Television itself provides a wide platform for projecting certain ideals, norms, and expectation. In the field of development communication it is considered a common method for creating behavioral change, decreasing stigma, and representing certain points of valor. Emre Cetin tells the story of how Turkish soap operas became popular in the Arabic speaking and Islamic world and speculates as to why that might be. He begins with talking about the background of broadcasting networks and what kind of values these soap operas propagate. As television provides a basis for representation and setting social norms, there is a lot of soft power that comes along with being in control of what is broadcasted; but only if people enjoy it. As Emre Cetin states, the production of these popular shows is a product of a series of collaborators. Yet, sometimes, even when the who is very popular to the civil society, people in positions of power can decide to no longer broadcast it for political reasons or even personal opposition depending on their level of power in a given nation state. In the case of turkey, many people both in and out of turkey had an interest in soap operas of the mid to late 2000s because they explored contemporary issues as well as historical discrepancies.

However, there is sometimes a clash with modern values and traditional values, which has caused some unrest in the Arabic speaking world. This is all very telling in relation to turkey’s rejection from the European union, which relates to Hunginton’s discussion of a clash of civilizations. If the people of the west do not accept you into their civilization despite many efforts to change and adapt to their norms and values, it is not surprising other movements could follow. A brief article by Nawa shows that everyone is interpreting these soap operas differently, stating that many men feel women are being corrupted and divorce rights are rising, while feminists state that there is a lot of rape or violence against women. These perspectives, while seemingly contradictory are both accurate assessments of the content across series. These different groups are simply focused on different parts of the narratives portrayed. The issues showcased in these soap operas may be similar to situations other women have been through and it could be empowering for them to see that they could possibility leave their situation, where as historically she may have tolerated more violence.

            Emre Cetin explains there are two kinds of soaps, those that are more modern and those that take place during specific periods. These are both useful tools in shaping the publics understanding of Turkish history, and the present day. In fact, the concept of the period drama itself seems to heavily relay on the romanticized vision of the fallen Ottoman Empire. There is also the inclusion of Islamic piety in some series in that a wiser older character may provide solutions through reference to Islamic tales. This plays to a sense of familiarity for Islamic viewers and educates non-Islamic viewers about Islam. Many of these shows are a huge socialization tool set for by the justice and development party to propagate neo-ottoman ideologies and Islamism. While this method seemed to work at least for a short time, causing a rise in tourism to the Turkish area, the trending of a lot of these shows seem to be slowing down in more recent years. While the soap operas specifically may be losing popularity at this time, it is clear this form of soft power can be influential to a number of industries. The main concern may simply be that what some audiences, who are more modernized, want to see versus other audiences who are more traditional expect causes a lack of uniformity in the how and what topics television series in the arabic and islamic world should tackle.

Emre Cetin, Kumru Berfin. “The Politicization of Turkish Television Dramas”. International Journal of Communication 8, 2014, pp. 2462–2483.

Huntington, Samuel. “The Clash of Civilizations”. New York: Touchstone, 1997.

Nawa, Farib. “Turkish soap operas’ portrayal of women stirs controversy” Public Radio International, Minneapolis 2017.