The newest episode of Menajerimi Ara was perhaps the most successful episode that has aired in a long time. The change in the broadcasting day caused the ratings to skyrocket and put it on the top 5 trending things on Twitter.
📈 Ratings: Star TV’s #MenajerimiAra scores big moving to Sundays! Originally tweeted by Dizilah 🇹🇷 (@dizilah) on October 19, 2020.
However, responses to the episode and the İzleme to the next episode were less than positive. Many fans, myself included, were unhappy. The reason that the episode was so lacklustre could be attributed to various things. It could be due to the fact there was a change in airdate with the episode airing two days earlier than it was supposed to. It could be that this episode is supposed to be a filler episode. It could because Ekin Atalar took over as writer of the show.
Another reason could be that the latest episode and preview were a marketing strategy to boost viewership and engagement by adding drama. The newest episode certainly did that, causing the show to trend and the İzleme certainly left audiences riled up and in arms.
There could be various reasons for why the writing of the newest episode of Menajerimi Ara was so uninspiring. However, I believe that the secret to the latest episode of Menajerimi Ara and the İzleme is because Menajerimi Ara is a remake of the French television series, Dix pour cent.
The Art of Adaptation and Fidelity
We live in a world where there is an influx of global remakes. Turkey has taken remakes by the horn, accounting for countless success and failures. Yet, the art of adaptation is not as easy as one would make it seem. In an article called “A Crime Drama Between Fidelity and Cultural Specificity: Audiences’ Reception of Cinayet, the Turkish Remake of Forbrydelsen” author Yeşim Kaptan studied the failure of Cinayet the Turkish remake of the Swedish series Forbrydelsen.
She noted that Cinayet followed the same style, form, and content of the original Swedish show. Cinayet was a word for word remake of Forbrydelsen, which garnered much criticism. The same criticism was made of Galip the Turkish remake of Monk, which critics argued was a “translated replica, rather than a localised remake”.
While studying the reception to Cinayet, Kaptan noted that the Turkish audience wanted a remake that represented the culture of Turkey while remaining a faithful adaption of Forbrydelsen.1
According to Kaptan, a remake is only successful if the production is faithful to the original text while Turkish specific norms, values, and issues are represented.
Yet, Kaptan explains that a remake of a show will undoubtedly because of the choices made by the local production team, in an attempt to localise it. The local production team has to keep in mind copyright law, as well as the local financial and filming laws. Thus, even if a show is a replica, there will be some differences.
İrem İnceoğlu article, “Gender Representation in Turkish TV”, expanded on how Turkish television changed details when adapting shows. LGBT characters, characters who were involved in affairs, or female characters often went through extensive changes to strip away things that could be seen as abnormal or immoral by RTÜK or Turkish audiences.2
A large portion of İrem İnceoğlu article focused on the way that dizis, regardless of whether they were remakes or not, portrayed female characters. She argued that female characters were either love interest, mothers, or women who were co-dependent and related to the home life. Men, on the other hand, were written as emotionless fighters who were violent to some degree. İnceoğlu study found that four-fifths of roles depicting violence were written for men and two-thirds of roles depicting crying were written for women.
Marriage is often depicted as the goal, with emphasis put on relationships. However, İnceoğlu argued that there has been a shift to depicting women existing in the workplace, and men being caretakers. Yet, she noted that female characters in power and money related jobs were frowned upon.
The Localised Remake or A Replica?
All of these ideas are important while trying to understand the success or failure of Menajerimi Ara. Much like Cinayet, Galip, or many other Turkish remakes that exist, Menajerimi Ara may seem to be a word for word remake of its French counterpart. The plot points of 1 – 7 Bölüm follow faithfully the first seven episodes of Dix pour cent. Exceptions were made for the 8th Bölüm, which followed the 6th episode of season 2 of Dix pour cent. This change was probably made to coincide the 8th Bölüm airing with the Turkish International Film Festival.
As İnceoğlu pointed out certain things were written out of Menajerimi Ara to abide by RTÜK laws and Turkish values. In Menajerimi Ara, both Feris and Emrah are depicted as heterosexual. Jülide is not Black and facing discrimination. Gülin is not a middle-aged woman who is in love with Kıraç. Beren is Mayda’s daughter from a previous marriage, unlike in the French show. Kıraç’s character is also re-written to not have an affair, with Dicle mother while Mayda is pregnant with Beren.
In Menajerimi Ara we see a character from Dix pour cent being split into two different characters, Beren and Barış.
The Adaption as a Good?
However, the writers of Menajerimi Ara are capable of adaption, telling nuanced stories, and discussing important feminist ideas. They are also capable of not holding themselves to the tropes and plots that are so common in dizis.
We see all of this through Dicle’s character. Menajerimi Ara follows Dicle’s life. Dicle is educated and a resourceful young woman who is so endearing, making her an easy protagonist to like. Camille, Dicle’s French counterpart, is one of the many characters that the Dix pour cent follows. Additionally, unlike Dicle, she is not educated and floated between interests before working at the agency.
By making Dicle educated women the writers managed to subvert the trope that constricts so many female characters in Dizis, seeing she is not associated to the house. Dicle being educated is especially interesting because, in comparison Barış, she is the more cultured one in the relationship. Additionally, Dicle chooses to work over her relationship with Barış, pushing aside the idea that female characters must be in a romantic relationship. Dicle goal and desires to work is such a powerful decision and has garnered a positive response by the fans.
We also see the writers ability to balance adaption, feminism, and Turkish values, through the way that Feris and Burçin Terzioğlu. Through Feris we see the writers work to abide by RTÜK laws by not making Feris gay or philandering. Instead, they focus their attention on another issue in Turkey, by depicting as a work orientated woman and her struggles.
Through Burçin Terzioğlu’s we see the writers ability to adapt a feminist speech to fit issues that women face in Turkey. The writers are capable of balancing adaption, feminism, and Turkish values.
In Dix pour cent when Camille starts working at the agency, she starts a tentative relationship with Hippolyte, a young actor who is signed at the agency, only to realise that he is her half-brother. When she learns that Hippolyte is her brother, she calls off the relationship and tries to avoid him, unable to tell him the truth about their shared father. The truth is eventually revealed when Mathias is caught talking to Camille by his wife and son who assume he is having an affair.
Catherine leaves Mathias when she learns of his affair and opts to not buy the agency. However, it is important to know that she and Hippolyte do not hold anything against Camille, knowing it is Mathias who had the affair.
The decision to have Dicle not fall in love with her half-brother in Menajerimi Ara makes sense because of the family friendly values that RTÜK tries to uphold. I would argue that the introduction of Barış Havas is perhaps the best decision in regards to adapting the show. I love love stories, and Dicle and Barış have such strong chemistry. Their love is truly enjoyable to watch.
The Adaption as a Bad?
As İnceoğlu points out in Turkish TV there is an importance placed on characters falling in love. The introduction of Barış Havas as a love interest is unique to Menajerimi Ara, as is the introduction of Emir as a secondary love interest. Both of them reflect a Turkish sensibility.
When I learnt that Emir was being introduced as a character, I released the deepest sigh of annoyance. I was also very apprehensive to watch the episode due to the drama that I foresaw coming by introducing Dicle to another love interest. However, I did not think that I would hate it as much as I did.
As leosfemme put it, the introduction of a secondary love interest in very commonplace in Dizis and media in general. It can allow the relationship or character to be tested or to make a characters understand their feelings.
Due to the way that the dizis are written and function, the secondary love interest is often introduced as a cheap way add drama to the show. This is another over-saturated dizi trope. However, the issue with adding drama for the sake of drama is that it can take away from established character arcs and character growth.
To establish Emir as a potential love interest in Dicle’s life is bewildering when you take into consideration her decision to focus on work. The audience response to Emir seems to be that his character is invasive. By having Emir brag that he is going to see all the sides of Dicle, implies that he is there to change her, and shows that Emir might have some form of power over Dicle. That there is a power dynamic disparity in their relationship. He constantly puts Dicle in uncomfortable positions to see different sides of her. This is a sharp comparison to Barış who continuously offers listen to Dicle and generally doesn’t demand it of her.
Depicting Emir as a potential love interest and an invasive character is also super perplexing in regards to the episode that came before, where Burçin Terzioğlu’s makes a speech about consent and listening to female voices.
Additionally, when it comes to the jealousy trope in regards to Menajerimi Ara is the fact that we are already seeing it through Beren. Having Emir be the reason for jealousy brings no creativity to the table and is a cheap way to cause conflict between Barış and Dicle.
Barış Havas (or the Part Y’all Have Been Waiting For)
Finally, because this is a blog post that I am writing, I will be talking about the love of my life, Barış Havas. Maybe me writing about Barış will be ours always. As previously established the introduction of Barış Havas is perhaps my favourite aspect of the adaption. I love Dicle and Barış so much! However, I hated episode 9.
The way that Barış is written is wild, which is to say that I hate it and it makes no sense.
In the last episode, we see Barış trying on suits with the help of Dicle. It is clear from this interaction that he is deeply attracted to her. The whole montage of him standing outside and thinking about Dicle shows that he likes her. Him wanting desperately to talk to Dicle at the end of the episode shows that he cares that they are on good terms and that she is okay.
So, to see that Barış Havas in comparison to the one depicted in the 9th episode is frustrating. One could argue that Barış comforting Beren at the start of the episode because they are friends and colleagues. Okay, that’s cool. Barış thinking about sending Dicle a message saying that she is not being a good friend could also be excusable because he trusts her and maybe is hurt that she doesn’t feel the same about him.
We also see Barış on very friendly terms with Dicle. All of the pining and attraction and love that were depicted in the previous episode just mysteriously vanished replaced with platonic comradely. None of the music or longing gazes that filled the previous episodes is present. Which could make sense because they agreed to be friends. This could also explain why Barış kisses Beren.
The final and important scene in regards to the way that Barış is written is at the wedding shoot. To have Barış know that Beren is upset at Dicle and have him simply watch Beren hassle Dicle without intervening is strange.
Especially because it came from the same Barış Havas who cheered Dicle up when Beren yelled at her.
The same Barış Havas who defended Dicle against Beren and his brother. The same Barış Havas who has repeatedly prioritised Dicle over everyone else. To have that Barış Havas not intervene on Dicle behalf goes against the way that his character was written up to this point.
The other reason that I was upset lies in the fact that in the 8th episode, Dicle admits that she wanted a serious relationship with him, but him being out with Beren changed her mind. She also mentions the night at his house.
If you remember Barış took Dicle leaving to imply that she didn’t like him. If he truly likes Dicle, than why didn’t this revelation affect him? Regardless of whether or not he’s trying to be a good friend, wouldn’t the admission by Dicle that she liked him have some form of effect on him? Wouldn’t it make him reconsider his closeness to Beren? Especially, because he started ‘dating’ Beren because he thought Dicle wasn’t interested.
The last straw for the fandom was not in regards to the episode but rather the İzleme. In the İzleme we see the fallout of Dicle being accused of leaking information at the agency. Barış approaches Dicle and asks her if it’s true, which offends her, as it should.
This doesn’t make sense, seeing Barış stated multiple times that he trusts Dicle and that he doesn’t believe she is capable of doing anything bad. By having him question her about this, we see all the work that they’ve put into Barış and Dicle be disregarded for the sake of drama.
Find the difference. Originally tweeted by claudia 🍂 (@goldeniaz) on October 20, 2020.
Granted the introduction of Emir and making Barış like this could be explained. Through these two characters, we see Turkish television norms and value represented in the adaptation. As previously established, Barış’s French counterpart, Hippolyte and Camille also have a very important conversation where they decide to be friends.
This decision is brought on by the fact that they are related to each other and explains why they go from being romantically involved to platonically involved so quickly. Barış on the other hand has no reason to stop showing some form of romantic interest or trusting Dicle. If anything his interest should have been grown due to Dicle’s confession from the previous episode.
The Adaption as a Ugly?
Through introduction of Mayda, Beren and even Gülin is where we see Menajerimi Ara incorporate the worst of Turkish television norms and values.
In my review for the previous episode of Menajerimi Ara, I argued that Beren and Mayda are such different characters to the other female characters in the show because their entire lives are tied to men.
Mayda, unlike her French counterpart is incredibly suspicious of Dicle, as is Beren. She becomes a key character in Menajerimi Ara and unlike Catherine doesn’t leave her husband or and does buy the agency. Her entire story arc is tied to the men.
Gülin’s French counter part is also suspicious of Camille because she loves Mathias. However, Gülin’s character is not jealous or vindictive to Camille. All of her suspicions toward Camille vanish as soon as she learn the truth of Camille’s parentage.
By the end of the first season, both women are on good terms with Camille.
As previously established, Beren doesn’t exist in Dix pour cent. Hippolyte and Camille are on good terms with each other when they find out that they are siblings. He is also quite busy with his film career and is not a central character in the agency, and we are not shown much of him. The character that Camille has the most tension with is Emrah’s character, because she gets promoted instead of him.
A huge issue for me about Episode 9 is the fact that Beren, Mayda, and even Gülin are such an antagonistic force in Dicle’s life. All of them are suspicious of Dicle and want to get rid of her for various reasons. The decision to have these characters behave in such a way cannot be attributed to their French counterparts because they do not exist in the same capacity. It reveals an aspect of Turkish television norms, pitting women against each other.
Feminism in Dizis
The act of pitting women against each other is a staple of Turkish television. For as long as I have watched Dizis, the female protagonist is always on the receiving end hate from other women. It occurs in period dramas, in Mafia stories, in romantic comedies, and in family dramas and honestly, I am so tired of it!
TURKEY! PLEASE! STOP!
Famed feminist and social activist bell hooks wrote an article called “Sisterhood: Political Solidarity between Women”. bell hooks noted that women are taught that relationships between each other diminish rather than enrich their lives. women are taught to see other women as their natural enemies.
“we are taught that women are ‘natural’ enemies, that solidarity will never exist between [women] because [women] cannot, should not, and do not bond with one another”
bell hooks
Another important idea that bell hooks articulated is that sexism teaches women to be sex objects for men, which then causes women to feel superior when they are in a relationship. For bell hooks, sexism is what teaches women to hate each other. We see this idea of women being taught to hate each other over and over again in media and we see .3
The way in which women are pitted against each other usually comes down to two things a man and Freud’s idea of the “The Virgin-Whore Dichotomy.”
Freud theorised that women are deemed good when they were chaste and pure and bad because they are promiscuous and seductive. Men objectify sexy women to avoid emotional attachment, however, treat them with contempt. Chaste women, on the other hand, might not be seen as someone to objectify, however, are thought to be good long-term relationship material.4
However, the virgin-whore dichotomy manifests itself in many ways. One example found in media is the sacrificing, pure, naïve women vs. the scheming, selfish, vain one.5 These women are often pitted against each other, to justify one as more morally upright.3
Dicle and Beren, like many women in dizis, embody this dichotomy. Dicle generally speaking wears more conservative clothing and is an earnest young woman who is trying her best to make it in the industry. On the other hand, Beren is dressed in more revealing clothing.
This is why I hate how the writers of Menajerimi Ara write Beren, Mayda, and even Gülin. They are all pitted against Dicle and are all women who are seen as scheming selfish, and vain. Dicle on the other hand is the embodiment of the sacrificing, pure, naïve women.
For me, Mayda and Gülin’s characters are so much more annoying then Beren’s because they are characters that were not originally written this way. There was a conscious choice by the writers to have Dicle come in conflict with Gülin instead of Emrah and to have Mayda take over the agency and to keep her around to stir up trouble for Dicle. There was a conscious decision to leave Mayda out of the loop about Dicle’s parentage to draw out drama. It was a conscious choice to pit these women against Dicle.
Beren, on the other hand, received much contempt from fans for scheming against Dicle. I am fans. Her reasoning for scheming and being jealous of Dicle makes sense narratively. Why would you not be jealous of the person who has your crushes attention and who you learn is your secret stepsister?
However, as previously established the decision to depict her this way was a conscious choice by the writers. The writers chose to make Beren an original character, chose to make her jealous of Dicle, chose to make Beren’s entire life revolve around Barış, and chose to pit her against Dicle. This disappointment is heightened by the fact that at the end of the episode, when Dicle is accused of leaking information to the press, not even Feris defends Dicle. Thus, we see more examples of women being pitted against each other.
Though it may make sense to a condemn people who are selfish, vain, and bitter, it is very harmful when it comes to the dichotomy and feminist issues. As bell hooks points out, hating on other women is an issue rooted in misogyny. The concept of the virgin and the whore and benefits only the patriarchy and men.
Women are taught to hate each other. We use the Virgin-Whore Dichotomy as a means to do so. However, all this does is uphold patriarchal ideas and allows men to get away with the violence they inflict on women. It tears apart a collective sisterhood.
You spend your life seeking the approval of men and then you suddenly realise that, actually, you could get a quite exciting and fulfilling relationship from being friends with another woman and that that might be more interesting,”
Emily Mortimer, Belfast Telegraph
It allows men to say what type of women have worth and gives men an excuse to perpetrate and defend violence against women.
In a patriarchal society that enforces the Virgin-Whore dynamic, woman who are seen with contempt, are seen to be deserving of the violence against her. Slut shaming is then justified and so are more atrocious acts of violence and assault.
This is why I abhor when women are pitted against each other. It is just another means to engrain patriarchal values. It is especially underwhelming because I feel like the writers of the show have proved that they are capable of depicting strong feminist characters.
For them to write Beren, Mayda, and Gülin in this, even if it shows Turkish television norms and value represented, is very disappointing. I completely understand that pitting female characters against each other is a norm for most media; I just wish that every female character related to Beren or who were about Dicle’s age was not immediately seen as a threat to Dicle.
Conclusion
I would argue that the dizifictaion of Menajerimi Ara, though it has given us some truly beautiful moments (Deniz Can’s hands + Dicbar + Dicle), it also shows how dizis and Turkish media continuously depict and enforce sexist writing.
However, another idea of adding drama for the sake of drama, is not good storytelling… If anything it gets in the way of good storytelling, ostracises fans, and throws away all the hard work put by the cast and crew.
Though the writers were capable of adapting the story to show us strong female characters and seem to be aware of the importance of feminism, they have continuously enforced misogyny in their writing.
References:
- Kaptan, Yeşim. “A Crime Drama Between Fidelity and Cultural Specificity: Audiences’ Reception of Cinayet, the Turkish Remake of Forbrydelsen” from European Television Crime Drama and Beyond.
- İnceoğlu, İ. (2020). “Gender Representation on Turkish TV.” In The International Encyclopedia of Gender, Media, and Communication (eds K. Ross, I. Bachmann, V. Cardo, S. Moorti and M. Scarcelli).
- hooks, bell. “Sisterhood: Political Solidarity between Women.” Feminist Review.
- Bareket et al. “The Madonna-Whore Dichotomy: Men Who Perceive Women’s Nurturance and Sexuality as Mutually Exclusive Endorse Patriarchy and Show Lower Relationship Satisfaction”
- Monsters & Muses, “The Virgin-Whore Dichotomy and Why Women Cannot Destroy it”
ERICA TALKS SH*T 