WHY “THE MAGNIFICENT CENTURY” IS SO POPULAR? The Magnificent Century (Muhteşem Yüzyıl) is a prime time historical Turkish soap opera television series. It is based on the life of Suleiman the Magnificent, the longest reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and his wife Hürrem Sultan, a slave girl from the Kingdom of Poland, who became Sultana. American journalist Elif Batuman wrote about the show in the The New Yorker: “On the surface, ‘The Magnificent Century’ looks like a quintessential product of the Erdoğan years. Thanks to Erdoğans economic policies, Turkey has a thriving television industry, capable of staging elaborate period dramas, and a prosperous family-oriented middle class of observant Muslims eager to watch their own values reflected in a historical imperial setting. And, much as Erdoğans foreign policy has promoted relations with former Ottoman lands, the show has conquered large audiences in Balkan, Caucasian, and Arab countries not known for their fond memory of Ottoman rule. Broadcast to more than two hundred million viewers in fifty-two countries, ‘The Magnificent Century’ has accomplished one of Erdoğans main goals: Making a powerful, non-secularist, globally involved version of Turkey both plausible and appealing....” A Nielsen Media Research market study found out that it is the most watched TV show in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the fourth most successful show in Serbia. But what is the key of this Turkish show’s success? Serbian sociologist Ratko Bozovic explains the popularity by pointing at the traditional, patriarchal values of the Turkish shows, and the many cultural and linguistic similarities between Turkey and the Balkan countries: “The mentality depicted in those shows has to do with a traditional understanding of morality that people in Serbia remember at some level According to him all Balkan countries have seen dramatic changes in terms of family life, and the Turkish shows help them recall value systems that now seem lost. In Greece, the series has become quite popular. It has become so popular that Bishop Anthimos of Thessaloniki and the Golden Dawn neo-nazi party condemned the show and urged Greeks not to watch it. No one should watch “The Magnificent Century,” Anthimos said. He added, By watching the Turkish series we are telling them we have surrendered. However, is that the main problem? Or perhaps the main point is that some Greeks should stop complaining and make their own TV series on their glorious history – Byzantine or Ancient Greek times. After all, the Greek Church has a vast fortune and could easily finance an epic TV production on Byzantine history. The Magnificent History is part of an ongoing promotion of Turkish culture in the world and has an international audience of 200 million viewers!! Except the Balkans, Middle East and Asia, it is broadcast in the USA (MundoFox Network), France (France 2), Hungary (RTL Klub), Spain (1+1), Italy (Babel TV), Slovakia (TV Doma) and Russia (Domashny)! It is certain that Greeks or Serbs have the potential to make a similar successful epic historical TV show. Nevertheless, why they have not tried yet to produce TV series dealing with patriotism and the glorious past of their History?
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 06:25:38 +0000