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.

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Islamist salvation makes way to prime time with TV series

The popularity of the new TV series, ‘Huzur Sokağı (Serenity Street), adapted from a ‘salvation novel,’ is reviving a four-decade old Islamist narrative in Turkey’s pop culture: salvation stories

Tune in to Turkish TV channel ATV’s popular new series, Huzur Sokağı (Serenity Street), to get a taste of how the never-ending debate over the public presence of Islam is reflected in pop culture. Read some of the comments made about the series by prominent columnists and writers, and you’ll get a feel of how the debate has evolved (and continues to evolve) in the last four decades.

Huzur Sokağı is an adaptation from Şule Yüksel Şenler’s bestselling novel of the same name, published first in 1970 and has been reprinted more than 100 times since then. The novel is one of the most popular examples of the “hidayet romanları,” or the salvation novels, that brought a new impact onto the literary scene in the 1980s.

The common theme of the salvation novel was a journey from the debauched ways of a secular/Western life style to salvation through the acceptance of Islam. As in many of the salvation novels, Huzur Sokağı features a young man idealized by his display of Islamic values, a perfect specimen of the hard-working, honest and loving family member.

Click here for full article (Hürriyet Daily News)

Orhan Kemal’s works still in demand decades later

Orhan Kemal was a modernist pioneer of the Turkish novel whose works continue to be relevant more than half a century on. Producers cannot seem to get enough of his works, with two new adaptations

The frustrations of the working class, the changing face of feudal Turkey, the crippling effects of patriarchy over women and men, the ever-fascinating appeal of untamed chemistry between the sexes. All of these themes are the go-to material for TV producers trying to create the next best TV series in a period where dozens of new shows replace dozens of others.

All of these themes are at the core of Orhan Kemal’s novels and stories. Kemal is one of the greatest of Turkish writers and a modernist pioneer of the Turkish novel. His realist novels on class differences and the poor in Turkey left their mark on a period spanning two decades after the early 1950s, now called the Golden period in Turkish literature.

Meeting another great literary name, the “romantic revolutionary” Nazım Hikmet, in prison in the early 1940s had a profound effect on Kemal’s literary direction and social politics. He began writing poetry and stories, eventually trying his craft in novels and plays.

Kemal was one of the first authors to write about the working class, the alienation of immigrants in big cities, mass urbanization and the changing social structure of Turkey after World War II. He shed a realist light and took a brutal look at poor people living in dignity. Kemal’s stories, novels and plays also lent a voice to working-class women for perhaps the first time in modern Turkish literature.

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Mothers, daughters and real women on Turkish TV

The boom in Turkish TV series might have created a whole new economy, but they continue to rely on the cardboard female characters of the soap opera tradition, victims or vixens.

Turkey’s growing economy and its newfound role as a political powerhouse in near regions might be up for dispute, but it sure is moving headstrong in becoming a global superpower in one area: the popularity of its TV series.

The boom in TV series in Turkey the last couple of years has definitely gone out of control. It is almost impossible to find a TV channel not running a series when you sit down with the remote control, save for football. The productions are becoming bigger by the day with their cast ensemble, flashy costumes and set decorations, as well as safe scripts that border on soap opera-like.

The popularity of nearly 100 TV series has crossed borders to the Middle East, the Balkans, the Caucasus and some other Arab countries. Old and new favorites like Yaprak Dökümü (Fallen Leaves), Bir Istanbul Masalı (An Istanbul Tale), Gümüş (Silver) and Kurtlar Vadisi (Valley of the Wolves) have found their way into primetime TV in such countries like Iraq, Iran, Bulgaria, Greece, Russia and Kazakhstan.

Click here for full article (Hürriyet Daily News)