De-constructing monoculturalism on the German screen: A critical cultural reading of On the Other Side

This article provides a critical cultural analysis of Fatih Akin’s On the Other Side; a celebrated European drama and a multiple award winner, as a case study depicting contemporary German Turkish intercultural dynamics. It focuses on the politics of intersectional representation of Turks and examines implications of strategic cinematographic othering in today’s Germany, marked by growing Islamophobia. Building upon Chancellor Merkel’s 2010 statement about the death of German multiculturalism, as well as her 2015 statement about multiculturalism being a ‘White Lie’, this article introduces a concept of Monoculturalism and explores its on-screen manifestations and cultural implications for the contemporary Europe.