Emre Erdoğdu's 2021 film, Beni Sevenler Listesi tells the story of a drug dealer named Yılmaz. Set on the streets of Cihangir, the black-and-white film depicts the drug culture from the point of view of a dealer. Yılmaz's inner conflicts and how his relationships with people are affected by his life choices are shown.

The characters in the movie are Yılmaz, his friends and other drug dealers in Cihangir. In the movie, Yılmaz's struggle to find drugs and the events that happen to him for this reason are described in detail. It focuses on the character's desire to gain a place in society and to be liked. Together with the character, the audience is shown how being a drug dealer works from the beginning to the end, his place in society and his relations with others.

Yılmaz's View of Himself

From the very beginning of the film, Yılmaz's style and the way he carries himself tells the audience about his character and his view of his profession. Yılmaz has high self-confidence; this is shown in the way he talks to people, the people he hangs out with and the way he dresses. He usually hangs out with celebrities and has fun with them, he even considers them as his friends even though he is their dealer. His style is always at the forefront and shows the audience the character's view of himself. The jacket he always wears has the words "Forever or Never" written on the back, and there are scenes where it is emphasized with close camera shots. This jacket is used as a status symbol, it is this jacket that always stands behind him and distinguishes his style from other stereotypical drug dealers. In moments of humiliation this jacket loses its air, it is still on his back even when he is caught in the last scene.

The scenes in which he clashes with other characters are shown to the audience through his interaction with other dealers. When his new boss sends young people to train him, his attitude towards them shows that he considers himself superior to other drug dealers and believes that they cannot do what he does.

With this line, the audience is given his perspective on other drug dealers and the way he speaks. It is clear that he considers himself superior to people who do the same job as him, but as the movie reveals, he is actually a part of them. The scenes where this is clear are the interactions of the character when he goes to Izmir. The drug dealers he meets in Izmir humiliate him, calling him just a dealer and showing him that in their eyes he is no different from the people Yılmaz makes fun of. Claiming that celebrities would not buy from a lowly dealer like him, they humiliated him by treating him just as he did to the drug dealers Yılmaz was supposed to train.

With the sentence Yılmaz says when he is caught, it is explained how he wants to be known in the society even while he is in prison and how he wants people to have a high view of him. Again, it is clear that he is trying to differentiate himself from the other drug dealers and to be included in a higher class, and contrary to what he heard in Izmir, he wanted to close the last scene with a high image.

"They are my friends."

At the beginning of the movie, Yılmaz is always seen going from one place to another, he is never alone, he is a character that everyone calls from one place to another and when he arrives, he is always shown affection. The main character, who is never alone, realizes that fewer and fewer people need him as the film progresses. Towards the end he has no one left, even his closest friends are no longer able to greet him on the street and no one needs him anymore. The point is made that selling drugs has given him a place in society and that this is the only way people value him. This is why he needs to be a drug dealer, because the people he sells to, have become customers instead of friends and as soon as he leaves them without their goods, he is ostracized and considered unnecessary.

The common aspects of being human are emphasized along with people's desire to be loved and belong somewhere. It is emphasized that Yılmaz, who is from a segment of society that society does not see as human, actually just wants to be included in society like the others and spend time with his friends.

Throughout the movie, it is made clear to the audience that Yılmaz and his friends are actually in a relationship of interest. Even though Yılmaz calls them his friends, no one calls him or wants to hang out with him when he cannot sell drugs. He has no one to listen to his problems, no one to befriend, and the level he will go to in order to have his friends back is shown in his journey to Izmir. In the scenes in Izmir, attention is drawn to the stress he feels and his pathetic appearance, both through the shooting style and the expression of his feelings. No matter how scared the character is, he is only willing to do this to win back his friends. Because he just wants to be loved and wanted like everyone else.

With this line, which both starts and ends the movie, the main character tells the story of how he became a drug dealer. In fact, he became a drug dealer step by step by giving it to his friends without realizing it. This group, who were his friends at first, now found it his duty to bring him drugs and stopped talking to him when he wasn't selling.

In some parts of the movie, it can be seen that he shows his friend the movies he has made. Although it is mentioned that his real passion is producing, he still sells drugs and his perspective on his work is one of necessity. The fact that the course of his life changes so easily and he finds himself in the middle of horrible events shows that these events can happen to anyone and that Yılmaz is not innately different, it is just that life has brought him to this point.

Drug Culture

The film draws attention to the intensity and normalization of drug use in the industry, as well as the existence of a drug culture.

The fact that this line is repeatedly said to Yılmaz explains the existence of the appearance of a drug dealer and the stereotypes that come with it. The efforts of the character, who is shown as a drug dealer still aiming to create an identity and gain a place in society, inevitably make the audience sympathize with him and sometimes even pity him. Yılmaz, who is sympathetic to drug dealer characters who are usually typecast as villains in other films and TV series, is a representation that leaves stereotypes behind. draws attention to the existence of a drug culture.

In conclusion, the film Beni Sevenler Listesi (The List of Those Who Love Me) tells the story of a drug dealer from the moment he starts dealing until he is caught. Throughout the movie, the events that the main character Yılmaz goes through, the characters he meets and the problems he experiences within himself, as well as the consequences of his profession and society's view of him, are shown. The change in his self-confidence and his perspective on his profession throughout the movie is shown through his relationships with his friends and the places he goes to in an effort to find drugs.