By Severine Labat
Mustapha Kemal (1881-1938), called Ataturk ("the father of the Turks"), was the founder of the Republic of Turkey and its first President. Both in Turkey and abroad, however, his actions continue to stir debate. Was he a visionary statesman or an enlightened despot?
MUSTAPHA KEMAL ATATURK tells the story of this historic figure with archival footage, newsreels and photos, and discussions with Turkish and Western historians, sociologists and biographers. The film traces his early secular education and his political rise as an army officer, from the birth of the "Young Turks" movement in 1908, through WWI, the Turkish War of Independence, the dethroning of the Sultan and elimination of the Caliphate, and the establishment of the republic in 1923.
Much of the film's debate focuses on Kemal's authoritarian rule, when he abolished the national parliament, outlawed opposition parties and labor unions, and forced through legislation that led to sweeping political, economic and social reforms.
MUSTAPHA KEMAL ATATuRK makes clear that any consideration of Ataturk's historic role must recognize that, while he played a major role in modernizing the nation-including the establishment of a Civil Code to replace religious tribunals, decreeing equality between the sexes, abolishing polygamy and granting women the right to vote-his "democracy" was founded upon a single party dictatorship whose cult-of-personality leader engendered as much fear as respect.
The rapid transformation of Turkey into the first secular Muslim republic, attempting to blend Western and Eastern influences, upset much of the country's population and laid the basis for tensions still at the center of Turkey's social and political life today..
The recent rise of Political Islam has meant increasing challenges to the legacy of Kemalism. Turkey's democratic government has an increasingly Islamic character, while the military staunchly defends the secular basis of the regime. In its contemporary political tensions-Muslim vs. secular, religious vs. political-Turkey more than ever reflects not only its unique geopolitical position on the world map, but also the mixed legacy of the nation's national hero.
Reviews
~ "A classic documentary, accurate without embellishment."—Telerama
~ "An impartial biography… [with] a nuanced manner."—Les Inrockuptibles
~ "Provides insight into the complexity of this personality."—L'Humanite
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