In this work, I study to analysis a documentary movie/film which calls ‘MUSTAFA’ produced by Can DÜNDAR. Documentary movies are part of mass communication in communications studies. Firstly, I try to description to applications of communications studies on films, after I add my own ideas and opinions. Therefore, I want to start a question. ‘What is communication’ after than go step by step. According to Işık, ‘communications as a systemic process in which people interact with and through symbols to create and interpret meanings.’ (2008: ?)
Communication has got some elements such as sender, message, medium etc. In this movie has got a big prepared group which includes editor, producer, cameraman, music composer etc. I think all of them are senders. They send us, their ideas and opinions to film. ‘What/who is sender and what are messages?’ Sender is a person who encodes or gives expression to the message and source of communications messages. In this movie, producer Can Dündar shows us, informs us, says us a lot of things, sent us something, all of them are messages and Can Dündar is our main sender.
This work for about a analysis study on documentary movie MUSTAFA. We can watch this movie in cinemas, compact discs, DVDs etc. I think, in this point, we have a question. What is channel/medium because of they are some parts of communications channels. ‘Medium is a means of communication, a way of communicating ( a technological medium like television or film), a channel is physical connection between communicators (like sound waves or the electronic type that is carrying this message to you) (Alankuş, Işık 2008: …)
Moreover, we watch this movie; we try to understand what Can Dündar says which messages he sends. We receive and decode all of these. We are ‘receiver’. Receiver is an element of communication that receiving and decoding messages.
Communication has got some parts such as marketing communication, mass communication etc. Movies/films are in mass communication.
Mass communication has strong power to affect people. But, primarily we know what mass communication is. ‘‘Mass communication is messages communicated through a mass medium to a large number of people.’’ (Bittner 1986: 12) You can send your messages to lots of people faster than the other ways with mass medium such as film, radio, television etc.
Communication influences us, affects us, and educates us. We can easily see this specialty in this movie because of this movie is documentary movie. It includes a lot of information which about Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRKs special and private life. Lots of people are educated by this information.
I said for Can Dündar, he is our main sender; on the other hand, he is gatekeeper.
Gatekeeper is any person or formally organized group directly involved in relaying or transferring information from one individual to another through a mass medium. A gatekeeper can be a film producer, a network censor, a director, a newspaper executive, or any other individual in processing or control of messages disseminated through mass media to public. ( Bittner 1986: 13)
Because he shows us whatever he wants. Scenario is written by them, film is vocalized by him, film is recorded by him etc.
In this documentary, we can see ATATÜRKs discourses, ideas, and opinions. Sometimes we can hear his voice. Mustafa Kemal narrates his works and we listen to him, we understand a small part of his ideology. ‘Ideologies are systems of ideas, especially with the social, political or religious ideas shared by a social group or movement.For example, ccommunism as well as anti-communism, socialism’. ( Işık 2008: ..?) Mustafa Kemals ideology which calls ‘Kemalism’ is important to us. If we apply this ideology, we achieve to develop to our country.
Final step is feedback. Feedback part is one of the element of communication The Receiver transmits verbal and non-verbal feedback to indicate his/her reception and understanding of the message. I watched this documentary movie. This movie met audiences a few months ago. A lot of people, historians, film analyzers, kemalist, journalist, and politics watched it. Some of them said ‘it is really good, it includes realistic items, we disapprove this movie, and it is a climacteric movie to our history. And the others said, this movie includes unrealistic items, it shows Atatürk is bad and has badly attitude. All of these are feedback.