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Mothers, daughters and real women on Turkish TV
EMRAH GÜLER
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News
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.
Ebru Özkan (above R) and Feride Çetin, stars of ‘Anneler ile Kızları’ (below) show many TV dimensions of being a woman in their recent series
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.
Turkish TV series have taken over for Brazilian soaps, portraying juxtaposed, glamorous lives in big mansions, as well as the feudal oppression of rural lives. They feature dangerous love stories and power games with all the classic archetypes of a soap opera.
Most soap opera characters entail a non-portrayal of women’s journeys to empowerment and equality and instead support the good old stereotypes that deem women as either victims or vixens.
There are the occasionally strong and relatable characters that serve as realistic role models. But they are the exception. One new series, however, provides a refreshing portrayal of real women characters with real struggles and encourages solidarity among women as opposed to their backstabbing one another.
Different lives,
shared destiny
“Anneler ile Kızları” (Mothers and Daughters), in its second month now, highlights two women with the tag line “They led different lives, but shared the same destiny.” The two women, at first, might seem a repetition of the western urban woman and the rural Anatolian woman characters seen in any other TV series.
But from the first few minutes of the series you know that they are not tired, old cardboard characters, nor victims who accept what comes to them. Ebru Özkan plays Defne, an educated, urban woman, and Feride Çetin plays uneducated, traditional Gülizar from Malatya.
Coming from a tough childhood with trying family problems, Defne managed to stand on her own feet, completing her education and creating a loving family of her own with a husband and a daughter. Gülizar, on the other hand, is in a marriage arranged by her family. Doing her best to love her husband, she cherishes her two children following three miscarriages.
Both women live as differently as can be but share the same fears and struggles. Defne is perhaps luckier in dealing with her problems and Gülizar’s life is more suffocating, offering her no solutions in a world where oppression is the norm.
The lives of these two women at some point intersect, thanks mostly to the problems they share, problems arising from just being a woman. While the oppression in Gülizar’s life is more pronounced, Defne faces another set of problems exclusive to educated, urban women.
‘It’s always difficult to be a woman’
The two actresses recently played characters similar to the ones in “Anneler ile Kızları,” but only on the surface. In “Aşk ve Ceza” (Love and Punishment), Çetin was a woman trying to survive in the feudal east where honor killings were an accepted control mechanism for familial and sexual relations. Özkan was an urban, educated, strong female character of the 1950s in “Hanımın Çiftliği.” Çetin’s character was ready to accept her destiny and take whatever came along, while Özkan’s character allowed no room for compassion or display of her weaknesses to stay strong.
In “Anneler ile Kızları,” these women are willing to show many dimensions of being a woman. They are willing to show compassion, love and the protection they haven’t seen from their parents. It is no coincidence that the series is written by two women, Leyla Karaloğlu and Seval Bozkurt, and directed by a man, Hakan Arslan, who had previous experience with a series that attempted to create fully-rounded women with their weaknesses and strengths – “Küçük Kadınlar” (Little Women).
While the two characters play on the real struggles of being a woman in Turkey, off-screen the two actresses make sure they do not sensationalize the stories of these women and instead direct attention to problems of being a woman and a need for solidarity among women.
For instance, Özkan said in one interview, “For a woman to be able to stand on her feet in this country there needs to be political resistance. If women support one another, they will be stronger in fighting against the system.” Çetin’s words were headed in the same direction: “Whatever your socio-economic status is, it’s always difficult to be a woman.”
Among a plethora of Turkish TV series with women not taking action in shaping their own destinies, women reduced to victims or vixens, rape scenes incorporated into every other series to boost ratings, and women becoming the worst enemies of women, “Anneler ile Kızları” is a fresh breath of air.
One hopes it will manage to continue attracting enough viewers to stay on air
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... well, it depends on his wife´s tolerance ..If she [his wife] is ok with that then its ok..