Turks and Greeks come together, even if on TV screens

The unprecedented popularity of the Turkish TV series ‘Yabancı Damat’ (Foreign Groom), featuring an intercultural love affair between a Greek man and a Turkish woman, seems to have opened the way for more intercultural stories on TV

“Greeks learn Turkish by watching TV series,” was the headline of a recent article in Hürriyet Daily News, alluding to the increasing popularity of Turkish series in Greece in the recent years. Muhteşem Yüzyıl (Magnificent Century), the historical drama about the court of Süleyman the Magnificent that is broadcast with the title The Magnificent Suleiman in Greece, and “Sıla” have been the most popular series in Greece this fall.

Another indication of the popularity of Turkish series in the neighboring country are the dozens of Facebook pages and groups with names like Greek fans of Turkish series or Turkish series on Greek TV, with pictures of Turkish heartthrobs like Kenan İmirzalıoğlu and Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ splashed over the pages. But perhaps the extent of the popularity of Turkish series can best be seen in some of the backlash in Greece. Thessaloniki Metropolitan Bishop Anthimos recently warned his followers, saying “No one should watch Muhteşem Yüzyıl,” the metropolitan said, according to daily Hürriyet. “By watching Turkish series, we tell them that we have surrendered.”

Similarly, Greek TV actress Nikoleta Karra sent an angry Twitter message last month to Greek channels for broadcasting Turkish series instead of Greek Cypriot ones. The popularity of Sıla was the object of Karra’s outrage. “’Sıla’ in the morning, ‘Sıla’ in the afternoon. ‘Sıla’ 24 hours a day. Enough! We’ve made so many shows in Greek Cyprus. Why won’t Greek channels air Greek Cypriot shows?” read her Twitter message.

While there may be some animosity against the ubiquity of Turkish series in Greece from a few nationalistic voices, the popularity is not fleeting given the similarity of two cultures. In fact, TV producers in Turkey seem to be well-aware of the fact that including Greek culture and some Greek characters into their shows might be a way to delver further into the Greek market.

Click here for full article (Hürriyet Daily News)

Pop culture in Turkey pushes the nation's buttons once again

Pop culture continues to bring out the nation's sensitivities, or, more likely, insecurities. Controversy is sparked by a TV series showing Sultan Süleyman courting women in the harem rather than conquering the known world, and by a comic book showing a young Atatürk beaten by his superior in the military. Both are accused of tarnishing Turkey's history. But when it comes to the ultra-nationalistic, ultra-violent movie 'Valley of the Wolves: Palestine,' there's no reaction

Turkey is the best country in the world, Turkish history is solely an epic collection of glorious victories and Turks are the greatest people to have ever graced the earth. If these are the messages in your film, TV show or comic book, you are good to go.

But if, by any chance, that same work is seen as tarnishing the image or history of Turkey, you are likely to find an army of sensitive citizens, fanatic ideologues and statesmen (and stateswomen) more than happy to lynch you.

Pop culture tested the limits of national sensitivities in January, with a TV series, a film and a comic book roiling the waters of a nation insecure, intolerant and, at times, paranoid about its identity and how it is perceived by others.

Click here for full article (Hürriyet Daily News)

Kanuni, JFK ve kıçı açık ergenler

İnanılmaz fazla bir alana yayılan muhafazakarlık, tadında paranoya ve korku kültürü olmasa, TV’nin nasıl sınırları zorlayan bir skandal yuvası olduğunu da öğrenemeyeceğiz. Koca koca adamlar Kanuni pilates yapar mıydı, haremde kadınlar sütyen giyer miydi diye engin yorumlarını paylaşmak için o kanaldan bu kanala koştururlarken, yerli dizilerle pek fazla ilgisi olmayanların da aklına kurt düşürüverdiler. Neyin nesi bu dizi diye merak edenlerden birisi olarak, umarım izlediğim yarım bölümle Muhteşem Yüzyıl dizisine birazcık da olsa reyting kazandırmışımdır.

Durum yalnızca bizim muhteşem ülkemizde diye düşünenler biraz rahatlayabilir. Muhafazakarlık ve paranoya konusunda Amerika’nın da bizden pek bir farkı yok. Katie Holmes’un Jackie Kennedy’yi, Greg Kinnear’ın da çapkın kocasını canlandırdığı, bu ay gösterilmesi planlanan The Kennedys dizisi, daha başlamadan yayından kaldırıldı. “Tarihsel hatalarla” dolu olduğu ve”‘bu büyük aileyi rahatsız edici bir bakış açısıyla” anlattığı iddia edilen mini dizi, üç haftadır yayınlanacak kanal bulamıyor. Tabii işin içinde, Amerika’nın en güçlü ailesi olunca seyirciyle buluşması biraz zor gözüküyor.

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