Symposium hosts humor masters

ANTALYA - Anatolia News Agency

Turkish Humor Summit discusses the contribution of the critical mind to humor. DHA photo

A symposium titled “Turkish Humor Summit” was held Oct. 11 as part of the 49th Golden Orange Film Festival, which is ongoing in the southern province of Antalya. The title of this year’s festival is “Humor, Opposition and Democracy.”

The purpose of the symposium was to discuss the contribution of the critical mind to humor, Akdeniz University communications department faculty member Professor Merih Taşkaya said in his opening remarks.

Even the simplest humor has opposition, Dr. Şenol Bezci said, adding that humor intervenes in reality and the perception of reality.

“Humor had its heyday in the 20th century. I think its future is not bright,” said cartoonist and writer Cihan Demirci, speaking on the historical development of humor. Humor gained value thanks to the power of the cartoon, which now faces the danger of extinction, Demirci said. There are not enough humor writers in Turkey, and the number of cartoonists is also decreasing, Demirci said, adding that cartoonists have faced a number of lawsuits in recent years.

“Humor is about relationship and art. It is really hard to understand humor if the mind and logic are not understood,” Demirci said. Universities should take care of cartoonists and artists, he said.

“If a society moves away from humor, it may have more violence and less tolerance,” Demirci said, adding that some of Turkey’s cartoon magazines are published without any financial support. “This is a sign of idealism.”