Ottoman Spectators Morality and conservatism in 19th century Ottoman Humor magazines, a case study of Latife and Tiyatro
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Tarih
2012
Yazarlar
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Yayıncı
İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi
Erişim Hakkı
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Özet
Bu çalışma Osmanlı mizah basınının 1870- 1877 yıllarını kapsayan belirli bir dönemini, başka bir deyişle, mizah dergilerinin ortaya çıkış ve yasaklanış tarihi arasındaki dönemi üzerinde durmaktadır. Osmanlı mizah dergileri üzerine yapılan çalışmalar, içeriği genellikle yıkıcı veya radikal bir söylem ve de batılılaşma tepkisi olarak yorumlarlar. Ayrıca, mizah basını tarihi boyunca mizah dergilerinin edebi olarak sınıflandırılması amacıyla dönemler arası belirgin bir ayrım yapılmaz. Fakat mizah dergilerinin bu döneminin, onları sonraki dönemlere ait dergilerden ayıran belli özellikleri vardır. Dönemin hâkim ideolojileri olarak muhafazakârlık ve cemaatçilik, süreklilik gösteren patronaj ilişkileri, devlet politikaları ve sansür, sözlü mizah geleneğinin mirası, mevcut mizah anlayışı ve de modernleşme sürecine ilişkin düşünsel yönelim gibi faktörler bu döneme ait mizah dergilerinin şekillenmesinde etkili oldu. Bu çalışmada on dokuzuncu yüzyılın ilk dönemine ait olan ve genel olarak mizah dergileri olarak tanımlanan yayınların aslında on sekizinci yüzyıl İngiliz ahlak dergilerine benzer biçimde ahlak dergileri olduğu öne sürülmektedir. Bunların en tipik örneği Spectator ( 1711-14 ) dergisidir. Ahlak dergileri aynı zamanda güldürü ve nükte dergileri olarak da bilinirler. En tipik özellikleri okuyucuyu eğitmek amacıyla mizah türü olarak hicivden çok nükteye başvurmalarıdır. Bu nedenle yıkıcı olmayı değil, ıslah etmeyi amaçlarlar. Bu döneme ait mizah dergilerinin söylemi aslında genel olarak bir batılılaşma söylemi değil, ahlak söylemidir. Mizah yazarları ekonomik, sosyal ve kültürel alanların ahlaki yönünü düzenlemek amacıyla ve de üst sınıflar ile alt sınıflar arasında büyümekte olan farklılığı azaltmak amacıyla her iki sınıfa ait kusurları eleştirerek modernleşme sürecine müdahale ettiler. Bu noktada, nükte gibi daha fazla zihinsel faaliyet gerektiren mizah formlarının sözlü halk mizahıyla karıştırılarak mizah basını aracılığıyla halka sunulması rastlantısal değildi.
This study focuses on a specific period of humor press between 1870- 1877, that is the period from the emergence to the banning of humor magazines. Studies on the content of Ottoman humor periodicals, usually takes them as a discourse of a subversive or radical voice and more generally as a reaction to westernization. Secondly, through the history of Ottoman humor press, there is not a clear differentiation made in terms of literary categorization of humor magazines between the periods. However, this specific period has peculiarities which distinguish Ottoman humor magazines of the first period from the ones belonging to subsequent periods in many points. Conservatism and communitarianism as dominant ideologies of the period, and continuing patronage relationships, government policies and censorship, heritage of verbal humor traditions, current humor understanding, and intellectual movement in relationship with modernization process, all played their parts in shaping of Ottoman humor magazines in this period. This thesis argues that nineteenth century Ottoman humor magazines of the first period, which had been generally defined as humor magazines, were actually moral weeklies similar to British moral weeklies of eighteenth century, represented by The Spectator Magazine (1711-14). Moral weeklies are also known as comic weeklies or as the publications of wit. Typical characteristics are that they employ wit rather than satire to instruct the audience; therefore they mean to be corrective rather than subversive. The discourse of Ottoman humor magazines in this period was not generally that of westernization, but it was actually a discourse of morality. Humorists intervened in the modernization process, in order to establish morality over economic, social and cultural spheres and to close the widening gap between upper and lower classes by censuring vices of both. In this point, extending forms of humor requiring more intellectual activity such as wit, to the folk humor through humor press, was not incidental.
This study focuses on a specific period of humor press between 1870- 1877, that is the period from the emergence to the banning of humor magazines. Studies on the content of Ottoman humor periodicals, usually takes them as a discourse of a subversive or radical voice and more generally as a reaction to westernization. Secondly, through the history of Ottoman humor press, there is not a clear differentiation made in terms of literary categorization of humor magazines between the periods. However, this specific period has peculiarities which distinguish Ottoman humor magazines of the first period from the ones belonging to subsequent periods in many points. Conservatism and communitarianism as dominant ideologies of the period, and continuing patronage relationships, government policies and censorship, heritage of verbal humor traditions, current humor understanding, and intellectual movement in relationship with modernization process, all played their parts in shaping of Ottoman humor magazines in this period. This thesis argues that nineteenth century Ottoman humor magazines of the first period, which had been generally defined as humor magazines, were actually moral weeklies similar to British moral weeklies of eighteenth century, represented by The Spectator Magazine (1711-14). Moral weeklies are also known as comic weeklies or as the publications of wit. Typical characteristics are that they employ wit rather than satire to instruct the audience; therefore they mean to be corrective rather than subversive. The discourse of Ottoman humor magazines in this period was not generally that of westernization, but it was actually a discourse of morality. Humorists intervened in the modernization process, in order to establish morality over economic, social and cultural spheres and to close the widening gap between upper and lower classes by censuring vices of both. In this point, extending forms of humor requiring more intellectual activity such as wit, to the folk humor through humor press, was not incidental.