At first glance, the film looks like a romantic love story. But it’s actually political and it caused a big scandal. The authorities believe that he is an insult to Islam and violates Turkey’s moral values. What are you talking about.
The series that is currently being hotly debated in Turkey is called “Kızıl Goncalar” or “Scarlet Pimples”. It sounds like something romantic, notes “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, but as the publication points out – the essence of the series is political: there is a lot of talk about what excites the country; about what Turkey would like to be – a secular or an increasingly Islamic state. It is because of this that a record number of complaints have been filed against the series in the Turkish media control body – a total of 32,000, a spokesman for the Turkish service told the German news agency DPA.
Ultimately, the watchdog issued a two-week ban on Fox TV from airing the series because it “violated the ‘national and moral values of society’,” Süddeutsche Zeitung reported. In addition, the TV has to pay a fine, and the location where the film is shot is blocked. The Austrian “Kurir” points out that in recent years the Turkish government has stepped up pressure on television and radio – especially regarding productions that are said to violate family or social values. Pro-government media have declared the series hostile to Islam.
Family and social values
The film is an allegory dedicated to relations in Turkish society. At the center of the narrative is a woman named Meriem, who at the beginning of 2023 left with her husband and daughter from the earthquake-affected areas of Istanbul. The family belongs to an Islamic sect that has accepted them. This is all fiction, but strongly reminiscent of the Ismail Agha community, which is close to the Erdogan government. She became the center of media attention, Süddeutsche Zeitung explains, after allowing a man to marry a six-year-old girl.
The publication tells the plot further: at the other pole in the series is a secular psychiatrist – a Kemalist by conviction, who treats one of the members of the sect. I.e. the two poles of Turkish society face each other. It is also about how members of the sect treat representatives of the state such as the police. Fanatics are shown who, because of their close relationship with the government, feel above the law – and the wrath of others, of the worldly people.
It is the secular Turks who support the courage of the TV channel, which enjoys an ever-increasing audience interest: the first series was watched by more than four million people, in the second, which is so far the last, the audience almost exceeded seven million. For viewers, the series is a kind of vent they need, especially after Erdogan’s re-election last year, writes Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Not so much a fictional story
Fox TV is one of the few Turkish television stations that still allows itself some distance from the government, the German media wrote. The third series, which Fox TV intends to air after the forced hiatus, is about Merriam’s young daughter having to be married off. From then on, it is not surprising that the Ismail Agha community among others is annoyed by the series. The sect is demanding a ban. It has not yet been imposed, but it can be assumed that the struggle will continue – with the help of the influence that the sect has in Ankara.
“Süddeutsche Zeitung” concludes that from now on there will be two stories of “Kızıl Goncalar”: one will be the fictitious one on the screen, which reflects what is happening in reality, and the other – the real issues surrounding the series itself: how the country treats him – to fiction, which is not so fictional at all. After the ban imposed by the control body, the director wrote on the X platform that the work is continuing. I.e. – and the series will continue, as will the scandal.
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Rating 3.2 out of 10 votes.
2024-01-16 11:55:00
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