septembre 2010 – « Devam edecek… »

“Turkish Television Dramas Breaking Taboos While Conveying Conservative Messages ” – Eurasianet.com

“Homosexuality and sexual violence on prime time Turkish television: there is a lot of shocking stuff being broadcast in Turkey these days. And Turkish conservatives are horrified.

On September 16, about one-third of all Turkish television viewers tuned in to watch one of the country’s most popular young actresses being gang-raped in the first episode of a new drama series. A couple of days later, a television channel bought recently by a businessman close to the former Islamist government televised the first ever Turkish-made soap opera to show two men in bed together, naked.

Such scenes have caused outrage among traditionalists belonging to all shades of the political spectrum. (…)”

Source : Eurasianet.com

Julien Paris

“Two TV series warned over sexual scenes” – Today’s Zaman

“The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) issued warnings to two TV series because of sexual scenes yesterday.

The RTÜK’s warnings were for the series “Fatmagül’ün Suçu Ne?” (What is Fatmagül’s Offense?) and “Kılıç Günü” (Sword Day), the first episodes of which were broadcast by TV channels Kanal D and ATV last week. Complaints rained down on the RTÜK due to the rape scenes in both series. Out of the 4,272 complaints from viewers between Sept. 16 and Sept. 21, 68 percent (2,920) were for “Fatmagül’ün Suçu Ne?” and 11 percent (455) were for “Kılıç Günü.”(…)”

Source : Today’s Zaman

Julien Paris

“Turkey’s soap opera diplomacy ” – Public Radio International

“Soap operas from Turkey are forging trust and curiosity among residents of Bulgaria, its long-time foe.

Mistrust between Bulgarians and Turks runs deep. The Ottoman Turkish Empire ruled over Bulgaria for some 500 years. Some still look back to 1876, when Ottoman forces committed atrocities against Bulgarians, before the country’s independence in 1908. Today, Matthew Brunwasser reports for PRI’s The World that many Bulgarians have begun to warm to Turkey’s influence because of a not-so-secret weapon: soap operas.

Turkish soap operas are hugely popular in Bulgaria today. One of the main Bulgarian channels shows Turkish soaps six and a half hours a day.

“We are bigots when it comes to Turkey,” Atanas Harizanov, a resident of Perushtitsa, Bulgaria, told PRI’s The World. Perushtitsa was nearly wiped out in the 1876 uprising, but even there, residents are warming to the Turkish soap operas. “They are changing the consciousness of the people of Perushtitsa, despite the deeply buried pain of the past,” Harizanov said. “I don’t believe that its hatred anymore. But little by little, the Turkish soap operas are building a bridge of trust and curiosity.”

Bulgaria used to consider its southern neighbor backward and strictly Islamic, Brunwasser reports. The shows are changing that by showing glamorous Istanbul locations and attractive characters living modern lifestyles. […]”

Source : Public Radio International