Tag: TV

The Tragedy of İrem Muzaffer

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. While Müjde 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.

Further Reading

  1. İrem İnceoğlu, “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).
  2. Jamaluddin Aziz, Transgressing Women: Space and The Body in Contemporary Noir Thrillers, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2012.
  3. F. J. M. Gardner, The ‘strong female character’ paradox. Epigram.
  4. A. Valdovinos, The Failure of Strong Female Characters. Impacting Culture Blog.
  5. Aja Romano, “The Mako Mori Test: “Pacific Rim” inspires a Bechdel Test alternative”, The Daily Dot.

Menajerimi Ara 9. Bölüm Review: or the Art of Adaptation

The newest episode of Menajerimi Ara was perhaps the most successful episode that has aired in a long time. The change in the broadcasting day caused the ratings to skyrocket and put it on the top 5 trending things on Twitter.

📈 Ratings: Star TV’s #MenajerimiAra scores big moving to Sundays! Originally tweeted by Dizilah 🇹🇷 (@dizilah) on October 19, 2020.

However, responses to the episode and the İzleme to the next episode were less than positive. Many fans, myself included, were unhappy. The reason that the episode was so lacklustre could be attributed to various things. It could be due to the fact there was a change in airdate with the episode airing two days earlier than it was supposed to. It could be that this episode is supposed to be a filler episode. It could because Ekin Atalar took over as writer of the show.    

Another reason could be that the latest episode and preview were a marketing strategy to boost viewership and engagement by adding drama. The newest episode certainly did that, causing the show to trend and the İzleme certainly left audiences riled up and in arms. 

There could be various reasons for why the writing of the newest episode of Menajerimi Ara was so uninspiring. However, I believe that the secret to the latest episode of Menajerimi Ara and the İzleme is because Menajerimi Ara is a remake of the French television series, Dix pour cent. 

The Art of Adaptation and Fidelity

We live in a world where there is an influx of global remakes. Turkey has taken remakes by the horn, accounting for countless success and failures. Yet, the art of adaptation is not as easy as one would make it seem. In an article called “A Crime Drama Between Fidelity and Cultural Specificity: Audiences’ Reception of Cinayet, the Turkish Remake of Forbrydelsen” author Yeşim Kaptan studied the failure of Cinayet the Turkish remake of the Swedish series Forbrydelsen. 

She noted that Cinayet followed the same style, form, and content of the original Swedish show. Cinayet was a word for word remake of Forbrydelsen, which garnered much criticism. The same criticism was made of Galip the Turkish remake of Monk, which critics argued was a “translated replica, rather than a localised remake”.

 

While studying the reception to Cinayet, Kaptan noted that the Turkish audience wanted a remake that represented the culture of Turkey while remaining a faithful adaption of Forbrydelsen.1

According to Kaptan, a remake is only successful if the production is faithful to the original text while Turkish specific norms, values, and issues are represented.

Yet, Kaptan explains that a remake of a show will undoubtedly because of the choices made by the local production team, in an attempt to localise it. The local production team has to keep in mind copyright law, as well as the local financial and filming laws. Thus, even if a show is a replica, there will be some differences. 

İrem İnceoğlu article, “Gender Representation in Turkish TV”, expanded on how Turkish television changed details when adapting shows. LGBT characters, characters who were involved in affairs, or female characters often went through extensive changes to strip away things that could be seen as abnormal or immoral by RTÜK or Turkish audiences.2

A large portion of İrem İnceoğlu article focused on the way that dizis, regardless of whether they were remakes or not, portrayed female characters. She argued that female characters were either love interest, mothers, or women who were co-dependent and related to the home life. Men, on the other hand, were written as emotionless fighters who were violent to some degree. İnceoğlu study found that four-fifths of roles depicting violence were written for men and two-thirds of roles depicting crying were written for women.

Marriage is often depicted as the goal, with emphasis put on relationships. However, İnceoğlu argued that there has been a shift to depicting women existing in the workplace, and men being caretakers. Yet, she noted that female characters in power and money related jobs were frowned upon.

The Localised Remake or A Replica?

All of these ideas are important while trying to understand the success or failure of Menajerimi Ara. Much like Cinayet, Galip, or many other Turkish remakes that exist, Menajerimi Ara may seem to be a word for word remake of its French counterpart. The plot points of 1 – 7 Bölüm follow faithfully the first seven episodes of Dix pour cent. Exceptions were made for the 8th Bölüm, which followed the 6th episode of season 2 of Dix pour cent. This change was probably made to coincide the 8th Bölüm airing with the Turkish International Film Festival. 

As İnceoğlu pointed out certain things were written out of Menajerimi Ara to abide by RTÜK laws and Turkish values. In Menajerimi Ara, both Feris and Emrah are depicted as heterosexual. Jülide is not Black and facing discrimination. Gülin is not a middle-aged woman who is in love with Kıraç. Beren is Mayda’s daughter from a previous marriage, unlike in the French show. Kıraç’s character is also re-written to not have an affair, with Dicle mother while Mayda is pregnant with Beren.

In Menajerimi Ara we see a character from Dix pour cent being split into two different characters, Beren and Barış.

The Adaption as a Good?

However, the writers of Menajerimi Ara are capable of adaption, telling nuanced stories, and discussing important feminist ideas. They are also capable of not holding themselves to the tropes and plots that are so common in dizis.

We see all of this through Dicle’s character. Menajerimi Ara follows Dicle’s life. Dicle is educated and a resourceful young woman who is so endearing, making her an easy protagonist to like. Camille, Dicle’s French counterpart, is one of the many characters that the Dix pour cent follows. Additionally, unlike Dicle, she is not educated and floated between interests before working at the agency.

By making Dicle educated women the writers managed to subvert the trope that constricts so many female characters in Dizis, seeing she is not associated to the house. Dicle being educated is especially interesting because, in comparison Barış, she is the more cultured one in the relationship. Additionally, Dicle chooses to work over her relationship with Barış, pushing aside the idea that female characters must be in a romantic relationship. Dicle goal and desires to work is such a powerful decision and has garnered a positive response by the fans. 

We also see the writers ability to balance adaption, feminism, and Turkish values, through the way that Feris and Burçin Terzioğlu. Through Feris we see the writers work to abide by RTÜK laws by not making Feris gay or philandering. Instead, they focus their attention on another issue in Turkey, by depicting as a work orientated woman and her struggles.

Through Burçin Terzioğlu’s we see the writers ability to adapt a feminist speech to fit issues that women face in Turkey. The writers are capable of balancing adaption, feminism, and Turkish values.

In Dix pour cent when Camille starts working at the agency, she starts a tentative relationship with Hippolyte, a young actor who is signed at the agency, only to realise that he is her half-brother. When she learns that Hippolyte is her brother, she calls off the relationship and tries to avoid him, unable to tell him the truth about their shared father. The truth is eventually revealed when Mathias is caught talking to Camille by his wife and son who assume he is having an affair.

Catherine leaves Mathias when she learns of his affair and opts to not buy the agency. However, it is important to know that she and Hippolyte do not hold anything against Camille, knowing it is Mathias who had the affair.

The decision to have Dicle not fall in love with her half-brother in Menajerimi Ara makes sense because of the family friendly values that RTÜK tries to uphold. I would argue that the introduction of Barış Havas is perhaps the best decision in regards to adapting the show. I love love stories, and Dicle and Barış have such strong chemistry. Their love is truly enjoyable to watch.

The Adaption as a Bad?

As İnceoğlu points out in Turkish TV there is an importance placed on characters falling in love. The introduction of Barış Havas as a love interest is unique to Menajerimi Ara, as is the introduction of Emir as a secondary love interest. Both of them reflect a Turkish sensibility. 

When I learnt that Emir was being introduced as a character, I released the deepest sigh of annoyance. I was also very apprehensive to watch the episode due to the drama that I foresaw coming by introducing Dicle to another love interest. However, I did not think that I would hate it as much as I did. 

https://twitter.com/leosfemme/status/1317929348675129345
https://twitter.com/leosfemme/status/1317929628418379776

 As leosfemme put it, the introduction of a secondary love interest in very commonplace in Dizis and media in general. It can allow the relationship or character to be tested or to make a characters understand their feelings.

Due to the way that the dizis are written and function, the secondary love interest is often introduced as a cheap way add drama to the show. This is another over-saturated dizi trope. However, the issue with adding drama for the sake of drama is that it can take away from established character arcs and character growth. 

To establish Emir as a potential love interest in Dicle’s life is bewildering when you take into consideration her decision to focus on work. The audience response to Emir seems to be that his character is invasive. By having Emir brag that he is going to see all the sides of Dicle, implies that he is there to change her, and shows that Emir might have some form of power over Dicle. That there is a power dynamic disparity in their relationship. He constantly puts Dicle in uncomfortable positions to see different sides of her. This is a sharp comparison to Barış who continuously offers listen to Dicle and generally doesn’t demand it of her.

Depicting Emir as a potential love interest and an invasive character is also super perplexing in regards to the episode that came before, where Burçin Terzioğlu’s makes a speech about consent and listening to female voices.

Additionally, when it comes to the jealousy trope in regards to Menajerimi Ara is the fact that we are already seeing it through Beren. Having Emir be the reason for jealousy brings no creativity to the table and is a cheap way to cause conflict between Barış and Dicle.

Barış Havas (or the Part Y’all Have Been Waiting For)

Finally, because this is a blog post that I am writing, I will be talking about the love of my life, Barış Havas. Maybe me writing about Barış will be ours always. As previously established the introduction of Barış Havas is perhaps my favourite aspect of the adaption. I love Dicle and Barış so much! However, I hated episode 9.

The way that Barış is written is wild, which is to say that I hate it and it makes no sense. 

In the last episode, we see Barış trying on suits with the help of Dicle. It is clear from this interaction that he is deeply attracted to her. The whole montage of him standing outside and thinking about Dicle shows that he likes her. Him wanting desperately to talk to Dicle at the end of the episode shows that he cares that they are on good terms and that she is okay. 

So, to see that Barış Havas in comparison to the one depicted in the 9th episode is frustrating. One could argue that Barış comforting Beren at the start of the episode because they are friends and colleagues. Okay, that’s cool. Barış thinking about sending Dicle a message saying that she is not being a good friend could also be excusable because he trusts her and maybe is hurt that she doesn’t feel the same about him.

We also see Barış on very friendly terms with Dicle. All of the pining and attraction and love that were depicted in the previous episode just mysteriously vanished replaced with platonic comradely. None of the music or longing gazes that filled the previous episodes is present. Which could make sense because they agreed to be friends. This could also explain why Barış kisses Beren.

The final and important scene in regards to the way that Barış is written is at the wedding shoot. To have Barış know that Beren is upset at Dicle and have him simply watch Beren hassle Dicle without intervening is strange.

Especially because it came from the same Barış Havas who cheered Dicle up when Beren yelled at her.

The same Barış Havas who defended Dicle against Beren and his brother. The same Barış Havas who has repeatedly prioritised Dicle over everyone else. To have that Barış Havas not intervene on Dicle behalf goes against the way that his character was written up to this point. 

The other reason that I was upset lies in the fact that in the 8th episode, Dicle admits that she wanted a serious relationship with him, but him being out with Beren changed her mind. She also mentions the night at his house.

If you remember Barış took Dicle leaving to imply that she didn’t like him. If he truly likes Dicle, than why didn’t this revelation affect him? Regardless of whether or not he’s trying to be a good friend, wouldn’t the admission by Dicle that she liked him have some form of effect on him? Wouldn’t it make him reconsider his closeness to Beren? Especially, because he started ‘dating’ Beren because he thought Dicle wasn’t interested.

The last straw for the fandom was not in regards to the episode but rather the İzleme. In the İzleme we see the fallout of Dicle being accused of leaking information at the agency. Barış approaches Dicle and asks her if it’s true, which offends her, as it should. 

This doesn’t make sense, seeing Barış stated multiple times that he trusts Dicle and that he doesn’t believe she is capable of doing anything bad. By having him question her about this, we see all the work that they’ve put into Barış and Dicle be disregarded for the sake of drama.

Find the difference. Originally tweeted by claudia 🍂 (@goldeniaz) on October 20, 2020.

Granted the introduction of Emir and making Barış like this could be explained. Through these two characters, we see Turkish television norms and value represented in the adaptation. As previously established, Barış’s French counterpart, Hippolyte and Camille also have a very important conversation where they decide to be friends.

This decision is brought on by the fact that they are related to each other and explains why they go from being romantically involved to platonically involved so quickly. Barış on the other hand has no reason to stop showing some form of romantic interest or trusting Dicle. If anything his interest should have been grown due to Dicle’s confession from the previous episode. 

The Adaption as a Ugly?

Through introduction of Mayda, Beren and even Gülin is where we see Menajerimi Ara incorporate the worst of Turkish television norms and values.

In my review for the previous episode of Menajerimi Ara, I argued that Beren and Mayda are such different characters to the other female characters in the show because their entire lives are tied to men.

Mayda, unlike her French counterpart is incredibly suspicious of Dicle, as is Beren. She becomes a key character in Menajerimi Ara and unlike Catherine doesn’t leave her husband or and does buy the agency. Her entire story arc is tied to the men.

Gülin’s French counter part is also suspicious of Camille because she loves Mathias. However, Gülin’s character is not jealous or vindictive to Camille. All of her suspicions toward Camille vanish as soon as she learn the truth of Camille’s parentage.

By the end of the first season, both women are on good terms with Camille.

As previously established, Beren doesn’t exist in Dix pour cent. Hippolyte and Camille are on good terms with each other when they find out that they are siblings. He is also quite busy with his film career and is not a central character in the agency, and we are not shown much of him. The character that Camille has the most tension with is Emrah’s character, because she gets promoted instead of him. 

A huge issue for me about Episode 9 is the fact that Beren, Mayda, and even Gülin are such an antagonistic force in Dicle’s life. All of them are suspicious of Dicle and want to get rid of her for various reasons. The decision to have these characters behave in such a way cannot be attributed to their French counterparts because they do not exist in the same capacity. It reveals an aspect of Turkish television norms, pitting women against each other.

Feminism in Dizis

The act of pitting women against each other is a staple of Turkish television. For as long as I have watched Dizis, the female protagonist is always on the receiving end hate from other women. It occurs in period dramas, in Mafia stories, in romantic comedies, and in family dramas and honestly, I am so tired of it!

TURKEY! PLEASE! STOP!

Famed feminist and social activist bell hooks wrote an article called “Sisterhood: Political Solidarity between Women”. bell hooks noted that women are taught that relationships between each other diminish rather than enrich their lives. women are taught to see other women as their natural enemies.

“we are taught that women are ‘natural’ enemies, that solidarity will never exist between [women] because [women] cannot, should not, and do not bond with one another”

bell hooks

Another important idea that bell hooks articulated is that sexism teaches women to be sex objects for men, which then causes women to feel superior when they are in a relationship. For bell hooks, sexism is what teaches women to hate each other. We see this idea of women being taught to hate each other over and over again in media and we see .3

The way in which women are pitted against each other usually comes down to two things a man and Freud’s idea of the “The Virgin-Whore Dichotomy.”

Freud theorised that women are deemed good when they were chaste and pure and bad because they are promiscuous and seductive. Men objectify sexy women to avoid emotional attachment, however, treat them with contempt. Chaste women, on the other hand, might not be seen as someone to objectify, however, are thought to be good long-term relationship material.4

However, the virgin-whore dichotomy manifests itself in many ways. One example found in media is the sacrificing, pure, naïve women vs. the scheming, selfish, vain one.5 These women are often pitted against each other, to justify one as more morally upright.3 

Dicle and Beren, like many women in dizis, embody this dichotomy. Dicle generally speaking wears more conservative clothing and is an earnest young woman who is trying her best to make it in the industry. On the other hand, Beren is dressed in more revealing clothing.

This is why I hate how the writers of Menajerimi Ara write Beren, Mayda, and even Gülin. They are all pitted against Dicle and are all women who are seen as scheming selfish, and vain. Dicle on the other hand is the embodiment of the sacrificing, pure, naïve women.

For me, Mayda and Gülin’s characters are so much more annoying then Beren’s because they are characters that were not originally written this way. There was a conscious choice by the writers to have Dicle come in conflict with Gülin instead of Emrah and to have Mayda take over the agency and to keep her around to stir up trouble for Dicle. There was a conscious decision to leave Mayda out of the loop about Dicle’s parentage to draw out drama. It was a conscious choice to pit these women against Dicle.

Beren, on the other hand, received much contempt from fans for scheming against Dicle. I am fans. Her reasoning for scheming and being jealous of Dicle makes sense narratively. Why would you not be jealous of the person who has your crushes attention and who you learn is your secret stepsister?

However, as previously established the decision to depict her this way was a conscious choice by the writers. The writers chose to make Beren an original character, chose to make her jealous of Dicle, chose to make Beren’s entire life revolve around Barış, and chose to pit her against Dicle. This disappointment is heightened by the fact that at the end of the episode, when Dicle is accused of leaking information to the press, not even Feris defends Dicle. Thus, we see more examples of women being pitted against each other.

Though it may make sense to a condemn people who are selfish, vain, and bitter, it is very harmful when it comes to the dichotomy and feminist issues. As bell hooks points out, hating on other women is an issue rooted in misogyny. The concept of the virgin and the whore and benefits only the patriarchy and men.

Women are taught to hate each other. We use the Virgin-Whore Dichotomy as a means to do so. However, all this does is uphold patriarchal ideas and allows men to get away with the violence they inflict on women. It tears apart a collective sisterhood.

You spend your life seeking the approval of men and then you suddenly realise that, actually, you could get a quite exciting and fulfilling relationship from being friends with another woman and that that might be more interesting,” 

Emily Mortimer, Belfast Telegraph

It allows men to say what type of women have worth and gives men an excuse to perpetrate and defend violence against women.

In a patriarchal society that enforces the Virgin-Whore dynamic, woman who are seen with contempt, are seen to be deserving of the violence against her. Slut shaming is then justified and so are more atrocious acts of violence and assault.

This is why I abhor when women are pitted against each other. It is just another means to engrain patriarchal values. It is especially underwhelming because I feel like the writers of the show have proved that they are capable of depicting strong feminist characters.

For them to write Beren, Mayda, and Gülin in this, even if it shows Turkish television norms and value represented, is very disappointing. I completely understand that pitting female characters against each other is a norm for most media; I just wish that every female character related to Beren or who were about Dicle’s age was not immediately seen as a threat to Dicle.

Conclusion

I would argue that the dizifictaion of Menajerimi Ara, though it has given us some truly beautiful moments (Deniz Can’s hands + Dicbar + Dicle), it also shows how dizis and Turkish media continuously depict and enforce sexist writing.

However, another idea of adding drama for the sake of drama, is not good storytelling… If anything it gets in the way of good storytelling, ostracises fans, and throws away all the hard work put by the cast and crew.

Though the writers were capable of adapting the story to show us strong female characters and seem to be aware of the importance of feminism, they have continuously enforced misogyny in their writing.

References:

  1. 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.
  2. 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).
  3. hooks, bell. “Sisterhood: Political Solidarity between Women.” Feminist Review.
  4. 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”
  5. Monsters & Muses, “The Virgin-Whore Dichotomy and Why Women Cannot Destroy it”

Menajerimi Ara 6. Bölüm Recap Pt. 2: or In Defense of Barış

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.

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?

Yeni Hayat Bölum 1 Recap (Or I Continue to be Trash for Serkan Cayoğlu Pt. 1)

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, countless movies (in various languages), 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:

  1. 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…



  2. 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”.

  3. 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?

  4. Is Timur’s first wife actually dead?

  5. 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?



  6. 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.