Turkish TV Series: Rising Out of Polarities

 

Ulaş Başar Gezgin, ulasbasar@gmail.com

 

 

Turkish TV series are a hit worldwide. While they were initially produced for domestic audiences, they have grabbed attention of international viewers (Reyaz, & Khan, 2023). Turkey stands as the top TV series exporter after U.S.A. (Aslan, 2020).

 

Turkish TV series function as soft power for Turkey through introducing Turkish language and culture for global audiences (Arbatli & Kurar, 2015; Aslan, 2019; Milovanović, 2023). Milovanović (2023), a Serbian researcher associates the rise of Turkish TV series with the ideology of neo-Ottomanism. According to Yavuz & Elcim (2020) and Aslan (2019), Turkish TV series are useful to counter negative stereotypes about Turkey and Turks. The series also contribute to Turkish tourism as the viewers are willing to visit the sites where the series were shot (Yavuz & Elcim, 2020). On the other hand, Turkish participants of a research study comparing Korean dramas and Turkish TV series state that Turkish TV series contain violence and exploitation. That is why they prefer Korean dramas (Ateşalp & Sejfula, 2022). According to some of the participant, the same story telling model underlies both series, but Turkish TV series don’t take risks: They cover similar topics over and over. For example, there is no fantastic Turkish TV series (Ateşalp & Sejfula, 2022).

 

While it appears that some of the international audiences think that Turkish historical series distort the history (Khan, & Pembecioğlu, 2019), some of the viewers state that Turkish TV series represent the conflicts between the East and the West, and modernity and tradition (Kaptan, 2013). In a study with Moroccan female Turkish TV viewers, Aydos (2018) found that these segment of viewers sometimes concluded that Turkish society is as traditional as Moroccan society and sometimes appears as a European one. Turkish culture is considered as a blend of Western and Eastern cultures. This segment dreams of more modern, romantic and egalitarian relations with men, inspired by Turkish TV series (Aydos, 2018). Converging with this, it is found that, for instance, Albanian women compare their conditions with the women in Turkish series, and this point contributes to the popularity of those series (Hyseni, 2022). Likewise, Erdem (2022) investigate the transformation of father representations in Turkish TV series and observe a general move from traditional fatherhood figure to democratic one.

 

In an Egyptian study, it is concluded

“(a) that from the perspectives of technical quality, acting, and plot, no better alternatives exist to replace Turkish soap operas; (b) that Egyptian audiences enjoy romantic narratives and pure, immaculate love stories that are well written and passionately acted; (c) that young people and women, in particular, want to experience Turkish-style modernism (combining capitalism and tradition), fashion, and beauty; and (d) that many Egyptians see Turkey as a success story of the Muslim world, from economic development to democratization, human rights, freedom of expression, and the simultaneous practice of Islam and tradition” (Anaz, 2014, p.255).

 

To conclude, international success of Turkish TV series can be attributed to various factors such as the pendulum between modernity and tradition, egalitarianism and hierarchy, the East and the West, males and females etc. Considering the global interest over narratives, we expect Turkish TV series to  continue to be popular worldwide resembling the historical fame of Brazilian series.

 

 

 

References

 

Anaz, N. (2014). The geography of reception: Why do Egyptians watch Turkish soap operas?. The Arab world geographer, 17(3), 255-274.

 

Arbatli, M. S., & Kurar, İ. (2015). Türk Dizilerinin Kazak-Türk Kültürel Etkileşimine ve Türkçenin Yaygınlaşmasına Etkisi. Electronic Turkish Studies, 10(2).

 

Aslan, P. (2020). Digital Fandom Overseas: How do Turkish Television Fans in Latin America do it All?. In Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Media Fandom (pp. 118-131). IGI Global.

 

Aslan, P. (2019). International Communication within the Context of Popular Culture: A Study on the Success Turkish Television Series Have Had in Latin America. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences, 2019(57), 25.

 

Ateşalp, S. T., & Sejfula, M. (2022). K-Dramas, And a Study on K-Drama Audience in Turkey. Yeni Yüzyıl’da, 17.

 

Aydos, S. (2018). The Effects of Turkish Tv Series in Morocco in the Context Of Modernity and Tradition: A Study on Female Audiances. Uluslararası Medeniyet Çalışmaları Dergisi, 3(2), 172-190.

 

Erdem, A. T. (2022). Türk Dizilerindeki Baba Lider İmajı: Bir Göstergebilim Analizi.

 

Hyseni, S. (2022). The effect of Turkish tv series on kosovar audience: A case study on the reception of albanian women= Türk dizilerinin Kosavalı izleyiciler üzerindeki etkisi: Arnavut kadınların alımlaması üzerine bir çalışma.

 

Kaptan, Y. (2013). Proximity or Difference: The Representation of Turkish Melodramas in the Middle East and Balkans. Global Media Journal: Mediterranean Edition, 8(2).

 

Khan, M., & Pembecioğlu, N. (2019). International Audience’s Perception about the Turkish TV Serial “The Magnificent Century” In the Context of Portrayal of History and Women. Global Media Journal TR Edition, 10(19), 216-246.

 

Milovanović, A. (2023). Televizyon Diziler–Genre and Reception of Turkish Series. ЗБОРНИК РАДОВА.

 

Reyaz, M., & Khan, Z. (2023). Neo-Ottoman Turk-Scape: Analyzing the Role of Dizis as Türkiye’s Soft Power. Contemporary Review of the Middle East, 10(3), 287-303.

 

Yavuz, T., & Elcim, Ş. D. (2020). Turkey’s Soft Power and Public Diplomacy: The Case of Serbia Between 2002-2019. Nitel Sosyal Bilimler.