Kitsch is defined as “worthless art” or “low-priced literature” in Turkish, which is used to describe the artistic taste that emerged as a result of capitalism, industrialisation, and urbanisation, and then squeezed between monarchy and democracy during the transition period. Featuring as a multidisciplinary concept, the term kitsch basically refers to the commercial production of a work of art with no concern for aesthetics.

Kitsch lends itself to a wide range of artistic productions including painting, music, and architecture, along with the artistic aspect of motion pictures. Having been prevalent in all the periods of film making industry, this movement has experienced an upward trend in Turkish films specifically following the year 2000. Incidentally, the universal issues of that period such as globalisation, economic crises, popular cultures, and consumption patterns were all reflected as the most common scenarios of the “Kitsch Films” of that period.

The recent intense interest arousing in the production of Turkish Kitsch Films has brought about the need for an exhaustive examination. Using a critical approach, the present study aims to focus on the Turkish film called Recep İvedik 1, which was later turned to a series of films.

Keywords: Kitsch, kitsch films, Turkish cinema.