This article discusses the shift in the representation of the family through a case study of Lost City (2012–2013). The programme challenges the dominant representations of the family on Turkish television that are mo... more abstractThis article discusses the shift in the representation of the family through a case study of Lost City (2012–2013). The programme challenges the dominant representations of the family on Turkish television that are mostly framed by a particular neighbourhood culture and are characterized by organic solidarity. As outsiders in Turkish society, a prostitute, a Kurdish family and a Black illegal immigrant challenge the unity of the Toptas family that has moved to Istanbul from the Black Sea region of Turkey and who are trying hard to survive against poverty and the ‘cosmopolitan culture’ of the city. The series problematizes the borders of the family as different members of the Toptas family develop new relationships extending the family to include the outsiders of Turkish society. Drawing on Turkish family dramas such as Super Dad (1993–1997), Father’s Home (1997–2002), The Falling Leaves (2005–2010) and Lost City, this article examines the discursive shift in the representation of the family on Turkish television.

Currently, religious broadcasting in Turkey is flourishing. Despite the variety it offers, religious broadcasting remains an under-investigated topic compared to other religious media. This paper analyses a particular... more abstractCurrently, religious broadcasting in Turkey is flourishing. Despite the variety it offers, religious broadcasting remains an under-investigated topic compared to other religious media. This paper analyses a particular form of religious broadcasting, televangelism, with particular reference to Adnan Oktar's television channel A9 TV. I argue that Adnan Oktar's televangelist practice stands at the margins of religious broadcasting and differs from other Islamic televangelists in various ways. I analyse both the visual and discursive characteristics of Oktar's televangelist practice.

Television Studies and Religion, Media, and Culture

This paper aims to provide a critique of food cultures in the neoliberal era. I argue that neoliberalism has transformed the ways in which people consume food and the cultural meanings of food and eating. Food and eat... more abstractThis paper aims to provide a critique of food cultures in the neoliberal era. I argue that neoliberalism has transformed the ways in which people consume food and the cultural meanings of food and eating. Food and eating have become sources of narcissistic pleasure that are usually accompanied by feelings of guilt and anxiety towards oneself and nature. Middle-class women in particular are engaged in this neoliberal food culture through the discourses of ‘healthy bodies’, ‘organic lifestyles’ as well as the ‘domestic pleasure of cooking’.

Cultural Studies and Food Studies

Turkish television has seen the diversification of themes and genres in both fictional and factual programmes reflecting the expansion of the television market in the 2000s. As well as thematic television channels, va... more abstractTurkish television has seen the diversification of themes and genres in both fictional and factual programmes reflecting the expansion of the television market in the 2000s. As well as thematic television channels, various television shows on cooking and food are currently on air in Turkey. These cookery programmes not only introduce and ‘re-invent’ local recipes from different regions of Turkey but also promote particular lifestyles and consumption patterns for the audience. However, in the case of Turkey, cookery programmes draw comparisons between Islamic and secular lifestyles through combining religious tales with personal stories, local ingredients with global recipes and suggested housework strategies for producing tasteful food. This article examines Kitchen Love, a cookery programme presented by Emine Beder, one of the pioneers of culinary consumption as a form of popular culture. Both Emine Beder’s public persona and her show frame food and cooking as part of an Islamic identity that negotiates Islamic values in relation to modern lifestyles and patterns of consumption.

Cultural Studies, Television Studies, and Food Studies

Turkish television has undergone a distinctive transformation since the early 2000s in which new regulations, rapid market growth, and political pressures have interacted with and transformed each other. As Turkey set... more abstractTurkish television has undergone a distinctive transformation since the early 2000s in which new regulations, rapid market growth, and political pressures have interacted with and transformed each other. As Turkey set new records in 2013 for the highest number of journalists arrested worldwide, television dramas have suffered from their fair share of political pressures, while the contemporary political agenda has, in turn, infiltrated the content of television dramas. This article analyzes the ways in which Turkish television dramas appear as a sphere of political contest.

The Paramilitary Hero on Turkish Television: A Case Study on Valley of the Wolves explores the representation and reception of nationalism and masculinity in Turkey through an examination of the popular television ser... more abstractThe Paramilitary Hero on Turkish Television: A Case Study on Valley of the Wolves explores the representation and reception of nationalism and masculinity in Turkey through an examination of the popular television serial, Valley of the Wolves which has been aired on Turkish television since 2003. This detailed examination of the show demonstrates a particular discourse of nationalism, namely the Turkish Islam synthesis embedded in a gender-specific regime in which the paramilitary hero is placed at the centre. The study draws on thirty-seven in-depth interviews with viewers of the programme from different social backgrounds. These viewers read the serial from various perspectives in the light of their gendered experiences, suggesting that the relationship between text and audience is not necessarily predetermined by the former, but is rather constructed through an interdiscursive process. The book also examines the pleasures of the “contesting” readers of Valley of the Wolves, drawing on the audience interviews, and argues that critical approaches to a particular media text do not present a barrier to audience pleasures.