It’s been a couple of weeks since I last wrote a blog post about diziland and to everyone that has been waiting at the edge of their seat for me to say something about it… I’m sorry? Life has been hectic and every time I try to convince myself to watch a Dizi I remember an awful truth: that the episodes are two and half-hours long. It’s become more and more difficult to dedicate those two and a half hours of my life to watch a single episode of a dizi. However, that being said, I did recently finished re-watching Halka bölüm seven and I think it’s about time that we talked about feminism, Halka, and İrem Muzaffer.
İrem Muzaffer as the Nurturing Women
Halka is a dizi that has received a lot of proclaim in the last few years for being one of the best TV shows to have come from Turkey. With a talented cast, beautiful cinematography, and a complex and intriguing plot, the compliments are well deserved. Furthermore, the female characters in Halka are an impressive cast of complex, strong, and well-loved women.
Yet a name that is not often discussed in regards to strong female characters in Halka is İrem Muzaffer, Cihangir Tepeli’s fiancé. I know it might seem absolutely wild to discuss İrem in regards feminism especially when the general consensus in fandom spaces is that Müjde, Bahar, and Hümeyra are the strong female characters… and İrem is simply not.
İrem is depicted as a docile and doting fiancé. This particular characterization of female characters is rampant in Turkish media. İrem İnceoğlu, a professor in the Faculty of Communication at Kadir Has University, wrote an article called “Gender Representation on Turkish TV”. In the article, she noted that female characters are often depicted as love interests or mothers. These women are often only depicted in relation to the home-life and marriage is often portrayed as the goal for them.1 With this in mind, it is not hard to see how İrem Muzaffer fits into this bleak representation of female characters, while characters like Müjde, Bahar, and Hümeyra subvert this expectation.
The dichotomy between İrem and the other female characters in Halka is very reminiscent to a dichotomy found in the noir genre. A prolific character type in a noir is the femme fatale. The femme fatale is a female character of “intrigue”, that has an active story arc, is seductive, and is usually linked to the criminal underworld. The femme fatale is often depicted as seducing the noir hero and leading him further into the criminal life.2
The popular classical noir Out Of the Past (1947) depicts the contrast between the femme fatale and the nurturing women, through Cathie (left) and Ann (Right)
Her anti-thesis is “the nurturing woman” a passive female character, linked to a light and safety, who provides an “alternative landscape” of hope to that of “the corrupt world in which the male protagonist is ensnared in”. If the male protagonist is ever forced to choose between the femme fatale and the nurturing woman, he always chooses the femme fatale.2
The male protagonist usually ignores this hope [presented by the nurturing women], tempted by the femme fatale into the sleazy and entropic underworld instead. This alternative landscape, in essence, is not a matter of choice for the male protagonist at all as it indirectly contributes to noir’s determinism by intensifying the sense of inescapable entrapment in the underworld.
Jamaluddin Aziz, Transgressing Women: Space and The Body in Contemporary Noir Thrillers
This idea is rampant in Halka. WhileMüjde might not be a femme fatale in the traditional sense, she is a protagonist with an active story-arc. She is often depicted as having a hold on Cihangir due their romantic relationship, and is explicitly linked to the underworld.
In comparison İrem is a very passive character. Though İrem does find herself ensnared in the crime world, her involvement in the world is incidental. İrem very explicitly offers Cihangir an alternative to the criminal world when they plan to go to Italy together. But as the quote states Cihangir is inescapably trapped in the underworld and the promise of Italy was never a realistic option. The audience knows that nothing would come from this offer because of the hold that the mafia world has on Cihangir.
İrem Muzaffer vs. the World
Just as everyone knows to expect anything from the offer to move to Italy, the characters in Halka (and by proxy the audience) expect nothing from İrem other than the picture of a docile and doting fiancé. İrem is introduced to the audience through Gülay Tepeli, who reprimands her son for his fiancé foul mood. Gülay expects Cihangir to be able to control İrem’s emotions and thus is asking Cihangir to take İrem’s agency away from her. Gülay is in constant conflict with İrem, since she expects İrem to perptually be a pleasant and agreeable fiancé.
Ilhan Tepeli acts similarly expecting Cihangir to placate İrem instead of trying to understand her.
Müjde continuously makes condescending remarks about İrem, eventually going to the extent of dismissing her after İrem tries to involve herself in Cihangir’s world.
Cihangir though he does care about İrem’s well being, is never truly open with her, and keeps her at a distance.
Even İrem’s father, Halit Muzaffer, gaslights Cihangir when he brings up İrem, by brushes aside İrem’s concern and making it seem like İrem is incapable of rational thought.
The Subversion of İrem Muzaffer
However, to completely write İrem off because of her inability to properly navigate the criminal underworld is to do a disservice to her character. İrem is character that continuously goes against the expectation of her character’s stereotype and other character’s beliefs of her. İrem never truly conforms to the role of docile and doting fiancé. Though Gülay continuously tries to control İrem’s emotions and actions, she never submits to Gülay. She ignores the Tepeli’s attempt to placate and control her.
Though İrem doesn’t have the resources to exist in the criminal world like Bahar, Müjde, and Hümeyra, she is not a completely helpless character. She is quite resourceful and quick to think on her feet. When she initially learns about her father’s recordings of Cihangir’s sessions, İrem has enough intuition to know that something isn’t right. İrem goes against her father by trying to open the encrypted files. This makes İrem stand apart from the docile female character that she is expected because she acts against the family unit that she is so often tied to.
This in itself shows her resourcefulness, as she, even without mafia/police connections, can find a means to decode the recording files, through a mutual friend. However, this encounter leads to İrem being attacked. We again see İrem go against the expectations that are put on her, when she can fight off her attacker, which eventually leads to his death. After killing her attacker İrem knows to wipe the crime scene of fingerprints as to not get caught. She also has enough intuition to suspect her father of foul play, a thing that even Cihangir does not immediately do. This eventually leads to her death when she tries to uncover more of Halit’s secrets in an attempt to protect Cihangir.
Halka, Feminism, & Masculinity
Though İrem is quite an accomplished and resourceful character this is still not enough. Most fans don’t acknowledge İrem’s accomplishments maintaining that she is a boring character. This could be because the “strong female characters” in Halka are capable of comfortably navigate traditionally masculine spaces.
Comparing the response given to İrem’s to that of Müjde exemplifies this idea. When Müjde’s enters the crime world she is initially facing some resistance from İskender Akay and Ilhan Tepeli, who disapprove and are dismissive of Müjde actions. However, she eventually receives the support and respect from both of them, a thing that İrem never does. While Gülay is never truly a pleasant character, she does not seem agitated by Müjde’s presence by the end of the show. Cihangir seems unperturbed with doing business with Müjde and her involvement in his world.
Any attempt that İrem makes to exist in the criminal world is immediately undermined or seen as cringey. In comparison, Müjde fits in the criminal underworld in a way that İrem cannot. (A similar dichotomy is seen between Hümeyra Karabulut and Gülay Tepeli.)
HeviWillNot on Twitter talking about feminism in Halka
Characters like Bahar, Hümeyra, and Müjde are important to see on Turkish TV because they go against dated gender norms depicted. However, it is important to note that they are only strong because of their proximity to the masculine world. Bahar is a competent policewoman and both Hümeyra and Müjde are part of the chauvinist criminal underworld.
In comparison, İrem, and characters like Gülay and Nurten, exist in traditionally feminine spaces, the home. Both Gülay and İrem are emotional women who spend large amounts of their time worrying about their family and being jealous, catty, and vindictive, making them particularly annoying characters.
While it may seem like great feminism to depict strong female characters as “masculine”, this idea undermines feminism because these “strong female characters” come at the expense of femininity.
These badass characters are intended to be a rebellion against traditional gender roles, yet they have become characters that shame other women who don’t rebel. They fall into traps of wanting them to ‘man up’ and suggest that, because they are not like other girls, they are stronger or better. The idea that rejecting femininity makes you strong creates an antithesis in which other, more feminine, characters are presented as weak
Felicity Gardner, The ‘Strong Female Character’ Paradox
This idea implies the feminine is inherently weak and that the only type of strength that exists is masculine. This further perpetuates ideas that are commonly found toxic masculinity, the patriarchy, and traditional gender norms that would depict women as weak and in need and men as strong and providers.
Femininity is not a weakness. There is nothing inherently wrong or bad about being feminine, needing help, or being in touch with one’s emotions. The other issue with this line of thinking is that it is detrimental to feminist ideals because women are pitted against each other because the strong or remarkable women are “not like other girls”.4
A strong character shouldn’t be strong due to ideas about gender roles but because they are developed and multifaceted characters… and İrem is certainly not that. Her entire character arc exists to support a male character, in this case, Cihangir and by proxy Kaan. İrem entire purpose within the narrative is to introduce the idea that Cihangir has changed, leading to the reveal that he has been brainwashed. Since İrem’s entire identity is tied to Cihangir and she no independent plot.5
İrem does not pass the Mako Mori test, a set of requirements designed to measure the level of gender equality within a fictional work.
The Tragedy of İrem Muzaffer
This is the tragedy of İrem Muzaffer. The characters, their actions, and the narrative of Halka all force İrem to be nothing more than “the nurturing woman”, docile fiancé, and a passive character who isn’t supposed to exist in the same sphere as the men in the show. Yet she goes against this image again and again. She is resourceful and smart, willing to risk her familial relationships for her beliefs, morals, and love… But ultimately this is still not enough due to the gendered expectation of what it means to be strong and the weak story arc by the writers.
This post features heavy discussions of sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.
When BluTV first released the trailer to their Original Series Saygı, I was beyond excited about it. Saygı is a spin-off of the well-loved and acclaimed dizi, Behzat Ç, and saw the return of Behzat’s writer, Ercan Mehmet Erdem. Though I hadn’t watched Behzat Ç, I was fascinated by the premise of Saygı and the promise of a revenge story that spoke about social issues, such as violence against women in Turkey.
The issue of violence against women, femicide, and mobbing are critical conversation in Turkish culture. In the summer of 2020, thousands of Turkish women took to the streets to protest against gender-based violence and demand that the Turkish government keep the Istanbul Convention in place. So it comes as no surprise that discussion of violence against women has come up again and again in dizilands. From dizis like Yeni Hayat and Menajerim Ara (which addressed the problem in various episodes), to fans who take to social media to protest against scenes that perpetuate the violence, Turkish media is filled with this discussion.
Saygı primarily focuses on Helen and Savaş, a couple, who both are victims of sexual assault. Having killed their abusers, they decide to become vigilantes and take justice into their own hands. Along the way, their paths cross with Ercüment Çözer, a sociopath, who is obsessed with respect. As Savaş, Helen, and Ercüment’s lives become more entwined with each other danger looms. The dizi explores the ramifications of their decisions.
After watching all of the episodes, it is very clear that Saygı is not your average dizi. When I say that Saygı is a beautiful show I genuinely mean that. The cinematography of the show is honestly quite breathtaking and the actors are great in their roles. However, what made Saygı stand out is the writing. The writers are clearly skilled in their craft. The eight-episode season really allowed the writers to pay attention to the details of the story and characters. The product is a thought-provoking, daring, and truly meaningful series that is filled with symbolism and philosophical discussions.
Savaş vs. Toxic Masculinity
In a review of the first episode of Saygı, the Youtuber Safé broke down different ideas and discussed the way patriarchy is so ingrained in Turkish culture that it enforces certain gender roles and expectations. Women are expected to be chaste and men exist in a position of authority and dominance. This idea is immediately subverted through the introduction of Helen and Savaş.
Savaş, unlike the majority of the male characters introduced in the dizi, acts as a foil against toxic masculinity. He respects Helen and her desires. He never assumes that just because he feels affection for her, he has a right to assert dominance over her. This is especially true in their first date where he doesn’t presume he has a right to force himself upon her, kiss her, or have sex with her. Instead Helen initiates their connection.
Savaş is also the first victim of assault between the two, showing the cruel reality that men, no matter how strong, can also be victims of assault. The show never frames Savaş’s assault or his struggle with it as something that he should be ashamed. He instead continuously displays a range of emotions subverting ideas of toxic masculinity that would label him weak.
Helen, on the other hand, is covered in tattoos, speaks her mind, and doesn’t put up with shit from anyone. She is the one that initiates the majority of their relationship and is the one that suggests and enforces their lives as vigilantes. Unlike Savaş, Helen is unaffected by the murders. In fact, she is almost narcissistic, believing that their form of justice is the only form out there.
This goes against the common perception that women are chaste and the more emotional of the genders. The show goes through great lengths to depict Helen and Savaş’s relationship as one that goes against common stereotypical ideas of gender roles.
Savaş, Helen, and The Bard
As Safé states in her review, the Dizi uses a lot of imagery and symbolism. An instance of symbolism (that was clear to me) had to do with the plays that Helen’s Theatre club performs.
Helen as Miranda in Saygı 1.01
The first play is Shakespeare’s The Tempest where Helen plays the part of Miranda, the daughter to Prospero. Helen re-enacts Act 1 Scene 2 of The Tempest where Miranda insults Caliban, Prospero’s “demon” slave. Miranda tells him that though she taught him to talk and tried to teach him to be good there was something bad in his blood. This is the reason that he is enslaved and was locked in a cave. If you know The Tempest you might be aware that Caliban’s enslavement is punishment for trying to rape Miranda.
This speech works in two parts. Firstly, it alludes to Ercüment “Rehabilitation Facility”. Ercüment seems to be trying to teach his prisoners’ respect, but ultimately kills them because teaching them good is meaningless. They are bad to the bone. The other thing that the scene foreshadows is Helen’s path. Hints of this are shown when Savaş tells Helen that he believes Helen and Miranda are the same people.
Ercüment “Rehabilitation Facility”
In the play, Miranda is a naïve character that can see the beauty in the world and is a “slave” to her dad’s games. However, she is brave of heart and is spirited. Helen depicts all of these traits, but the most obvious parallel (and an instance of foreshadowing) comes because when Helen and Miranda both victims of rape attempts. Furthermore, Miranda’s speech to Caliban could show Helen’s eventual relationship with Ercüment, seeing that Prospero and Miranda, like Ercüment and Helen, believe that men cannot be taught to be good and must be punished.
Macbeth is the other play featured in Saygı and is another huge influence on the narrative. Macbeth is a play about a Scottish general, Macbeth, who is told by three witches that he will become King of Scotland. This motivates him to kill the King. However, Macbeth is plagued by worry and is only capable of the murder because his wife, Lady Macbeth, persuades him to do it. When the murder is done Macbeth takes the crown but is filled with paranoia and becomes tyrannical, killing all of those who would stand in his way. Macbeth is also filled with guilt and is haunted by the ghost of Banquo, his closest friend who he killed to keep the Crown. In contrast, Lady Macbeth becomes more hesitant towards murder and tries to talk Macbeth out of it. She becomes consumed by guilt and eventually loses her mind, taking her own life. At the end of the play due to his tyranny, Macbeth has the throne taken from him, and he dies.
Lady Macbeth is often described as Shakespeare’s most bloodthirsty and infamous female character. She plots to murder the king, and is more ruthless and ambitious than her husband, having to manipulate him to commit the murder.
Helen finds herself in a very similar position, being the bloodthirsty one between the two and has to convince Savaş to continue their vigilantism. Savaş, on the other hand, parallels Macbeth and is filled with paranoia and guilt about his actions. Throughout the Dizi, Savaş sees a doe, which could parallel Macbeth’s hallucination of Banquo.
Miray Daner as the character of Lady Macbeth in Saygı
An interesting thing to note is the character of Banquo in Macbeth. Banquo could be described as Macbeth’s “frenemy” and is the first character to suspect Macbeth of killing the King. When Macbeth decides to kill Banquo to keep the crown, he doesn’t consult his wife, which affects their marriage. In the scenes that follow Lady Macbeth grapples with her guilt.
Similarly, the character that suspects Helen and Savaş is Aybars, Helen’s ex. Savaş decides to confront Aybars without consulting Helen, which adds to the tension in their relationship. Their relationship troubles grow when it is revealed that Savaş killed Aybars. His death is the first time we see Helen be remorseful about murder, really causes a rift in Helen and Savaş love, and asks the question of whether the couple has gone too far.
Reality or Exploitation?
Though Saygı is a deeply ambitious show that wanted to discuss social issues and use philosophical theories and literary allusions to do so, there was something off-putting about the show. As I watched Saygı, it became very evident to me that Saygı somewhat fit into the structure of the exploitation film, in particular the rape-revenge film.
An exploitation film is a film genre that emerged in the 1920s but was popularised in the 60s-70s due to the relaxing of censorship laws in the U.S. and Europe. An exploitation film is a film that attempted to capitalize on exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content.
Famous rape revenge media include: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Marlina the Murder in Four Acts, The Nightingale, Kill Bill, Bulbbul and now Saygı.
Saygı fits into the story structure of a rape-revenge film by having both Helen and Savaş be assaulted early in the show before following their exploits as they seek revenge. However, it subverts expectations by having Savaş be a victim of sexual assault, going against the image that women are the only victims of such violence. Yet that doesn’t deter from the gross way that Saygı plays into the negative expectations of the genre.
Both Savaş and Helen’s assault is depicted in a very graphic and explicit way. While I was somewhat okay with watching the graphic nature of Savaş’s assault (because it took me off guard and subverted my expectations), I hated Helen’s assault. The fact that Helen’s assault is filmed so explicitly and is prolonged, in comparison to Savaş’s assault, left me uncomfortable. Great detail was taken into framing the scenes of Helen’s vulnerable unconscious body, her abuser unclothing himself and her, and Helen’s helpless state as she tried to escape.
I remember the first time watching the episode and not being able to finish watching the episode after that scene. I remember feeling so uncomfortable by the explicit nature of the scene and remember wondering why it existed. Especially since we had just gotten a scene of an assault in the previous episode. I do not believe that Helen’s assault was necessary to construct a plausible motivation for her revenge. With Savaş’s assault already established, with various scenes depicting how women are mistreated in Turkey, and by showing Helen to be aware of these issues was enough for me. In my opinion, all of these things could have bubbled up in her life creating a motive, especially since Helen is depicted as a volatile character.
Various forms of media have depicted disturbing and explicit scenes of rape and assault. Books like the A Song of Ice and Fire series (the books that Game of Thrones is based on), TV-like Thirteen Reasons Why, and films like The Nightingale have depicted it. When asked about the decision to add these scenes the writers, directors, and show runners all answered with the same thing: that it is something that happens in reality and so it is important to depict it.
Statements from the showrunner of Thirteen Reasons Why and George R. R. Martin
Perhaps this is the reason that the scenes of assault in Saygı are depicted so graphically and gratuitously, because it is a Turkish reality. Yet, by trying to drive home a message about the reality of sexual assault, the show’s disturbing and graphic scenes become something of torture porn, which does more damage than good.
The other reason that I was very critical is that it becomes a black and white motive without depicting the reality of the effects that assault has on people. The assault of the protagonist in a rape-revenge film is generally used as a plot device that is a short cut for character development. It allows the audience to see the character go from a state of being a happy-go-lucky/naïve/innocent/helpless to one that is heartless/cruel/a badass without truly developing the change. Sansa’s character in Game of Thrones is a perfect example of this. The plot of the rape-revenge film, while it may seem to empower, does not depict the reality of sexual assault on its victims or the after-effects of it.
In an interview with the showrunner of Hannibal, Bryan Fuller, he discussed different reasons why he refuses to write scenes of rape and assault in his shows. One thing that he mentions is that he feels like:
TV inadequately addresses the aftermath of something like sexual assault, trying to wrap up the events for the character who experienced them “in 42 minutes.”
This is exactly what we see happen in Saygı with little of the aftermath of Savaş and Helen’s sexual assault explored. Neither Savaş nor Helen depict any form of PTSD or change to who they are as a result of the assault. The only thing that the assault does is fuel their need for revenge. The show never truly tries to understand the vulnerable position that victims of sexual assault find themselves in.
Savaş and Helen react the same way under duress, fighting back. After that, there are little scenes that address the aftermath of their assault. Though it may seem like we see instances of it when Savaş locks himself in his room, acts out on the bus, or has flashbacks, the writers tie these experiences more to to Savaş’s guilt for killing the taxi driver rather than to his sexual assault.
The other issue that I had in regards to Savaş’s assault was the fact that the taxi driver that assaults him is written as a gay coded man. In her review, Safé points out that the scene may be used to discuss social hypocrisy in Turkish culture and the way that homophobia and the patriarchy are enforced.
While this may be true, I could not help but notice that the taxi driver is the only character that is written as being gay coded. In a Youtube video called “Sexual Assault of Men Played for Laughs”, the Youtuber, Popular Culture Detective explains that if the assault is conducted by a gay coded men it enforces the idea that gay men are predatory and a danger.
If the perpetrator is coded as a gay man, or a character of ambiguous sexual identity then sexual assault is usually framed as a product of some uncontrollable sexual desire, which then works to demonize gay men by directly linking them to predatory behaviour. It’s made worse if, as is often the case, the rapist is the only gay coded character in the whole production.
The other issue I had when it came to the conversations of sexual assault had to do with the various instances of contradiction. For example, in the first episode, Ercüment meets a woman in a bar who tells him about one of her colleagues who has been harassing her. In the scenes that follow we see what Ercüment believes should happen to men who mob women, he imprisons the man in his rehabilitation facility. Through this, it is clear that the act of mobbing and harassment is bad.
Immediately following the scene Savaş is introduced, and it is revealed that he has been attending Helen’s play for eight days straight. He has been doing so in hopes of seeing her, though she is not aware of his presence. He has been doing exactly what Ercüment condemned earlier and yet here it is framed as an act of romance. Savaş and Helen’s relationship is depicted as this great romantic love story, yet it is one that starts with the act of stalking.
Safé explains it best in her review. Seriously, go watch it.
Another example of this stark contrast comes in the form of the scene where Savaş is assaulted. In the scene, Savaş is talking to the taxi driver who is discussing things that make Savaş uncomfortable. Though Savaş tries to get the driver to stop talking, the driver ignores him. This is exasperated when the driver reaches over and grabs Savaş. Savaş tries to fight off the taxi driver and eventually kills him in an act of self-defence. We are supposed to empathise with Savaş, seeing he is the victim, and the taxi driver is in the wrong. This is why the scene where Helen confronts Aybars about Savaş falls flat to me.
In the scene in question, Helen is agitated by the fact that Aybars got Savaş fired. Aybars confesses to Helen that he was worried about her safety. (In a previous episode Helen has a bruise on her face from her acts of vigilantism and Aybars assumed Savaş hit her). Helen reacts aggressively by pushing Aybars before grabbing him by the groin. She tells him that she can defend herself and demands that he quit the play. Aybars is clearly in pain and doesn’t want Helen touching him, which he articulates by asking her to stop. He eventually gives in to her demands and she leaves.
Helen confronting her ex-boyfriend Aybars
In essence, Helen is enacting the same form of violence that Savaş was a victim to in the first episode, yet here it is framed differently. Here the camera immediately pans towards Helen and Aybars and the music picks up in a way that makes this scene seem thrilling. Aybars’ pleas are ignored and even though he finds himself in Savaş’s place, the narrative does not ask the audience to empathise with him. Here Helen is the character that the narrative depicts empathetically and the scene is almost framed as an act of “girl power” with Helen being the one to assert authority and dominance.
While Helen’s confrontation with Aybars could be used to create similarities between Ercüment and Helen or to show Helen’s loss of humanity, it still is a very horrible scene. This is especially true seeing the show takes such lengths to condemn acts of sexual violence. In the same video essay by the Popular Culture Detective they state:
“When media depicts the sexual assault of a man, even a bad man as ‘getting what they deserve’, it perpetuates rape acceptance.”
The fact that this is the message in a show that seems to be condemning sexual assault is very upsetting and normalises assault in a country that already has such a huge problem with it.
Enter: the Nazis
As previously established, another marker of the exploitation film is the fact that it exploits current trends, which is apparent in the depiction of sexual assault. However, the more I watched Saygı the more apparent it became that the writers of the dizi were appealing to the rise of films and TV that depict alternative Nazi history or neo-Nazis. From TV shows like Hunters, Watchmen, The Plot Against America, The Man in High Castle to films like Jojo Rabbit, Resistance, BlacKkKlansman and even superhero media like Captain America, media is being saturated by such stories.
Within the Turkish context of Saygı, the introduction of Ercüment’s grandmother as a Nazi sympathiser and Hitler’s mistress was confusing. From what I can tell, Turkey did not play a huge part during WWII and there were little ties between Turkey and Nazi Germany. However, that being said, Turkey could currently have an issue with neo-Nazis and Hitler sympathisers, and the writers of Saygı could be depicting that reality. Whatever the reason for the introduction of Ercüment’s grandmother, the fact that her character was tied to Nazi Germany left me confused.
I didn’t understand the importance that was placed on her being a Nazi and how it added to Ercüment’s character arc. Most people I have talked to about it have attributed it as a way to explain Ercüment’s character, that perhaps Ercüment’s actions reflect his upraising under the care of a cruel and unloving Nazi. Perhaps there was supposed to be a connection made between Hitler killing his dogs to the senseless acts of violence that occur every day in Turkey, including to animals. Another reason that has been suggested is that it adds depth and darkness to the story, as well as giving a fresh twist to the evil grandmother trope.
When Hunters was released it received a lot of criticism for its depiction of the Holocaust and Nazis. One of these criticisms came from the Auschwitz Memorial, who stated that the show was historically inaccurate, dangerous, and made the Nazis into a caricature.
Auschwitz was full of horrible pain & suffering documented in the accounts of survivors. Inventing a fake game of human chess for @huntersonprime is not only dangerous foolishness & caricature. It also welcomes future deniers. We honor the victims by preserving factual accuracy. pic.twitter.com/UM2KYmA4cw
The superhero genre is one that is rift with alternative Nazi history. The most popular character that has entered popular culture when it comes to this discussion is probably Steve Rogers, Captain America. However, it is important to note that the Captain America comics was created by two Jewish men, Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. Captain America was first introduced during WWII. Thus, his interaction with Hitler was the deliberate choice of two Jewish men who wanted to see a super-hero punch Hitler as well as encourage the war efforts during WWII.
Seeing I am neither Jewish nor do I have any family who was involved in WWII, I don’t feel like I am in the position to truly state if Saygı’s re-imagining of Nazi History is disrespectful. However, I will say that while watching the show I was very confused about its importance to the story. I firmly believe that the same point could have been made without the addition of Ercüment’s grandmother being a Nazi sympathiser and Hitler’s mistress.
Much like how assault is depicted in Saygı, we see the introduction of Hitler used as a plot device and a short cut for Ercüment’s character development. Ultimately for me, this deterred from a very good show, added nothing to the story, and could potentially be deemed disrespectful to the victims and survivors of the Holocaust.
The Ending (or Lack of One Therefore)
All of this ties to my final issue with Saygı: the ending and the presence of Savaş’s doe. Various folks have questioned what the doe symbolised in the narrative. Was it supposed to be an allusion to Shakespeare? A representation of Savaş’s deteriorating mental health? Perhaps a symbol of innocence, justice, or hope?
The way that the doe functions in the narrative and is framed within various scenes is very reminiscent to the popular American TV series Hannibal. One could argue that the writers of Saygı were paying a homage to Hannibal or that they were inspired by it.
Hannibal 1.06 / Saygı 1.02
However, others still could make an argument that through the doe we see another element of exploitation, plagiarism. All of this ultimately doesn’t matter. Though it is funny when you take into consideration what Bryan Fuller said about assault and how Saygı, a show seemingly inspired in part by Fuller’s work, depicted it.
Whatever the doe symbolises, it ultimately didn’t work for me, especially in regards to the end of the show. At the end of the show, Helen has decided to side with Ercüment and leave Savaş. Savaş finds himself captured in Ercüment’s rehabilitation facility, with only a window to the outside world for company. He looks out his window and sees the doe finding a moment of reprieve before Helen is somehow able to kill the deer.
Savaş watching Helen kill the doe.
This is pivotal because it shows the change in Helen and Savaş’s character. Helen is now depicted as a character that has sided with Ercüment and has lost her humanity. Savaş, the most moral and “normal” character between the trio is in prison, with no hope of escape. We see allusions to The Tempest, with Ercüment and Helen almost playing the father-daughter duo of Prospero and Helen, and Savaş in the role of Caliban.
Yet, it didn’t work for me here because while the message in The Tempest may be that demonic creatures like Caliban cannot become good through education, this is not the reality when it comes to equality and human rights. For a patriarchal and violent society to reach a point where equality exists, education is vital.
Truth be told humans are not inherently bad. The ideology of the patriarchy is not something that people are born with, it is something that people are born into. It is something that is taught every day. It is taught when boys are told not to cry or seem weak, when girls are taught that their place is the domestic sphere, when men aren’t held accountable for their actions, and when women are expected to put up with violence.
People need to be educated on different elements of human rights and feminism so that they might be able to unpack it, unlearn it, and do away with it. In doing so they will be able to raise a generation of children who aren’t victims to the cruelty of the patriarchy.
It is only through education that equality can truly be found.
Additionally, I feel like the way that writers of Saygı toed the line in making dizi edgy left me disappointed. Saygı ends on a note that would make it seem like a tragedy. In fact, the dizi utilises most of the nine elements of Shakespearean Tragedy.
I read once that the great appeal of a tragedy is seeing a character go through something horrific that the audience can empathise, even if they don’t succeed. Yet, catharsis can still be found. The catharsis comes from the writer telling the audience that though terrible things happened, the story is still important and has meaning.
For me, Saygı felt like the opposite. It felt like the writers were saying that the world sucks and nothing matters. It doesn’t matter if you pursue something good or bad, your actions are meaningless. It felt like the show was a huge fuck you to the audience, which is pretty apt way to feel considering the ending.
Ercüment in the final shot of Saygı.
While I commend the writers, directors, and creators of Saygı for attempting to discuss such an important issue of violence against women in Turkey, I can’t help but be critical of the way it was depicted in Saygı. For a show named “Respect” the show seemed deeply disrespectful to various individuals, exploiting their plights for the sake of storytelling. The explicit scenes of assault, the homophobia, and the use of Nazi imagery made me feel like the show was exploiting the topic rather than speaking into it in a nuanced way. I believe that Saygı (and media in general) still has a long way to go in depicting the reality of assault and gendered violence.
Further Readings:
Sexual Assault of Men Played for Laughs: the video essay by Pop Culture Detective that I referenced that discusses sexual assault of men in popular culture.
Stalking for Love: Another video by Pop Culture Detective where they unpack the trope of stalking for love where “invasive stalker-like behaviour is presented as an endearing or harmless part of romantic courtship.”
Saygi Review: Justice or Chaos: Safé’s review of the first episode of Saygı where she discusses philosophy, the patriarchy, and other elements of the show.
Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study By Alexandra Heller-Nicholas: A book that delves into the genre of the rape-revenge and explores the “diverse and often contradictory treatments of sexual violence can exist simultaneously.”
Let me start by saying that I have been hesitant to watch Menajerimi Ara ever since the introduction of Emir and Ekin Atalar taking over as the screenwriter. I didn’t want to judge Menajerimi Ara due to these changes, seeing I believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt.
However, being someone who watched Erkenci Kus and someone who is a huge fan of the DC superhero films, I know how new writers and directors can greatly change the original vision of a movie or show. Thus, though I wanted to enjoy the latest episode of Menajerimi Ara, I found it difficult to watch.In the words of @heviwillnot on Twitter, “the more I write [about episode 10], the more I’m realising they all end with “it doesn’t make sense”.
I actually had lots of comments about yesterday’s episode but the more I write, the more I’m realizing they all end with “it doesn’t make sense” so I’ll save my breath
Briefly, here’s a thread of things that make no sense about the last episode or the whole show:#menajerimara
Menajerimi Ara is a show that advertised itself as a look into the world of Diziland through the lens of a film agency. The first few episodes introduced and followed the lives of the various agents at Ego Agency all the while telling the story of Dicle and Barış (who some could argue were the main protagonists of the show). While it did all of this, Menajerimi Ara managed to have some pretty iconic Turkish talent guest star from the likes of Burçin Terzioğlu, Çağatay Ulusoy, and Gökçe Bahadır amongst many other huge names. From what I can tell, this is what drew audiences in and had them loving the dizi.
However, ever since the end of the 8th bölüm, the show has taken a turn that I cannot comprehend. The show seems to be revolving solely around Dicle, Beren, Emir and Barış (though he is being significantly side-lined in his own dizi).
i’m not even done with the episode lmao i still wish they gave more attention to actual agency issues, the trio and dicle’s career🤨the French version was a bit more focused regarding that hihi pic.twitter.com/DBkWJuaLfl
We are seeing less and less of the rest of the agents at Ego Agency, unless their plots tie into Dicle, Beren, Emir and Barış’s lives. The guest stars aren’t as famous as the stars that came before the ninth bölüm, and they seem to mostly be written to advertise various products.
3) It doesn’t make sense that after the performance of Burçin Terzikaya and the topic of that whole episode, we now get Instagram influencers as guests to promote a brand on the show.
4) It doesn’t make sense that Jülide acts the way she does without facing repercussions.
This has become more and more rampant in the dizi and makes me wonder if the show is having budgetary issues. The other issue that I had is that it felt like so many of the characters were caricatures of themselves.
Character Types & Menajerimi Ara
There are several character types in fiction. There are the protagonist and the antagonist. Some characters act as foils to other characters and other characters that are there to symbolise something. Two important character types groups include the dynamic and static character, and the round and flat character.
A dynamic character is a character that goes through a significant internal change throughout the story. The change is typical because of the conflict the character faces. Typically this character is the main protagonist and their conflict is the conflict of the story. In comparison, a static character is a character that does not change or evolve. They maintain the same personality and outlook throughout the story and are usually secondary characters.
Then we have the round character versus the flat character. A round character is a character that is complex and layered. However, unlike the dynamic character, they do not go through any changes. A flat character, on the other hand, is a character that is one-dimensional and is often noted for having one or two traits that make up their whole personality. Flat characters are almost all static characters, but not all static characters are flat.
While watching Menajerimi Ara the characters that I would expect to go through the most changes and be the epitome of a round character would potentially be Dicle, Barış, Kıraç, and maybe the other agents at Ego Agency. Meral and Emrah are some of the flat/static characters.
A great example of a round character in Menajerimi Ara is Dicle in the seventh episode. The episode plot shows the outcome of Dicle resigning from Ego Agency. By the end of that episode, due to her conflict with Kıraç, Dicle goes through her internal change and decides that she cannot prioritise the men in her life and must look after herself. We see Dicle grow and go through an internal change, that continues throughout the rest of the season.
Watching the tenth bölüm of Menajerimi Ara felt like the complete opposite of that. It felt like seeing the definition of the phrase “one step forward two steps back” unfold in front of my very eyes. The writers establish one thing, before completely undermining it later, which left little space for any internal change.
We see Barış, Feris, Kıraç all, rightfully, get upset at Beren for putting Dicle’s career and the agency at risk, only to later askBeren for forgiveness.
We see Dicle stand up for herself against Beren, only to later ask everyone forgive Beren. We know that Barış has continuously prioritised Dicle’s opinion, yet in this episode, he listens to Beren instead of Dicle.
So, to clarify, my apprehension about this episode is not about Emir, Dicle, Barış or my feelings about the lack of DicBar. It is not about a ship war for me, its about the fact that the story does not make sense because previously established plot points are being discarded to create drama.
I would also argue that one of the blunders of the tenth bölüm is how so many of the characters, including the previously established round characters, become flat characters. These characters who were previously written with nuance and layers are now written with one or two traits making up their entire personality. Dicle became a character that had strong moments but was sweet and kind to everyone. Barış lost his backbone and became a character that believed whatever others were saying. Beren and Gülin were depicted as just evil (with such strong sway over the plot).
Benim ara ara olsa da izlediğim Menajerimi Ara bu değildi. Entrika çeviren kötü karakteri yoktu.Dicle böyle saf salak değildi. Barış’ın ünlü olmakla ilgili sorunları vardı ama özel ilişkilerde tavrı netti. Beren böylesine kötü ve çirkin değildi.Merkezde hiç değildi. #benimsınavım
Gülin’in laf sokmaları insanı delirtiyordu ama iş dünyasında herkesin karşısına çıkabilecek insan tipiydi anlaşılıyordu. Şimdi Dicle’yi anlamsızca hedefe koyup ondan kurtulmaya çalışıyor ve Beren’e yardım ediyor. Ünlü isimler konuktu ve hikayeleri vardı. #benimsınavım
If there was one takeaway that various people I follow had about the 10th Bölüm of Menajerimi Ara it was thatBeren’s character and plot largely overwhelmed the tenth bölüm… and that she is a bitch.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind if Beren is depicted as villainous. Do I think it’s overdone when it comes to dizi plots? Yes. Would I like to see her character do something else? Yes. However, how Beren was able to put Dicle’s life and work at risk and face no repercussions was exhausting. The fact that Beren was able to get forgiveness from her father, Barış and keep her job, in @heviwillnot’s words, “doesn’t make sense”. The fact that Beren used the good graces and forgiveness given to her to continue meddling in Dicle’s life was tedious.
I would argue that Beren being forgiven by everyone points at mischaracterization of Dicle, seeing it is Dicle that asks them to forgive her. Dicle has been established as a layered and multifaceted character. She is sweet and kind and doesn’t want to cause trouble. Yet, she is also established as a character that is willing to do what it takes to grow in the sector.
Thus, having Dicle ask everyone to forgive Beren, makes no sense for multiple reasons. Mostly because Beren has wronged Dicle and put her job at risk. It would be one thing if Dicle didn’t want to irritate Beren because she didn’t want Beren telling everyone that she is Kıraç’s daughter. However, it is Dicle’s selflessness led her to forgive Beren. As previously established, in previous episode Dicle goes through a journey where she realises that she can’t be as selfless as she is. By having her act so selflessly, we see Dicle regress instead of progress.
When it comes to Beren’s forgiveness we also need to talk about Barış. Barış has confusing romantic feelings for Dicle. That was the whole point of him looking through his album of pictures of her, that’s why he broke up with Beren and that’s why he wanted to meet up with Dicle.
Dicle telling Barış that he needs to talk to Beren is what causes him to reconcile with Beren. However, this decision makes no sense when you take into consideration Barış kicking his brother out for hurting Dicle. Even when Dicle talked to him about his brother, Barış still didn’t want to forgive him. So to have Barış be the one asking for forgiveness is really strange and doesn’t make sense. Barış has previously been depicted as a person who was Dicle’s love interest, a protagonist in the show, and someone who would defend Dicle. However, as the episodes continue we see less of that Barış.
Right after this powerful speech, Meral is told she needs to move out because the landlord’s son is coming back. Meral knows this is a lie, which is her literally depicting Burçin’s word by showing that women understand what is happening. She is able to learn that her landlord wants to kick them out because neighbours have seen Barış stay the night. The housing issue has carried on through the past two episodes, with Barış offering to help Dicle out, but her turning down his help because she wants to deal with it herself. In the latest episode, Emir is able to fix Dicle’s housing issues and I hated it.
Part of the reason that I didn’t like the fact that it was Emir that came to Dicle’s rescue, is that the reason that the landlord was kicking Dicle and Meral out is so common in patriarchal societies and is rooted in the patriarchy.
It is rooted in a society that believes women must be kept pure (instead of teaching men how to treat women), in a society where everyone has to say on female autonomy beside the woman herself, and in a society that doesn’t listen to the female voices. With this and Burçin Terzioglu speech in mind, I thought the writers of Menajerimi Ara would use this plot point to discuss important issues.
You might be aware that I originally presumed Barış was going to help Dicle with her housing issues.
there is so much emphasis on Baris house being so big and so lonely and with his brother gone. It’s empty. So Dicle could move in.
him tucking her in bed/helping her with the bed (which would parallel all the scenes of him falling asleep on her)
— ERICA – is back from the dead (@ericaunprompted) October 14, 2020
However, after much thought, I came to the conclusion that based on the fact that they made Dicle so independent and reluctant to get his help, this was unlikely.
I then thought how powerful it would have been if Feris helped Dicle because we could have seen two powerful women come together to slowly chip away at dated and patriarchal ideas.
Another idea would have been to have Kıraç help Dicle and Meral. This would have allowed us to see Kıraç and Dicle bond, as well as showing another way for men to interact with their daughters. It would have shown that daughters are people that can be trusted and that it not them that needs to change, but society.
However, by having Emir be the one to save Dicle in her housing issues we seeing all of Dicle’s characterization are thrown away so Dicle can exist as a damsel in distress who needs to be saved.
With the focus of Menajerimi Ara shifting and focusing more on the drama between Dicle, Beren, Emir and Barış and focusing on Peri Masalı instead of the guest stars we are seeing a new era of storytelling. We are seeing old plot point being discarded (e.g. Barış’s issues with being a celebrity, Barış and Dicle’s relationship, the focus on feminist issues etc.) to focus on relationship drama.
şey… not enough industry BTS gossip on #menajerimiara these days! that's what made the show special tbh.
now we're going in the dicle > barış > beren and now > emir circle! we're enjoying the comic relief ama… can we have both?#benimsınavım
While there is nothing inherently wrong with these elements of storytelling… they are not for me. I was drawn to the world of Menajerimi Ara due to the promise of seeing this spunky and happy character played by Ahsen attempt to conquer diziland with wondrous guest stars being featured every week. I was promised to see Barış be some form of the main character. I was promised important conversations of feminism. What we have been getting in the past two episodes is not that.
That being said, I’ve decided to stop watching Menajerimi Ara (and obviously will stop blogging and giffing it) because all I have is anger and frustration to the way the show is being handled. I would like to thank you to everyone who interacted with me on social media about Menajerimi Ara and DicBar. Than you to those who read my blog posts and those who stole my gifs. You have made this experience beautiful.
To the original writers of the show thank you for adapting such a beautiful world allowing us to enter it.
To Ahsen Eroğlu, Happy Late Birthday! I hope your life is filled with success and the number 22. Thank you for bringing such joy to Dicle.
To Deniz Can Aktaş I hope you eat as much healthy food as you want. Look after your hands, arms and hair they are a gift. Thank you for playing Barış.
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.
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” authorYeşim 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, whichgarnered 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, unlikeDicle, 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.
emir'i barış'ın tam zıttı yapmaya çalışıyorlar. Barış ilk karşılaşma da dicle'yi soru yağmuruna tutmadan empati yapıyor emir ise sorularla darlıyor. Barış Dicle'yi donanımlı olduğu için kendine layık bile görmüyor emir'in ise kitaplığı gördük.. ++
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.
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 writeBeren, 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,”
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”
Earlier this week I watched the trailer to Tessa Thompson’s new film, Sylvie’s Love. The film follows Tessa Thompson’s character, a young Black woman who has dreams of working in television and finds a job working as an Assistant Producer.
This job is not generally one given to a married woman, much less a Black Woman and it follows Sylvie, the titular character, as she attempts to live her dreams and struggles with her love life. In a scene, Sylvie’s dreams come into conflict with her husband, who wants her to be the perfect wife, so she tells him:
I can’t be the woman of your dreams while also trying to be the woman of my dreams.
This quote, I would argue, coincides with what the last two episodes of Menajerima Ara. In the seventh episode of Menajerima Ara we see Dicle giving up on her dream in order to make Kıraç’s life easier. As Dicle herself puts it, she is willing to risk her dreams to make Kıraç’s life easier, and yet he would not do the same for her.
Dicle’s Dream : 7. Bölüm
The seventh episode of Menajerima Ara was perhaps the most difficult to watch, and it largely has to do with the fact that Dicle gives up is giving up her dreams. She is hurt by her father, hurt by Barış choosing Beren over her, and hurt by Feris for not fighting to keep her at the agency.
Yet, as the seventh episode unfolds we watch Dicle come to terms that her selflessness, though it is a great strength, is also causing her problems. We see Dicle establish boundaries and not compromise on her dreams. Firstly, she turns down Barış offers to be his assistant. As Dicle puts it her decision to turn down Barış’s offer didn’t come from a place of hating Barış, but rather because she wants to follow her dreams and establish herself in the sector.
The other moment that we see Dicle establish healthy boundaries comes from her decision to stay working at Ego Agency. This is a choice that Dicle makes because she realises that Kıraç would rather allow Mayda to believe that he and Dicle are having an affair than admit that Dicle is his daughter. While she was willing to give up on her dreams, Kıraç was not okay with being uncomfortable. Resigning and taking Barış’s job offer would be the selfless thing to do, however, we see Dicle grow and establish boundaries and think about herself to live her dreams.
Women & Compromise : 8. Bölüm
This idea of being the woman of one’s dream is carried to the next episode and is made prominent by the various women of the 8th episode.
The entire episode focuses on the various women who exist in different areas of life who are all trying to live their dreams. There’s Dicle, who’s trying to establish herself in the sector, and Feris who is a very prominent manager who knows her place, and finally Burçin Terzioğlu who is a super famous actress. All of these women have different moments in the episode where they are put into a position where they are expected to compromise.
For Feris, this comes through her work. Though Feris loves her work she feels like she needs to sacrifice it to be in a relationship with Nejat. She believes this so firmly that she thinks that Nejat would for her sure break up with her after her outburst at the restaurant when she tells him that she priorities her work. However, at the end of the episode, we see Nejat accept this aspect of
Through Burçin Terzioğlu we see a different form of compromise, a compromise that would allow violence against women to continue to exist. As you can see from this powerful speech, women are expected to not speak up, to compromise their voices, which would allow the countless incidents of female violence to continue to exist. Though I hate to say it, it would have made sense if Burçin had compromised her voice to stay on good terms with the sponsor, because that is a thing that is so commonplace. However, she chose to speak up and not be silenced.
An incredibly powerful scene from tonight’s episode of #MenajerimiAra, a very important show laying bare the ridiculous industry standards, particularly towards women.
Lastly, we have the Dicle. As previously established, in the last episode we saw the fallout of Dicle compromising her dreams for men, and realising that she is not something that she is willing to do that. At the end of that episode, we also see Dicle promise herself that she won’t let the sector change her and make her heartless. We see the outcome of those decisions throughout the episode. On one hand, Dicle chooses to stay working at Ego Agency, yet she chose to be kind to Kıraç by not outing him as her father to Mayda.
We also see Dicle establish better boundaries in her relationship with Barış by not willing to compromise her dreams to be in a relationship with him. She confesses that she did want something romantic to happen between them, however, because she is hurt by his decision to engage in a relationship with Beren. She makes it known that she wants to focus on her work and establish himself in the industry and Barış accepts that decision.
Like Mother, Like Daughter
On a side note, I would like to add that this is probably why Beren, Gülin, Mayda are such unlikeable female characters. We see Dicle, Feris, and even Jülide struggle to establish themselves in the industry and follow their dreams. While all the other women are attempting to live their dreams Beren and Mayda’s are making decisions as a result of the men in their life. Mayda only bought the Agency as a result of her falling out with Kıraç and Beren’s whole life revolves around being close to Barış.
As Barış and many others have pointed out, Beren’s relationship with Barış is superficial seeing she doesn’t listen to him. She has an idealised picture of their relationship and their connection seems very dependent on their work and their lives as celebrities. In the scene where Beren makes him dinner, she gets distracted from this cooking because she is afraid of what could be happening between Barış and Dicle. As we see from Kıraç’s outburst, she risked her job and the quality of her cooking to spy on them, which is almost directly the opposite of what Dicle does this episode when she decides to not risk her career for Barış.
Let me say that again for the people in the back, Barış is not bipolar, so stop labelling him as such.
I would argue that the quote that explains Barış’s actions and character arc is Dicle mother’s “Motherly Advice”.
Dicle’s mother advises to Dicle to not to find someone who she loves, but rather someone who loves her. Someone who will love and appreciate her and who will carry her in their arms. Someone who won’t leave her behind in the same way that Kıraç left them.
I know, I know, your thinking Erica, this is absurd advice when it comes to Barış. Barış is so selfish, he only thinks of himself. He has repeatedly thought about himself, completely disregarding Dicle’s (and even Beren’s) feelings. He says so himself in the club scene from the episode 7, he sometimes is insensitive and uncaring.
A Relationship Built on Lies (Not Really, But Still) : 7. Bölüm
However, before we start talking about Barış we need to establish something of Dicle and Barış’s relationship: it is one that is uneven and filled with miscommunication and misunderstanding.
Dicle entered the relationship expecting something romantic to grow out of it. Barış on the other hand, though he is attracted to Dicle, seems to see her more as a form of comfort. This all comes to head when Barış asks Dicle to stay the night, which changes their relationship, adding so much miscommunication. Their decision to forget about the night and move on is since Barış took Dicle not staying the night to mean she wasn’t interested in him, and Dicle took him saying that he was drunk and wanted to forget about the night to mean the same thing. However, neither character spoke to the other about their intentions and read meaning into the actions of the other without the other saying it explicitly.
Another huge area of unevenness in their relationship comes from how they see each other. There is another aspect to their uneven relationship that comes from Dicle side. While Barış may feel like Dicle is the only person that he can be himself around, Dicle does not feel that way because she is hiding her feelings from him, as well as her secret about her father. Dicle is unable to be herself around Barış.
Yet, another area of complete miscommunication comes from the way that Barış sees Dicle. We know that he sees her as the only person in his life that understands him. This could explain him saying “I don’t want another, I want you” remark, especially because he has pushed away his brother and by his admission, Beren doesn’t understand him. However, in the club scene, we see more of this miscommunication. Barış laments the fact that he is being “insensitive and selfish” towards others (which is what caused Beren to be upset at the club), however, he tells Dicle that she would never do something like this.
Through this, we see an example of Menajerima Ara subverting tropes. When I suggested that my friend watch the dizi she explained that though she was enjoying the dizi, she found it made her anxious especially in regards to Dicle and Barış’s relationship.
She explained how she hated the status difference between Dicle and Barış and explained how exhausting she would find it if the drama revolved around Dicle not feeling good enough for Barış because of his fame. This is a common trope in stories where a celebrity falls for a normal person. Another common trope is that the normal person might have a romantised version of the celebrity that doesn’t reflect reality. Yet, in Menajerima Ara it is Barış who feels like he is inferior to Dicle and puts Dicle on a pedestal. He has a very idealised idea of Dicle, thinking that she is completely selfless.
In Dicle and Barış last interactions in the 7th episode, we see Barış’s insensitive nature furthered when he offers Dicle a job as his assistant. We see Barış impulsive nature through this offer and Dicle rightly turns down the offer leaving a confused Barış at the sidewalk. Later in the episode, Barış goes and apologies to Dicle for making the offer and she explains her reasoning.
Barış Havas and a Journey of Growth : 8. Bölüm
In the 8th Bölüm, we see Barış is going on his journey and many of the scenes in this episode parallel ones that have come before in previous episodes and show Barış’s growth.
The most obvious example comes from the scene where Barış is trying on clothes, which is a direct parallel to their first encounter, a thing that Barış brings up.
On one hand, I love this call back because it’s so cute and I love Dicle and Barış together. I think there is another element to it because as @heviwillnot, points out, the scene where Dicle is helping Barış with his clothes is such a call back to their relationship earlier where they laughed, joked, and there was warmth between them before all of the drama in episode occurred.
I wanna say this about the last episode;
I LOVE this scene. The way they were joking around & laughing felt like the older episodes. The last few episodes felt a little cold between them and we stopped seeing scenes like this so I really appreciate this moment🥺#MenajerimiArapic.twitter.com/fsOuDMP4Ty
Dicle notices that Barış has been calling her by her name, instead of “Assistant Kiz”. While this may seem like a tiny step (and it is) it shows growth on Barış’s part it is a direct call back to the previous episode where Barış sees Dicle exclusively as an Assistant Girl without taking into consideration her dreams or desires. Here, however, we finally see Barış accept Dicle as she is. We see him further prioritise Dicle feelings by asking her if there is something wrong.
The other important scene that occurs comes when Beren tries to cook Barış’s favourite meal. This is Beren’s attempt to romance Barış, and it backfires and is lowkey the stuff of horror movies and a complete waste of food.
However, the Barış we see in this scene is the complete opposite of the Barış in the previous episode. In the previous episode, we see Barış go to the club, think insensitively about his words to Beren, and allows her to stay the night. We see him listen to the fans, his producers, and even Dicle who have all pushed him towards being in a relationship with Beren.
Episode 7 vs. Episode 8
In this episode Barış makes it clear that though he will eat dinner with Beren he doesn’t want to go to the club nor does he want her to come back to his house with him. He is establishing some boundaries in their relationship and distancing himself from Beren. Much like Dicle, he is choosing to prioritise his work (reading his script) instead of focusing on relationships. Ultimately Barış does get distracted by a relationship just not his relationship with Beren, but with Dicle.
All of this leads to the final scene of the episode where Dicle tells Barış that she just wants them to remain friends with him and nothing more. While I understand that some might be upset by this decision, when it comes to the overall theme of the episode and Barış’s character arc, his decision to remain friends with her is important.
Firstly, we get a parallel to the scene where Barış tells Dicle that he wants to forget about the night that he asked her to stay over and just remain friends with her.
Most importantly though by having Barış accept Dicle request to remain, friends, we see him follow through with both Dicle’s mother and Burçin Terzioğl’s speeches. Burçin Terzioğl speech was about the importance of the women’s voices, Dicle mother’s advice was about the importance of finding a man who would prioritise Dicle. By listening to Dicle request to stay friends, Barış is prioritising Dicle, her voice, and her dreams, regardless of how it impacts his feelings. He is finally sacrificing for her and not thinking about himself.
Why I’m the only one that understand Bariş doesn’t talk beacause he respects Dicle’s ambitions? She said: dating you hinders my career. What was he supposed to say?
that’s exactly what i think. that was the most selfless thing he’s ever done for Dicle. he wanted to reciprocate her feelings but he saw that she had her aims set & was trying to get over him, so he let her do that instead.
However, throughout this episode we see something else occurring between Dicle and Barış clearer communication. Barış sees Dicle not think and say whatever was on her mind about Burçin Terzioğl dress. We also see better communication. Dicle tells Barış that she wants to be friends with him, not due to some hidden expectation she had of him, but due to her desires. She lays it out as it is and they are both on the same level as each other.
Furthermore, from the synopsis and fragman of the next episode, it seems like Barış might learn about Dicle’s secret, which would create even more clarity between them.
I absouletly adore the way that the guest stars were integrated into the eighth episode. If you are unaware, Filmekimi and Istanbul Film Festival, two of the biggest film festivals in Turkey, were happening when the 8 Bölüm aired. Having Burçin Terzioğlu be preparing to present at the Istanbul Film Festival is very topical and shows the writers ability to integrate the very real aspects of the film sector in this very fictional show. The other guest star is Hazal Kaya, who much like the episode depicts, has recently signed on to be the ambassador of Cif Türkiye.
I really need Barış to admit his feelings for Dicle make a move. Up until this point, he has been a bit passive in their relationship… Additionally, if we are robbed of Dicle and Barış scenes because of the new dude… I will riot!
When I initially watched the sixth episode of Menajerimi Ara, I watched it without English subtitles. Needles to say, I was pretty upset with Barış. The accusation that he is using Dicle and leading her own seemed relevant and Dicle’s belief that Barış goes from being hot to cold, seemed truthful AF. However, now that I have watched the episode in its entirety (with English subtitles) I cannot help but feel for Barış. However, that being said I do not forgive him or the writers for the repeated offence of him leading Dicle only to break her heart.
YES EXACTLY like, he gives her hope, lets her down and wants her back, sit your ass down and stop acting like a child for once. and they will most definitely find out about dicle and kirac otherwise it makes no sense
Barış has a lot on his plate. Though he wants to be the type of actor who cares about his craft rather than money (an admirable trait in the world of capitalism), this decision does not come without problems. His choice to turn down the film offer is tested in this episode because his Dizi’s ratings are goings down, and anyone who is an avid dizi watcher knows that could mean a sudden cancellation. Bay Yanlış anyone?
If he had taken the film role, he would have some certainty of a job and income. Additionally, a lot of people in his life are pushing him towards Beren from the fans of the show to his brother to Mr Jalal.
With all of this uncertainty, Beren promises some form of certainty. Due Beren and him have such strong chemistry, their dizi is popular and has the ability to continue airing. As you might have noticed from the show, or my previous post, Barış is being pressured to be in a relationship with Beren for the sake of dizi ratings.
His brother also keeps on pushing them together. This idea is seen through the fact that when because when Barış tries to talk to his brother about Dicle, his brother doesn’t seem to understand. Instead he point out all of the fans that love Barış, and and points out Beren and Barış’s chemistry, ignoring the fact that Barış denies it saying its an act. Instead, Barış’s brother insists that Barış should give up Dicle and instead focus on Beren.
This is what could be happening when Barış and Beren kiss on the beach. When Beren admits her feelings for Barış, Barış doesn’t really react. It is only when Beren name drops Dicle that something seems to overcome Barış and he goes for the kiss. However, the kiss seems to confuse him more than entice him. It is almost like he is testing the waters to see if there is really something there.
I think that all of the voices in his head have confused him. However, I feel like he is not a complete idiot and is aware of his feelings for Dicle as well as her feelings for him. Yet, to me, it seems like he is afraid to act on these feelings for various reasons. We see this early on during the phone call, when he is hesitant to ask her about the night before.
Barış does thinks highly of Dicle, though, and wants her in his life. As he has told her multiple times, the fans expect to see the actor Barış, and not the person. His brother, to some degree expects the same. As far as Barış is concerned, Dicle doesn’t care about his fame, beside the way in which it affects her work, and that’s why he’s so drawn to her. So maybe, Barış is hesitant and doesn’t want to ruin this “good thing they have” by acting on their feelings.
However, another area of the frustration fans have seems to come from the fact that Barış went to Dicle house, told her how important she is to him, before breaking her heart by telling her that they wouldn’t work, because she’s too good for him.
At this revelation, I completely understand fans frustrations. However, I want to add that I have a love/hate relationship with Barış thinking he’s not good enough for Dicle. On one hand, it is such an overrated trope, and if Barış truly believes that Dicle deserves better than he should be better instead of giving up.
And though I hate this trope, I also love it (blame it on my One Tree Hill days, Naley anyone?). The reason that I love it in regards to Menajerimi Ara it kind of subverts a common dizi trope. In Dizi-Land it is not uncommon to find narratives where the rich, successful, cultured man falls for a woman who does not come from the same means. Erkenci Kus is a perfect example of this, with Can being the rich, cultured and successful man and Sanem being significantly more disadvantaged and less cultured than him.
In Menajerimi Ara we see this parallel on a surface level. Barış is the epitome of that rich and cultured man, and Dicle is clearly poorer and works for him. However, unlike the Can Divit and Serkan Bolat’s of the world Barış isn’t born into money and probably doesn’t have a university education. Instead, he worked menial jobs as a construction and factory worker and a mover. With his dizi ratings going down, his job may not be as successful as it seems.
On the other hand, Dicle is the character that went to university. She is cultured one of the duo. While we still see a power structure at play, we still see some subversion of this trope. Though her job at the agency is not perfect, job security is not something she needs to be worried about, and by all accounts, she is successful in her jobs.
I would argue, because Barış is so rich and confident, his insecurity in pursuing Dicle romantically is probably hard to watch. However, it has the ability to be understandable, because of everything he is going through.
It is also important to note, that Barış does seem to like Dicle and be willing to make exceptions and do nice things for her. I made a gif set if anyone needs references to the moments I speak of. One of these examples, comes from the fact that Barış is described as a character that cares about his work, and yet turned down work because of Dicle.
Another example comes from his relationship with his brother. As everyone knows, Barış and Aydın relationship is rocky. The brothers disagree on certain things with Aydın having certain ideas the decisions Barış should be making in regards to his fame, and Barış being frustrated by Aydın monetising on said fame. Barış, it seems to me, feels like his brother doesn’t understand him.
As I explained it in the previous blog post, the episode is filled with accumulated screams. This comes to fruition in Barış’s relationship with Aydın, when Aydın reveals he confronted Dicle. For Barış this is the tipping point. While he was able to live with his brother when his brother was pushing him towards Beren, or monetising on his fame, he can’t condone the idea of Aydın verbally abusing Dicle. The idea that his brother verbally abused her is what sets off Barış accumulated scream. Yet, his scream doesn’t manifest in yelling or fighting, as it has done in the past. Instead, Barış calmly kicks Aydın out.
Through this, we see Barış involuntarily admit something that we’ve wanted him to admit this entire time, the importance of Dicle in his life. We have seen that he is willing to lose work opportunity because of her advice (as seen by the fact that he rejected the movie). However, here we see him choosing her over even that of familial ties. Both brothers are clearly hurt by this decision, and it seems that Barış regrets it, yet he ultimately allows his brother to leave.
With this being said, Barış’s reaction when he thinks Dicle is coming to set makes sense. He, has on some level isolated himself because of the way that people are treating her. However, that being said Barış should know its okay to have friends beyond your love interest. In fact its healthy.
It is will also be interesting to see how the rest of the show will deal with this decision… What else would Barış risk to keep Dicle in his life and her happy? How will he react when he learns of Beren’s mother’s campaign to get Dicle fired, or when his job is at stake because of whatever relationship he might have with Dicle? Or when it is revealed who her father is?
Okay Friends and Foes, I did it! I woke up at a reasonable time to watch Yeni Hayat live. I should probably give a special shout out to KanalD for having a live stream and a special shout out to my neighbours and roommates for being loud AF in the morning. What would I do without y’all (note the sarcasm).
Anyways, let me start by saying that when watched it live, I had no idea what they were saying so my reaction was pretty much :
Serkan is so beautiful
Serkan with a child is doing something to me… do I secretly want to have children?
Melisa Asli Pamuk is gorgeous
I don’t know what’s happening with Adem’s jacket, but will someone in the clothing department please go steal one of Cihangir Tepeli’s jackets please!
Firstly, I would like to say congrats to everyone that worked on the show, because I feel like the first Bölum of the show really did a good job of establishing the characters and really setting the tone and plot of the show.
Now, if you know anything about the show you probably know that the basic premise of it follows Adem (as played by the ever handsome Serkan Cayoğlu) being hired by a rich businessman (Tayanç Ayaydin) to be his wife’s (Melisa Asli Pamu) bodyguard. Now, if you know anything about me (or you managed to find my Goodreads account) you know that I would probably go wild for this premise. It’s literally the plot of so many good stories, from whatever it was Dolph Lundgren and Grace Jones had, to the plot of countless books, countlessmovies(invariouslanguages), and tv shows… and as you will soon learn, I am total trash for this plot!
Recap (With Commentary):
The episode starts by establishing Adem’s military past as well as showing him to be a man who stands up for people, as he saves a random woman from being stalked and stabbed by her ex-husband. Immediately, the writers of the show seem to give us a bit of foreshadowing, as the man accuses his ex-wife of cheating on him with Adem. With the premise in mind, it’s not hard to understand that Adem is eventually going to be put into a position where he’s going to be looking after the well being of a woman (Yasemin), and he is probably going to cheat on his wife.
However, the question that came to me based off this interaction was whether Adem (in later episodes) was going to intervene when Yasemin is being abused by her husband (as indicated in the trailer).
From, there we get a bit of Adem’s home life, and honestly it was gut wrenching to watch, because the show establishes that Adem is happily married to his wife and that his daughter is cute-af. This made me really apprehensive about the rest of the show, because his family really seems lovely and yet I know the show is about infidelity.
Adem is apparently job-hunting, and all I can say about that is, mood! We get an adorable seen as Adem’s family throw him a surprise birthday party, before we get a match cut showing us that its Yasemin’s birthday. Now as someone who studied film in school, let me tell you, that match cut made my little heart flutter.
We are then introduced to Yasemin and Timur and their life. It is clear that they live quite luxuriously and are rich. Yet, the crew of the show were able to capture the tension between Yasemin and Timur so artfully and subtly. With just a hint of slow motion showing Timur holding Yasemin’s neck as he tells her he’s happy that she’s his, we were able to quickly understand that Timur sees Yasemin as property.
(The "it" here is meant to be you and is a translation error because Turkish doesn't have gender pronouns)
We are also introduced to Timur’s brat of a daughter, Gökçe, and honestly seeing Ipek Filiz Yazici in this role after watching her in Aşk 101 low-key blew my mind. I personally think it speaks of Ipek’s acting ability, because while I totally loved her in the role as Işik in Aşk 101, I despise Gökçe for being such so bratty and spoiled.
The scenes that follow show both Adem and Yasemin at home and the only reason that I mention this is because it’s indicates five things. Firstly, it reminds us of what we already know Adem is a great dad.
My reaction whenever we see Adem and his family together.
Secondly, we get a scene of Adem’s family watching a news report of him saving the woman from earlier. This scene stood out to me because his wife tells him to be careful, reminding him he has a family, which could be a potential hint that something might happen to his family is future episodes.
We then learn that Timur is receiving messages threatening Yasemin’s life in what I can only describe as straight from Community, down to the red car. Then, we have learned that Timur’s first wife died and we are introduced to the villains (led by Kunduzi as played by Nebil Sayin), who are plotting against Yasemin. Lastly, one of Adem’s old partners sees the news reports and goes to Adem asking if he’s willing to be a bodyguard, which Adem sees hesitant about (though his wife is overjoyed).
The next day Adem prepares to visit the Karatan household, and we get a very sweet domestic scene. However, as he’s getting ready Adem responds to his wife comments of him looking good by asking her if she’ll be jealous, to which she replies she isn’t, and all I can say is…
Adem meets with Timur, but is interrupted by Yasemin who is unhappy about being forbidden from leaving the Karatan property and additionally for having a bodyguard forced upon her… To which I say you wait Yasemin, you complain now, but if Dolph Lundgren and Grace Jones have taught me anything, thing are about to get hot and steamy. And it does as Yasemin and Adem have a bit of back forth, complete with lingering looks and what could only be described as eye fucking.
We get another reminder that Adem is going to cheat, as Timur mentions Adem’s loyalty to his wife. Later Nevin convinces Adem to take the job (he does, no surprise) and Adem’s family moves into the Karatan compound.
From there we establish that Adem is a great dad (again), that Yasemin is intent on getting rid of Adem, and that every female within the Karatan compound is attracted to Adem. This includes Gökçe who approaches Adem and openly flirts with him in a way that somehow made me annoyed and gave me second hand embarrassment. All I can say about this is, is Sinan, come pick up your girl before she makes a fool of herself (but not really since Ipek has Corvid).
From a conversation between Nevin and her friend we learn that Nevin might not be able to have kids and that Ece (probably) isn’t Adem’s child, a thing Adem doesn’t know. We get shots of Adem being Yasemin’s bodyguard, intercut with shots of Nevin and Ece shopping. Yasemin handbag get stolen, and Adem chases down the muggers, only to be admonished for this action by Yasemin. This causes Adem to grow suspicious of why she would care about the muggers. Everyone arrives at home, and Ece and Nevin see Adem and Yasemine from afar, and as soon as Nevin sees Yasemine, her face falls. The obvious answer to this, is Nevin is eating her words and is jealous… however based off the fact this a Dizi I’m watching… perhaps there is something more at foot.
Timur tells Adem that his first wife died because he was being extorted for money through someone threatening his first wife’s life. Timur apparently went to the police who weren’t able to solve the case. Not wanting the cycle to happen again, Timur asks Adem to investigate the case and Adem agrees as long as he is allowed to turn the blackmailers to the police.
That night, both Adem and Yasemin can’t sleep. Yasemin goes and sits on her balcony, while Adem goes outside. We then get perhaps the most important shot of the whole show as Adem starts doing some pull ups as Yasemin watches from a distance… and all I can say is I would like to thank not only God but also Jesus.
In the scenes that follow Gökçe drunkenly returns homes and shamelessly flirts with Adem, who turns down her advances. Yasemin watches this interaction looking upset (or maybe jealous), before she helps Gökçe, which ends with them fighting. Timur intervenes, and Yasemin (rightfully) calls out Gökçe for being a brat (and Timur as well), Timur shows his true colours by dragging her to their room where he physically abuses her.
The next morning both Yasemin and Adem are getting ready for an event. Nevin tries to casually tell Adem that she might not be as perfect as he might think she is. Nevin also tries to casually ask Adem if he finds Yasemin beautiful, to which he tells her Yasemin is annoying, reminding Nevin that Yasemin is just his employer. Timur and Yasemin are at an important lunch when a mysterious gunman opens fire on them, and Adem saves Yasemin. Which leads us to that scene, you know the one in all the trailers.
Adem and Yasemin end up in a random room in the kitchen, and Adem gives his bullet proof vest to Yasemin. And let me tell you, that women is dedicated because though she literally almost got shot, she still finds the time to check out Adem.
Okay, to be honest... I think she's looking at his gunshot wound.
Adem soon figures out that whoever is sending the messages probably is close to the family and informs both Yasemin and Timur of this. In the scene that follows we learn about Timur and Yasemin relationship, before learning that Timur is smuggling guns into the country.
This is when the plot kicks up as someone attacks Yasemin in her room. Adem chases him down as Yasemin slips away. It is revealed that the assailant is Fatih, Yasemin’s driver, and that Yasemin has slipped away to the Kunduzi, who she is working with. She wants to make it look like her life is in danger in order fake her death and get fake papers so she escape the Karatan’s. Kunduzi suggests that Yasemin seduce Adem in order to throw him off her scent. The episode ends with Adem finding a “knocked out” Yasemin.
Final Thoughts:
All in all I really enjoyed the show and as previously stated, I think it’s a great first episode. However, as of the moment, I am finding it really difficult to ship Adem and Yasemin because Nevin is still in the picture.
I love Yasemin, I really do. She is such a fun character who seems rather complex and I’m super excited to see more of her. However, I have also grown to love Nevin, even if she is hiding something from Adem, and I don’t want to see him cheat on her (especially because he seems so in love with her). Honestly, there’s a part of me that’s hoping that Nevin dies, so that I can ship Yasemin and Adem… #sorrynotsorry
My only other thought was I really need Gökçe, to get a hobby or something… Please stop flirting with Adem.
Theories & Questions:
Is there a double meaning to all of the shots that involve mirrors. There are so many shots where Adem and Yasemin are looking into mirrors… So were these shots done for aesthetic purposes or is there symbolism that I’m missing…
Does the show’s title has a double meaning? On one hand Yeni Hayat (translation: New Life) could be a reference to both Adem and Yasemin finding “new life” (Adem in his new job, and Yasemin as she tries to escape the Karatans and find a new life)…
However, an alternate explanation can be found in the fact that both Nevin and Timur address Adem and Yasemine as “my life” (to my knowledge neither Adem nor Yasemin call their spouses this).
Could this be due to the fact that “Yeni Hayat” is a reference to the fact that Adem and Yasemine will become each other’s “new life”.
Is Yasemin seeing Adem’s gunshot wound and him around his family going to make her change her mind and decide to stop seducing using him to get her way?
Is Timur’s first wife actually dead?
Is something going to happen to Adem’s family and is Yasemin at all going to be involved in the kidnaping of Adem’s daughter? Also… will Nevin please die?
Also, so the show establishes that Adem is a character that follows the rules. He wants to go to the police constantly and he clearly is very loyal to his family… So it will be interesting to see Adem’s demise as he gets close to Yasemin. However, I’m curious to know if he will find out Kunduzi and Yasemin’s connection and what he will do then…
Anyways, that it for now! Thank you for reading my nonsensical thoughts, and feel free to leave a comment… and see you next week as we continue to thirst for Serkan Cayoğlu.
ERICA TALKS SH*T 