This article was automatically translated from the original Turkish version.
Because there is something we must see.
Labirent (Created with artificial intelligence)
When a traumatic event occurs, we pause and remain there for a reasonable amount of time. Because there is something we must see. Life does not flow on as if nothing had happened. We linger precisely where we saw it, to create time to reflect on why it occurred that way. Through discussing the event, we generate cumulative knowledge as a humanity and develop solutions; moreover, only through this pause can the collective or potential energy needed for action emerge. It is both reasonable and expected that this traumatic atmosphere remains undisturbed for a tolerable duration.
Change begins when whatever has occurred is removed from its ordinary flow and recognized as a problem. We attempt to identify what the problem is, investigate its sources, speak with one another, write articles, make films, conduct interviews, consult experts, and construct ideas. It is this chain of actions that transforms the political and social climate. As we remain within this climate, we do not lose focus; instead, by concentrating on it, we amplify it, bring it under scrutiny, and explore it more deeply.
We must generate this social potential energy through our own internal dynamics so that it can later be transformed into the kinetic, movement, or action energy required for change. Naturally, the severity of the damage caused by the event is the most decisive criterion for determining the length of this pause and the degree of focus needed for change.
Everything begins with the ball being thrown into the air.
Therefore, if every text aims to take something from one place and deliver it to another, to move an individual from point A to point B — and if we generously accept the common justification that “art is for art’s sake” as a way of freeing ourselves from this responsibility — yet if we now wish to leave behind a meaningful statement for society, I would choose the following phrase.
We must move away from the perspective that defines anomalies as exceptions, for such a view distracts us from our focus. Instead, we must proceed by acknowledging the existence of a societal unraveling. This is a primary condition for prioritizing the need for action.
To solve this problem, we must roll up our sleeves, reach under the stone, and do better.
This is a manifesto!
