Turkish Soap Power: International Perspectives and Domestic Paradoxes

by Mathieu Rousselin, University of St.Gallen

etween 2005 and 2007, the Turkish melo- prompting the producers to convert the fic- Bdrama Gümüş (“Silver”) was aired on tional home of the two lovers into a successful Kanal D. A typical TV soap opera in many re- museum which registered more than 70’000 gards, Gümüş essentially features a love story entries in 2008 just for Saudi visitors (Tristam, between the pretty dark-haired (and naturally 2009). large-bosomed) Noor, played by Songül Öden, After the success of Gümüş / Noor, Turk- and her equally attractive blue-eyed and fair- ish soap operas swept across the Middle East, haired husband Mohannad (played by Kıvanç bringing revenues to the booming Turkish TV Tatlıtuğ). A perfect husband, Mohannad treats industry1 and starting off the first reflections his wife kindly and as his equal – he even sup- on the contribution of the television dramas to ports her actively in her professional career Turkey’s soft power in the region (Matthews, as a fashion designer. The plot nonetheless 2011; Utkan, 2011). Indeed, soap operas not introduced very unconventional elements to only give precious insights into domestic Turk- an Islamic audience, such as premarital sex, ish politics (Hintz, 2012) but they also tackle repeated use of alcohol or abortion. Actresses deep philosophical, political and religious is- do not wear any veil and kisses are often ex- sues which are currently debated throughout changed on screen. the Middle East (Rohde, 2012a). This contrib- Given the enthusiastic reception of the utes to the success of these television dramas series by the Turkish audience, a handful of abroad and particularly in the Arab world, producers working for the Saudi-owned and transforming the Turkish television industry Dubai-based Middle East Broadcasting Center into a powerful soft power instrument. (MBC, the Arab world’s leading free-to-air TV This article offers to review three success- net) decided to air the series throughout the ful Turkish soaps and to investigate the rea- Arab world in 2008 and 2009. Renamed Noor sons behind their success both in Turkey and (the Arabic word for “light”), the series was internationally. On this basis, this article will dubbed from Turkish into Arabic using the then discuss the paradox between the liberal colloquial Syrian dialect but without interfer- approach to societal and religious issues in ing with the plot. This was to be the begin- the soaps and the increasingly restrictive line ning of a controversial pop-culture phenom- of the AKP government on issues of cultural enon (Buccianti, 2010). On the one hand, the freedoms. series was criticised by conservative religious forces for its immorality, to the point that a Saudi religious scholar justified the killing of people involved in the broadcasting of the show (Al-Jazeera, 2008). On the other hand, it 1 Between 2001 and 2011, a total of 65 is estimated that the last episode of Gümüş / Turkish television series have been sold abroad, Noor gathered 85 million viewers throughout generating revenues of more than 50 million dollars the Arab world including more than half the (Bugdayci, 2011). As of 2012, Turkey has sold 70 soap operas to a total of 39 countries in the Middle total number of adult women in the entire re- East, Balkans and Caucasus regions. Kazakhstan gion (Worth, 2008). Arab tourists flocked to (42) is the biggest buyer of Turkish soaps, followed Istanbul (where the storyline in Noor unfolds), by Bulgaria (27), Azerbaijan (23) and Macedonia (17) – source: Oxford Business Group, 2012.

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A Thousand and One Nights ing Sejn Husejnefendic from the University of Sarajevo, Radic also explains the success of Broadcasted on Turkish television be- the drama by the extent to which Binbir Gece tween 2006 and 2009, Binbir Gece (“A Thou- broke “the decades-long stereotypes about Turkey sand and One Nights”) tells the story of a as a country of Islamic orientation, and the posi- young and talented architect called Şehrazat tion of a woman as uneducated, conservative and Evliyaoğlu2 whose only son suffers from leu- completely dependent from the male partner/com- kaemia and can only be saved by a bone mar- panion/master”. row transplant. The surgery is however too expensive for Şehrazat. Having understood Forbidden Love her desperate situation, Şehrazat’s boss Onur Aksal offers to lend her a significant part of the Aşk-ı Memnu (“Forbidden Love”) was needed amount provided that she spends one aired between 2008 and 2010 and is a modern- night with him. Over time, their relationship day adaptation of the bestseller by Turkish turns into a genuine love affair and eventually author Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil (1867-1945). The ends with Onur and Şehrazat getting married, drama follows the wealthy widower Adnan despite the initial reluctance of Onur’s mother. (Selcuk Yöntem), who lives cloistered in a In the third season, Onur’s colleague Kerem beautiful house on the shores of the Bospo- İnceoğlu learns about the indecent proposal rus with his two children Nihal und Bülent, and publically reveals that Şehrazat accepted his nephew Behlül (Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ) and a money in exchange for a night with her then housemaid. A few blocks away lives the wid- boss. At first, this causes the separation of the ow Firdevs, mother of two daughters Peyker couple and forces both Onur and Şehrazat to und Bihter (Beren Saat), who inherited large rethink the terms and meaning of their rela- debts from her deceased husband and seeks to tionship. Both protagonists find out for them- seduce Adnan to keep her standard of living. selves that their love is genuine and stronger When Peyker gets married, Adnan comes out than the gossip, and their marriage is eventu- of his retreat and meets the beautiful Bihter. ally reinforced by the crisis. Both characters fall in love but Bihter’s mother The series was successfully aired through- Firdevs and Adnan’s daughter Nihal strongly out the Arab world and the Balkans, and it oppose their union. Bihter and Adnan’s love achieved a cult status in Slovakia, Croatia and eventually overcomes all plots and the cou- Serbia (Balkan Chronicle, 2010). To account ple gets married, with all protagonists mov- for the success of Binbir Gece beyond Turkish ing into Adnan’s villa. Yet, Adnan’s nephew borders and particularly in non-Muslim Bal- Behlül progressively becomes romantically in- kan countries, Radic (2010) suggests that con- volved with Bihter and endangers her couple. siderations of cultural proximity intervened in Bihter’s mother Firdevs manages to bring Ni- viewers’ decisions to watch the Turkish soap hal and Behlül together to save the marriage of rather than some of its US competitors. Quot- her daughter. On the day Nihal and Behlül are supposed to get married, Bihter wants to tell 2 The name recalls the legendary Persian queen Scheherazade, the vizier’s daughter who her husband Adnan about her extra-marital entertains King Shahryar in the collection of folk affair. Behlül convinces her not to do so and tales of the Islamic Golden Age.

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both spend their last moments together, when Magnificent Century they are discovered by Adnan. Ashamed, Bi- hter kills herself while Behlül flees, prompting Muhteşem Yüzyıl (“Magnificent Century”) all protagonists to leave the house and start a is a historical soap opera based on the life of new life elsewhere. the tenth Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, The reasons for the success of Aşk-ı Mem- who reigned on the Ottoman Empire from nu are multiple. First, it is a tale of lust, lies and 1520 to his death in 1566. While much of the riches in the high society of Istanbul which is series depicts Suleiman’s accession and exer- typically portrayed by young and handsome cise of power, from daily politics to the prepa- actors wearing expensive clothing and living ration of bloody military campaigns against in unaffordable houses, much in the way other Christian Europe, the series heavily focuses American soaps did in their time (Dallas, Dy- on the intrigue and rivalries within Suleiman’s nasty, The Young and the Restless). But Forbid- harem, in particular between Mahidevran den Love presented a few innovative features (mother to Suleiman’s first born child) and for a Turkish audience: a careful depiction of Hürrem / Roxelana, daughter of a Ukrainian class division and a script which did include Orthodox priest, kidnapped by raiders in some fairly explicit sexual scenes – a rare fea- Crimea and sent to be a palace slave. After ture not only in Turkish soaps but in soaps in converting to Islam, Roxelana was eventually general. As a result of its liberal portrayal of freed and became the Sultan’s lawful wife, sexuality, Forbidden Love drew the sharp criti- bearing him five children and allegedly advis- cism of Family and Women’s Affairs Minister ing Suleiman on matters of state, in particular Selma Aliye Kavaf from the AKP party (Dişli with regard to the Ottoman Empire’s foreign Zibak, 2010). Another sign of the AKP’s dis- relations with European countries (such as the approval of the series can be found in the Polish state). Turkish Higher Board of Radio and Televi- Due the centrality of the historical figure sion’s (RTÜK) decision to fine the broadcast- of Suleiman in Turkish identity discourses ing channel (Kanal D) twice, on the grounds (Henne, 2012), Magnificent Century was prob- that the show was threatening Turkish family ably bound to be a divisive issue for contem- values3. In the same vein, the RTÜK recently porary political forces in Turkey. In a general exerted pressure on the producers of another context of “ottomania” (Tokyay, 2011), the television series (1 Erkek 1 Kadın – “One Man, portrayal of the political weight of women via One Woman”), on the grounds that their two the harem on the affairs of the Ottoman Em- lead (unmarried) characters ought to get mar- pire seems to have particularly upset conser- ried in the interest of promoting greater mo- vative forces within the AKP party (Fawler, rality (Hürriyet Daily News, 2012b). 2011b). Despite the series’ excellent ratings in Turkey and abroad, the portrayal of the Sul- tan as a womaniser, alcohol-drinker hedonist apparently offended over 70’000 viewers, who complained to the RTÜK – the latter eventu- ally demanding an apology from the broad- 3 The report, only available in Turkish, is mentioned by Tunç (2010) and in Hürriyet Daily casting channel for “wrongly exposing the News (2013).

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privacy of a historical person” (Fawler, 2011a). cess of Turkish television series in the Middle- Erdoğan himself denounced Magnificent Cen- East and in the Balkans is the fact that Turk- tury as “an attempt to insult our past, to treat our ish plots are culturally appealing to audiences history with disrespect and an effort to show our which have a share in the Ottoman/Muslim history in a negative light to the younger genera- history as well as to audiences which can iden- tions” (quoted in Rohde, 2012b). He later pub- tify with the Turkish way of life displayed in licly blamed the people involved in the dif- the series, while still being attracted by certain fusion of the television series: “That’s not the forms of modernity. As explained by Bah- Suleiman we know. Before my nation, I condemn rain’s Culture Minister Mai bint Mohammed both the director of this series and the owner of the Al Khalifa in an interview: television station. We have already alerted the au- thorities, and we are awaiting a judicial decision.” « [Contemporary Turkish] series present (quoted in Zalewski, 2012) In an obvious at- an image of stability wherein contemporary tempt to distance himself from Erdoğan and practices and Western lifestyles can co-exist to consolidate his stature as a potential suc- with Islamic and Arab identities and culture. cessor, Turkish President Abdullah Gül then The image both types of series reflect of Turkey is welcomed the contribution of Magnificent of an open and engaging culture, which seems to Century to the spread of Turkish culture and have found some balance between the different values (Dombey, 2012). traditions and practices of today’s world and Yet, in stark contrast with the stir caused which has both an Eastern and Western ap- in Turkey, it is estimated that Magnificent Cen- peal. This is very attractive to Bahraini and Arab tury attracted around 150 million viewers in audiences and presents us with an interesting cul- the Middle East, the Balkans and the Turkic tural dialogue and scope for exchange between Ar- republics (Altintaş, 2012). To take an example, abs and Turks today. » (Yinanç, 2012 – emphasis the series has been particularly successful in by the authors) Greece, with 1.2 million viewers per episode, prompting analysts to talk about “soap opera Sina Koloğlu, leading critic for the news- diplomacy”4 (Moore, 2013). paper Milliyet, offers an interesting though po- lemic variation on the same issue, pointing as The Turkish formula: culture, costs well to economic and technical considerations and courage such as the production costs of Turkish series and the learning curve of the Turkish televi- The first obvious reason behind the suc- sion industry:

4 As a matter of fact, the Greek interest in « U.S. cultural imperialism is finished. Years Turkish soap predates the Magnificent Century and ago we took reruns of ‘Dallas’ and ‘The Young and goes back to 2005, when the television series Ya- the Restless.’ Now Turkish screenwriters have banci Dama (“The Foreign Groom”) was first aired learned to adapt these shows to local themes in Greece under the title “The Borders of Love”. with Muslim storylines, Turkish production Subtitled but not dubbed, “The Borders of Love” values have improved, and Asians and Eastern Eu- was a love story between the poor son of Turkish baklava-makers and the rich daughter of a Greek ropeans are buying Turkish series, not American ship tycoon. or Brazilian or Mexican ones. They get the same

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cheating and the children out of wedlock and the lines will be much needed in the years to come incestuous affairs but with a Turkish sauce on to help us understand the effective contribu- top. » (quoted in Kimmelman, 2010 – empha- tion of the Turkish television industry on the sis by the authors) evolution of gender relationships within Arab societies. Nevertheless, the mere introduction of Muslim/Turkish cultural features at cheap Concluding remarks: the paradox of production costs is not sufficient to guarantee soap power Turkey success – and does not do justice to the creative audacity of Turkish screenwriters. Indeed, The booming Turkish television industry Turkish soaps routinely tackle in a very frontal is at the heart of an interesting paradox. manner hotly-debated cultural themes and re- On the one hand, Turkish series are ligious taboos such as the daily emotional and hugely successful both domestically and in- sexual life of an unmarried couple (“One Man, ternationally, representing a major economic One Woman”); extra-marital affairs, complex / trade interest, with important repercussions sexuality (“Forbidden Love”); non-standard for tourism. Surveys on the international im- family models and moral dilemmas (“A Thou- age of Turkey have highlighted the decisive sand and One Nights”); alcohol consumption contribution of the Turkish television soap and privacy of major historical figures (“Mag- operas with 78% of Arab respondents report- nificent Century”); abortion (“Noor”); drink- ing watching at least one Turkish series dur- ing, swearing and smoking (“Behzat Ç” – see ing the year (Salem, 2011). The same survey Public Radio International, 2012). concluded that: Yet, the most salient recurring issue in Turkish soaps is certainly the emancipation of « The impact of watching hours of these Turk- women, who are overwhelmingly depicted as ish soap operas cannot be underestimated as they unveiled, witty, independent, sexually active, have the effect of creating attachment, un- emotionally complex individuals, blossoming derstanding, and affection for Turkish iden- in their professional life, sometimes actively tity, culture, and values among wide regional intervening in the murky business of politics publics. Like Egyptian TV and cinema created a and consistently demanding equal rights and prominent cultural place for Egypt in previous de- equal treatment to their husbands. It is in this cades, Turkish television has made similar inroads sense that Professor Aslı Tunç from the Istan- in Arab (and Iranian) popular culture. This has bul Bilgi University describes the plots of most been complemented by a wave of tourism to Turkish soaps as “progressive and liberating” Turkey in which Arabs and Iranians from various (Moore, 2013). Keeping in mind that the Arab classes and walks of life have visited Turkey and viewers of Turkish soaps are mostly women become familiar and attached to its towns and cit- (Worth, 2008; Moore, 2013), one may sincere- ies, history and monuments, culture and people. » ly wonder whether female viewers will long (Salem, 2011:6-7 – emphasis by the authors) accept the discrepancy between the equality they could glimpse at on prime-time and the The Turkish government even considers inferior status to which they are often subject- its television industry as an official instrument ed in real life. Additional research along these

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of foreign policy, as evidenced by the decision List of references to air the series free of charge internationally or by recent declarations of AKP Vice Culture Altintaş B., 2012. Turkey debates soap op- and Tourism Minister Abdurrahman Arıcı5 era that angered prime minister. Today’s Za- (Hürriyet Daily News, 2012a). man, 27 November. Yet on the other hand, the liberal approach The Balkan Chronicle, 2010. Turkish Soap to societal and religious issues, which is pre- Operas Take Balkans by Storm, 31 December. cisely the reason why millions of Turkish and Buccianti A., 2010. Dubbed Turkish soap Arab viewers eagerly watch these soaps, is operas conquering the Arab world: social lib- being increasingly contested domestically by eration or cultural alienation? Arab Media & fractions of the AKP. Accusations of immoral- Society 10, Spring. Available at: http://www. ism have flourished in political discourses and arabmediasociety.com/?article=735 the RTÜK has fined producers for underpin- Bugdayci C., 2011. The soft power of ning Turkish family values. It is in this sense Turkish television. Southeast European Times, that Rohde (2012b) talks of Turkish soaps as July 23. an illustration of the “culture war” within Is- Dişli Zibak F., 2010. Do TV series pose a lam. Although surely excessive, the expression threat to family values? Today’s Zaman, 21 Feb- “culture war” points to the real (and univer- ruary. sal) challenge of finding an acceptable articu- Dombey D., 2012. Erdogan, Gul and the lation between cultural liberties (in particular magnificent Sultan. The World – Financial the freedom of cultural expression) and public Times Blog, November 29. Available at: http:// order. blogs.ft.com/the-world/2012/11/erdogan-gul- Turkish screenwriters have succeeded in and-the-magnificent-sultan/(restricted access) extending the perimeters of cultural liberties Fawler S., 2011a. Magnificent Century di- by tackling increasingly sensitive issues – in vides Turkish TV viewers over the life of Su- so doing, they met opposition and provoked leiman. The Guardian | The Observer, March 20 teeth-grinding, but they were protected from Fawler S., 2011b. The Dirt, and the Soap, open censorship by the success of their series, on the Ottoman Empire. New York Times, 17 which they could invoke as a sign of societal March. endorsement. But borders are meant to be test- Gonzalez-Quijano Y., 2008. Passions ed and the industry is now moving into even turques: un truc de femmes. Culture et Politique more burning issues than sexuality and the Arabes, August. Available online at: http://cpa. Ottoman past – namely the treatment of the hypotheses.org/263 Kurdish minority6 (Krajeski, 2012). Henne P., 2012. Of Sultans and Soap Op- eras. Huffington Post, 30 November. 5 A. Arıcı declared that “With TV series we Hintz L., 2012. Reading Turkish Politics can enter every house and spread the influence of Turkish culture” (Hüriyet, 2012a). Interestingly, the Turkish State did not ban this 6 After the complaint filed by Selahattin highly political production, but demanded that the Demirtaş, chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peace series be in Turkish rather than in Kurdish. The use and Democracy Party, against four Turkish of the word “Kurd” is also prohibited, prompting soaps deemed anti-Kurdish, producers launched characters to resort to euphemistic expressions Ayrılık Olmasaydı, the first openly Kurdish soap. such as “Let’s just say she is from Diyarbakır”.

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