Popularity of Turkish Soap operas

As a North American westerner, I hate Western soap operas in general. However when Arabic friends showed me the Arabic dubbed Turkish soap opera, I became addicted. I even learned Arabic from watching the shows.

There is a Canadian independent feature film called Almost a Turkish Soap Opera. On their site, they say that the "Almost a Turkish Soap Opera is a film that captures the turmoils of two young modern Turkish men trying to make a home in the West but finding their lives have turned into a Turkish soap opera.

The producers of the film will showcase the feature film in North American and European festivals and also as a Turkish soap opera in the Middle East dubbed in Turkish and Arabic and other languages."

You can find out more about this movie at their official site: www.almostaturkishsoapopera.com

And check out the movie trailer on youtube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKIPuJS7Q_A

I hope you've done enough reading about the Turkish-Arab relations i.e Ottoman Empira, loanwords, rapprochmement, Economic Forum, Kurds and pertinent topics to serve your reseach.

Awaiting the survey, if still interested.

Salaam

Dima, of course yes. Please send me the survey and let me know when you expect me to return it filled out.

Salaam

I have seen "Noor" the turkish show they were playing and alot and i know this from personal acquaintances that alot of women were obsessed with the show,,they would rush home to get the opening credits and would kill if they missed anything essential! :) it was an okay show i guess.I do agree with Happy about people being captivated by romance..its true this show was straight up drama, romance,drama romance..thats how they get people to tune in..but it gets me to my next point..after noor aired and ended..the tv companies ie MBC began buying more Turkish shows which to be honest we a complete FLOP!! i dont get it..ok the one worked because it was new and different but now everyohter channel is a turkish dub! it is getting b.o.r.i.n.g..i mean seriosuly peeps remember Mercedes? and the other mexican dubbed shows!! ahhhhh whyyyyyyyyyyy...ok il stop now..

peace and love

hahahah!

I'm trying! But for some reason a lot of women are embarrassed about watching these shows and i don't understand why! There's a whole community of women in the Arab world who watch soap operas....

HUNT DIMA HUNT!!!

That's very true, Happy, r u female? Would you like to be interviewed? I can send you a copy of the survey if you like

Our audience is captivated by romance, new scenery and longing to experience something new but within acceptable boundaries. The Turkish culture isn't far away from our Arabic culture. There are a lot of commonalities.

One more factor is the professional dubbing and lip sync of those series. Many Arab viewers were led to believe these characters are from their own neighborhood.

Salaam

hahahah...yes that's true, but a lot of the women feel that his personality, as in the way that he treats his wife (by the way, in the show they had an arranged marriage) is desirable. Some women, you'll be happy to know, were not attracted to his personality and did not feel he was 'manly' enough.

I can't answer that :-) but I think maybe it gives them a form of cultural proximity and maybe more of an opportunity to be able to engage with the characters. I think the success of these soap operas and the some of the ways they have changed societies are extremely interesting. Compared to perhaps the Western shows that have all been recently dubbed, I have found that the Turkish shows are way more popular

Noor....

The guy, looks western, is not. Now speaks Arabic, not, yet portrayed... gets all the ladies going.

From the few women that I have interviewed so far, a lot of similar themes have emerged, mostly to do with being able to watch a show that they could relate to, but at the same time, be able to transport themselves into a form of fantasy world and away from a patriarchal society that they are living in. Every woman is different. I'm looking for more women to interview and survey, hence why I have joined this forum.

Dima, yes...

it may be an 'elegant cultural bridge' between cultures. As the Turkish culture overlaps with Arab & West in many ways. Look at the Turkish political system and demographics.

Maybe, all the conservative ladies in Qatar/UAE/Oman/Kuwait/Bahrain/Saudi and such get a subtle look into where they desire to be mentally, without being confronted with extremely mentally-clashing images as experienced in some western movies.

Still, I never understand voice-overs and why people even want to listen to it.

Source:

- A study Conducted by FriedUnicorn - Vol I (September,1999)

"Resident Attention Seeker"

It would be great to share your findings with us.

Salaam

Buyu? No I haven't...is it an Arabic dubbed show?

@Harmagedon

Do you watch the soap operas? A lot of women find that they can relate to the characters in the shows. I totally agree with your comments about the lack of creativity and Western influence in the other media you mentioned. However, I find that these shows provide a lot of women (and some men) with a happy balance between Arab and Western cultures

In conclusion:

Looking at Arab Commercials, and the obvious lack of creativity, likely caused due to having to be Religiously and Politically correct. Looking at Arab TV-channels (except al Jazeera English), looking at Arab Music videos one can conclude that the standards of Hollywood, Bollywood and/or the Porn-Industry are far away from being accomplished. No wonder Turkish series are so popular, even though the personalities look little and do not dress like Arabs, maybe the Egyptian movies have started to bore also.

It is quite difficult to make a soap about a Camel and a fully covered lady. That's why these (below) buggers are so funny, as in real...it would not work.

Source:

- A study Conducted by FriedUnicorn - Vol I (September,1999)

"Resident Attention Seeker"

..

i cant believe how low the education system is getting!

i'll try operas too...

...Life would become Dull if there were no such Difficulties...