The Armenian Stars of the Canadian Cultural Universe’, Feature Articles on Canada, www.agbu.org.
[4] Golos Armenii, 5 August 1997.
[5]
[6] Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty managed by CIA for some time are typical examples. In addition The Voice of America radio is broadcasting 1000 hours a week in 42 languages: within “The Media of Foreign Information and propaganda Programs” K. J. Holsti, International Politics, A Framework for Analysis, (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inb., 1992), p.168-175.
[7] For Propaganda and Foreign Policy, see: Marian Leighton, Soviet Propaganda As A Foreign Policy Tool, (University Press of America, 1991); Leo Bogart, Premises For Propaganda, (New York: Free Press, 1976); N. Biryukov, ‘Broadcasting and Diplomacy’, International Affairs (Moscow), Vol. 10, 1964, p.63-68; Tapio Varis, ‘The International Flow of Television Programs’, Journal of Communication, Vol. 34, No. 1, 1984, pp. 143-152; Danielle S. Sremac, War of Words: Washington Tackles Yugoslav Conflict, (Westport, CT.: Praeger Publishers, 1999); Clive Ross, The Soviet Propaganda Network, (London: Pinter, 1998); Anthony Smiths, The Geopolitics Of Information: How Western Culture Dominates The World, (London: Faber & Faber, 1980).
[8] For British propaganda efforts, look: Justin McCarthy, ‘Birinci Dünya Savaşı’nda İngiliz Propagandası ve Bryce Raporu’ (British Propaganda In The First World War And The Bryce Report), Türkiye Günlüğü, Ermeni Sorunu Özel Sayısı (Turkish Diary, Armenian Problem Special Edition), Vol. 1, January-February 2001, No:37, pp. 474-483; George C. Bruntz, Allied Propaganda and the Collapse of the German Empire, (Stanford, 1938), Hasan Köni, ‘The Research of Arnold Toynbee on Turks and the Birth of the Armenian Propaganda’, Ermeni Araştırmaları / Armenian Studies (Ankara), Vol. 1, No. 2, June-July-August 2001, pp. 159-169.
[9] It is expected that after a certain stage, propaganda creators distort some of the truth. It is common among the radical Armenian groups to falsifications and forgery of historical documents. The statements attributed to Atatürk and Hitler are obvious examples. But even for these, Armenians are sincere in their objectives. They are just trying to prove to the world, what they believe to be the facts. For examples of the forgeries and falsification made by Armenians look: Ataöv, Türkkaya, The Andonian ‘Documents’ Attributed To Talat Paşa Are Forgeries, (Ankara: Sistem Ofset, 1984); Ataöv, Türkkaya, A ‘Statement Wrongly Attributed To Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, (Ankara: Sistem Ofset, 1984).
[10] As known, it the recent years, some marginal groups are voicing the Armenian case and translating Armenian Authors studies in Turkey. Among Armenians, leftists and rightists both unite on the issue of turkey. This is because Turk and Armenian identity are founded on different principles. The events of 1915 are like cement that holds Armenians together. Turks, on the other hand have not based their identity on hating anyone. A Turk, no matter if he likes or hates Armenians, is still a Turk, cannot be assimilated and will not have an identity crisis. In other words, Turks being less fanatic than Armenians in voicing their opinions, is not a weakness but a richness.
[11] For Armenians in London and similar examples see: Sedat Laçiner, ‘Armenian Diaspora In Britain And The Armenian Question’, Armenian Studies, Vol.: 1, No.: 3, September-October-November 2001, pp. 233-257, ‘The UK Armenian Community’, Exile, February 2001, Karnik Taverdi, ‘A History of Armenians in Britain’, Armenian Voice, 2001.
[12] For more information on the forcible migration of Armenians see: Azmi Süslü, Ermeniler ve 1915 Tehcir Olayı (Armenians and the 1915 Resettlement), (Van: Yüzüncü Yıl University, 1990); Kamuran Gürün, Ermeni Dosyası (The Armenian File), (Ankara, 1983); Mim Kemal Öke, Uluslararası Boyutlarıyla Anadolu – Kafkasya Ekseninde Ermeni Sorunu, 1914 - 1923 (The Armenian Question In The Anatolia – Caucasus With The International Context, 1914 – 1923) (Istanbul: İz, 1996); Hüsamettin Yıldırım, Ermeni İddiaları Ve Gerçekler (Armenian Accusations And The Truth), (Ankara: Sistem Ofset, 2000); Türkkaya Ataöv (ed.), The Armenians In The Late Ottoman Period, (Ankara: TTK and the Turkish Grand National Parliament publication, 2001); Ergünöz Akçora, Armenian Uprisings In And Around Van (1886-1916), (Istanbul: TDAV, 1994); Halil Metin, Türkiye’nin Siyasi Tarihinde Ermeniler ve Ermeni Olayları (Armenians And Armenian Events In Turkey’s Political History, (Ankara: MEB, National Education Ministry publication, 2001, 3rd Edition).
[13] According to Armenian claims Turks killed 1.5 million Armenians during that period and also according to Armenians this number constituted about 75 percent of the Armenian population. If we make a calculation, we find out that only 500 thousand Armenians were left after 1915. If we consider that the current Armenian population, again according to Armenian statistics, is 9 million, we start wondering how, in less than a century, the number of Armenians grew by 18 times its original population. If the Turkish population grew by the same rate, its current population would have been over 200 million. If we do the same calculations for China’s population, their population should reach 20 billion in the next century. It is known that the Turkish population growth rate is much greater than the Armenian rate. Consequently it can be seen that Armenian allegations have no basis. Armenia has had a negative population growth rate for a long time. Armenians living in USA and France, due to low growth rates and high rate of assimilation, cannot bring about a high grow rate. As a result, a nation cannot grow by 18 times within a century.
Another clue is the surnames of today’s Armenians. Most have surnames that originated from Turkish. This proves that, contrary to Armenian allegations, Armenians have not suffered a massacre on a great scale.
[14] While educated Armenians found work at education sector, a special importance was given to the higher education of younger Armenians. The Church and the political parties, with the scholarships they granted, succeeded in Armenian and Western researchers to study the Armenian question from the Armenian point of view. As a result, a large collection of pro-Armenian publications was produced. Armenians, compared to Turks, were very successful in the education field. It can be said that, they hold a monopoly in the USA and Canada. They also rose in educational fields other than political science.
[15] Hrag Vartanian, ‘The Armenian Stars of the Canadian Cultural Universe, Hrant Alianak’, in Feature Articles on Canada, www.agbu.org
[16] ‘Armenians in Hollywood’, USANOGH (Armenian students association publication), September 12, 2001.
[17] ‘In Sight Of Ararat: London Armenian Film Festival 2002’, Armenian Voice, Winter 2002, No. 45.
[18] On the one hand, Cypriot Turks split into many divergent groups because of very small differences of opinions and are seldom interested in any issues related to Turkey. On the other hand, extremist Kurdish groups from Turkey use the cultural center donated by the government in the name of ‘Turks’ to make anti-Turkish propaganda. Another group, the extreme leftists also use the funds they get from the local government and other social foundations to criticize Turkey. It is said that a Cypriot Turk, who later ran away, swindled another cultural center, which was donated by the local government. In such an environment, tens of thousands of Turks cannot even sustain their most basic needs and find no financial backing to support their political interests. It is hard to say that any financial or factual support is coming to them from the Turkish government. In spite of all these difficulties, some Turks with limited financial capacity (mostly owners of small shops or restaurants) succeed in bringing Turkish artists and a few Turkish films to London. While most of these movies are subtitled, almost none of them can be made use of in a political context. An incident in 1998 clearly demonstrate Ankara’s stance. A project by a group of students to bring a few Turkish movies with subtitles in order to show them to the British and Turkish public was unsuccessful due to the bureaucratic obstacles created by one of the Turkish ministries. Because our aim is not to criticize or create any loss of face for any organization, we do not want to go into details here.
[19] Primarily new generation Armenian Directors’ movies were screened during the festival. Some of the directors are, Vem Yenovkian, Ara Ebra, Armen Titizian, Andrew Simonian and Jason Kartalian.
[20] Janet, Samuel, ‘George Krikorian, Reviving Hollywood Glamour at the Movies’, AIM, Armenian International Magazine, January-February 2002, p.65.
[21] For studies related to Armenian claim look: Ed Minassian, ‘The Forty Years of Muse Dagh - The Film That Was Denied’, Journal of Armenian Studies, Vol. 2 (2), Autumn-Winter 1985-86.
[22] As happened on the Virginia University campus on April 24, 2000, the movie is shown in large halls where respected personalities and large groups can be accommodated.
[23] The Director gave this explanation. But in reality, to record the movie in Detroit would allow him the use of considerable funds from the local government.
[24] We have no proof that the director has any links with the Masonic Order. Old Detroit Bar is another location where the movie was recorded.
[25] George Robertson, ‘A 17-Year Overnight Success’, Michigan Vue Magazine, March-April 2000.
[26] Sona Toukhanina died in 1997.
[27] Important names who played in the movie are: Eddie Mekka, Val Avery, Roger Jackson, Michael Carroll, James Reynolds, Michael Kermoyan, Herand Markarian, Gayne Hovsepian, Gerald Papp and Joe Penberthy.
[28] Some other important movies by the director are: Escale au Soleil (1947), La Table aux Crevés (1952); Le Fruit Défendu (1952); Carnaval (1953); L’Ennemi Public No 1 (1953); Le Mouton a Cinq Pattes (1954), Les Amants du Tage (1955); Des Gens Sans Importance (1955); Maxime (1958); Le Grand Chef (1959); La Vache et le Prisonnier (1959); Le Président (1961); La Clan des Siciliens (1969); Le Casse (1972); Le Serpent (1973); I. Comme Icare (1979); Mille Miliards de Dollars (1981); Les Morfaloous (1984); Mayrig (1991); 588 Rue Paradis (1992).
[29] ‘Directors In Focus, Hieroglyphs Of Armenia: Film By Don Askarian’, The Harward Film Review, 21 January-23 January ?.
[30] ‘Screening Of The West German Film Komitas’, Nor Gyank, Los Angeles, 2 March 1989.
[31] For other reviews of ‘Komitas’ look: ‘Komitas’, Asbarez, 25 February 1989; Paul Sherman, ‘Armenia Subject of MTA Films’, The Boston Herald, 8 June 1993; Mansel Stimpson, ‘Uncompromising’, What’s on in London, 18 April 1990.
[32] Davis Rooney, Variety, 19-25 September 1994.
[33] Giovanni Fazio, ‘Through the Doors of Perception’, The Japan Times, 25 March 1995.
[34] Desmond Ryan, “ ‘Nagorny-Karabakh’: Depicting Dirty Truth of ‘Ethnic Cleansing’”, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 7 May 1993.
[35] John B. Virata, ‘Documentary Filmmaker Roger Kupelian’, Digital Producer.com, www.arcfilm.net/virata.html.
[36] Other actors who played in this movie are, Masis Parseghian, Gregory Parseghian and Hamlet Nersesian.
[37] Robert Garret, ‘Two Films at MFA Evoke the Agony of Armenia’, The Boston Globe, 8 June 1989.
[38] Director and Camera: Arsen Alanian. Music: Komitas, Aram Khachaturian, Sayat Nova and Tigran Mansourian. Language: Eastern Armenian and English.
[39] Stressed by the author (s.l.).
[40] Hrag Vartanian, ‘The Armenian Stars of the Canadian Cultural Universe’, Feature Articles on Canada, www.agbu.org.
[41] Siobhan Rossiter, ‘Atom Egoyan’, Northern Stars, www.northernstars.ca/directorsal/egoyanbio.html; ‘All about Atom’, http:/members.cruzio.com/
[42] Atom’s sister Eve Egoyan is also an artist. Eve, who is a well-known pianist, has contributed to Atom Egoyan’s movies, Family Viewing, Speeking Parts, The Adjuster and Calander, with her piano. The Things in Between is her the latest work.
[43] Stressed by the author (s.l.).
[44] Hrag Vartanian, ‘The Armenian Stars of the Canadian Cultural Universe’, Feature Articles on Canada, www.agbu.org.
[45] Stressed by the author (s.l.).
[46] Hrag Vartanian, ‘The Armenian Stars of the Canadian Cultural Universe’, Feature Articles on Canada, www.agbu.org.
[47] Hrag Vartanian, ‘The Armenian Stars of the canadian Cultural Universe’, Feature Articles on Canada, www.agbu.org.
[48] Brian D. Johnson, ‘Exotic Atom’, Maclean’s, Vol. 107, No: 40, 3 October 1994.
[49] Brian D. Johnson, ‘Arsinée Unveiled’, Maclean’s, Vol. 112, No.37, 13 September 1999, p.597.
[50] Arsinée, just like Egoyan, studied political science at university. This later affected her political behavior. Khanjian currently is 42 years old and the couple has a seven year-old son.
[51] Rick McGinnis, ‘Khanjian Emerges from the Shadow, Actor’s recent Work Establishes Her Own Identity’, National Post, 9 September 1999.
[52] Jonathan Rosenbaum, ‘Tribal Trouble’, Chicago Reader, 19 August 1994.
[53] Brian D. Johnson, ‘Exotic Atom’, Maclean’s, Vol. 107, No. 40, 3 October 1994.
[54] Johnson, ‘Exotic…’
[55] About this movie see: A Taubin, ‘Up and Atom’, Film Comment, Vol. 25, No: 6, November-December 1989.
[56] The actors were, Aidan Tierney, David Hemblen, Gabrielle Rose and Michael McManus.
[57] About this movie see: B. D. Johnson, ‘Journeys Into Darkness’, Maclean’s, 16 September 1991, B. D. Johnson, ‘Bleak Beauty’, Maclean’s, 30 September 1991, D. Ansen, ‘A Holiday From The Hype’, Newsweek, 29 June 1992.
[58] Other actors were Elias Koteas and Maury Chaykin. When asked about the sexual nature of the movie and the conservative Armenian society, Arsinée said that, ‘I was never uncomfortable with Atom’s way of presenting sexuality. Maybe it was satisfying my secret fantasies too’. Johnson, ‘Exotic …’. It is quite surprising to hear these words from a person who constantly talks about respecting the conservative nature of the Armenian society.
[59] ‘Diaspora’ means to enjoy diaspora and to accept what it stands for. ‘Assimilation’ means to accept being assimilated.
[60] ‘Viewing Atom Egoyan’, Maclean’s, Vol. 106 (49), 6 December 1993.
[61] Other characters and actors in this movie are, Zoe (Arsinée Khanjian), Eric, prehent owner of the establishment (Elias Koteas) and Thomas (Don McKellar).
[62] The script of the movie was published as a book in 1995.
[63] Janet Maslin, ‘Atom Egoyan May Have His Breakthrough In Exotica’, New York Times, 5 March 1995, section 2, p.13. For detailed information about Exotica look.: J. Hoberman, ‘Ghost Story’, Village Voice, Vol. 40 (10), 7 March 1995, Shlomo Schwartzberg, ‘Exotica’, Performing Arts & Entertainment in Canada, Vol. 29 (1), Fall 1994 / Winter 1995, Brian D. Johnson, ‘Exotic Atom’, Maclean’s, Vol. 107, No. 40, 3 October 1994.
[64] Brian D. Johnson, ‘In Search of a Uniting Embrace’, Maclean’s, Vol. 107, No. 40, 3 October 1994.
[65] This movie was shown as ‘A Different World’ on Turkish television.
[66] About the interpretation of the movies success as Canadian success look; Brian D. Johnson,’ A Celluloid Circus’, Maclean’s, Vol.10 (20), 19 May 1997, Brian D. Johnson, ‘Champagne Dreams’, Maclean’s, Vol. 110, No. 21, 26 May 1997.
[67] The novel was purchased by the director’s wife and was given to him as a present.
[68] Initially Donald Sutherland was considered for the role but it did not happen.
[69] Barbara Wickens, ‘Triple-win Canadian at Cannes’, Maclean’s, Vol. 110, No. 22, 22 June 1997.
[70] Canadian Film industry compared to Hollywood is very small and is hungry for international success. That’s why Egoyan’s success is very important for Canadian Cinema: Charles Gordon, ‘Why Cultural Canada Has Yet to Come of Age’, Maclean’s, Vol. 111, No. 19, 11 May 1998, p.11, For Egoyan’s place in the Canadian Film industry: Brian D. Johnson, ‘Hollywood Stars and Canadian Style’, Maclean’s, Vol. 112, No. 38, 20 September 1999, p.56, For a comparison between Hollywood and the Canadian Film Industry: Geoffrey Macnub, ‘Light at the End of the Tunnel’, Independent, 13 July 2001.
[71] Johnson, ‘Champagne …’.
[72] For additional information on Sweet Hereafter: Susanna Haas, ‘Atom Egoyan’s Sweet Success’, The Peak, Vol. 97, No. 7, 13 October 1997, John McKay, ‘Sweet Genies’, Calgary Herald, 15 December 1997, p.B9, Geoff Pevere, ‘Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter: Death, Canadian Style’, take One, fall 1997, p.6-11, Gillian Roberts, ‘Spectacle Matters: Titanic, The Sweet Hereafter, and the Academy and Genie Awards’, Canadian Review of American Studies, 2000, Vol. 30, No.3, p.22.
[73] Hrag Vartanian, ‘The Armenian Stars of the Canadian Cultural Universe’, Feature Article on Canada, www.agbu.org.
[74] Tanya Davies, ‘It’s Cancon Time at Cannes’, Maclean’s, Vol. 112, No. 20, 17 May 1999, p.8.
[75] In the movie Felicia is played by Elaine Cassidy and the murderer is played by Bob Hoskins. For a detailed review of the movie: Patricia Hluchy, ‘Starvation of the Soul’, Maclean’s, Vol. 112, No. 44, 15 November 1999, p. 148. For a psychological analysis of Felicia’s Journey: Carrie Zlotnick-Woldenberg, ‘Felicia’s Journey: An Object-Relational Study of Psychopathy’, American Journal of Psychotherapy, Vol. 55, No. 1, 2001, p.40. The movie was shown in the Istanbul and Izmir Film Festivals.
[76] ‘Atom Spliting’, The Toronto Star, 22 December 2000.
[77] Http:/members.cruzio.com/
[78] In the last section Egoyan’s disappointment with the reception of his movie in Cannes will be discussed. The movie was not accepted into the official competition. The director claimed that this decision was politically motivated. While this study was still being written, there had been no reevaluation by the Festival’s executive body. This shows how successful Turkish lobbying can be.
[79] Brian D. Johnson, ‘In Search of a Uniting Embrace’, Maclean’s, Vol. 107, No. 27, 1 July 1994.
[80] Johnson, ‘In search of a…’.
[81] “Dealing With The Ghosts Of Genocide”, Toronto Star, 5 September 2002.
[82] Bob Thompson, ‘Egoyan to Produce Film on Genocide’, Toronto Sun, 1 November 2000.
[83] Bob Thompson, ‘Egoyan to Film Armenian Tragedy’, Toronto Sun, 31 October 2000.
[84] While Reed’s statements are found to be conciliatory, we have to say that Turkish researchers find the figure of 700,000 incorrect. Considering that there is a large gap between the sides, we can see the figure as an attempt by Reed to find a halfway point.
[85] Jonathan Gatehouse, ‘Egoyan ‘Appalled’ by comments on Genocide’, The National Post (Canada), 25 February 1999.
[86] Gatehouse, ‘Egoyan…’.
[87] ‘Egoyan Discusses Genocide at Cannes Film Festival’, Asbarez, 20 May 1999. Though Egoyan claims that his film, Ararat, is not a propaganda film, his words quoted above clearly prove that he is not open to question his belief about the 1915 events, he just tries to persuade the other people by filming that period, not to examine the reasons of the events and the tragedy that the Turkish and Armenian people had shared.
[88] ‘Atom Egoyan: Türkiye Soykırımı Tanısın’, (Atom Egoyan: Turkey Must Recognise The Genocide), Beyaz Perde, 7 November 1999.
[89] Bruce Kirkland, ‘Egoyan Mounts Testament; New Film Ararat A Personal Take On Genocide’; The Toronto Sun, 8 June 2001.
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