TURKEY 0
Erotic scenes on Turkish TV, right or wrong?
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News | 10/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | SEVİM SONGÜN
Turks are used to watching erotic scenes in foreign TV series. But when Turkish actors appear in erotic scenes in popular, prime-time Turkish series, the question of whether they harm Turkish family values and should be encrypted is launching a new debate
After five minutes of kissing earned one television channel a warning from the industry watchdog and prompted a state minister to suggest encrypting scenes of questionable mores, debate has erupted over the appropriate length of romantic encounters on Turkish TV.
This debate, however, is only a small part of a much larger discussion ongoing in society over popular TV series that stand accused of harming Turkish family values. "But what exactly are Turkish family values?" ask some experts.
The Supreme Board of Radio and Television, or RTÜK, found the five-minute scene “too provocative” and sent a warning to private television channel Kanal D a few months ago.
The TV series “Aşk-ı Memnu” (Forbidden Love), which is based on a book about the love between a man and his uncle’s young wife and daughter, has featured "less provocative" scenes since the channel received the warning, according to press reports.
A suggestion from the state minister in charge of family and children, Selma Aliye Kavaf, that some TV channels air “scenes in their programs or series that could be encrypted" has fueled debate over the content of programming on television. In a press meeting Sept. 26, Kavaf said: “The scenes, broadcasts, publishing, speeches and actions that might harm the strength of the family and content that could offend the public conscience should be examined,” Anatolia news agency reported.
This suggestion drew a strong reaction, as television critics complained that proposing encrypted broadcasts to national channels for certain scenes is technically impossible and equates to censorship.
Yüksel Aytuğ, TV critic from daily Sabah, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review that there are many programs that promote violence, which is more harmful than an erotic display. He said there are no criteria to calculate whether those scenes are really needed for plot development or are there only to increase ratings.
Mesut Yar, another TV critic from daily Posta, said Turkey has a television rating system called “akıllı işaretler,” meaning “smart symbols,” that informs the audience about the age-limit and content of programs. Yar said these signs should be enough since people can choose the content of the program they will watch using this system. Any further intervention would mean censorship, Yar said.
[HH] Which norms define the Turkish family?
This is not the first time that Turks have watched kissing or lovemaking scenes on TV, since many foreign series with similar content have aired on Turkish TV. But when these scenes began to feature performances by Turkish actors in Turkish settings, a debate suddenly erupted over whether these are compatible with “Turkish family norms.”
Activists insist that there cannot be a national consensus on the standards that define the Turkish family.
Nevin Öztop, of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender association KaosGL, said that discussing alleged “norms” that seek to define the Turkish family is a delicate subject. “Because of these ‘norms,’ we are censoring half of our lives and our children – who are ‘produced in this censorship’ – cannot differentiate between art and pornography and cannot stop themselves from committing hate crimes in the end,” said Öztop.
Hakkı Devrim, a columnist from daily Radikal, said there are norms that define families in each culture, adding that in Turkey the family is the center of society. He said the characters in series like Aşk-ı Memnu are not good examples, even if they are a reality in society.
However, he added that violence and harmful relations between family members are more dangerous than eroticism. “In a recent series, a man beat his wife and daughter and this scene was shown for many minutes. What’s the use of watching such long and violent scenes?” said Devrim.
As the debate continues at a time when erotic scenes are increasing on Turkish TV channels, some series have started to produce more moderate scenes than “hot” ones.
After the discussion arose among columnists, Minister Kavaf said they received many complaints about related scenes and programs. “What I said was a suggestion that is also done in Western countries. But RTÜK is responsible for this issue. If something like [encrypted broadcasts] can be done, RTÜK will do it,” said Kavaf on Sept. 27, adding that her statement was just an idea.
As the minister said encrypting is within RTÜK’s sphere, RTÜK head Davut Dursun said Sept. 29 that they do not have the authority to implement encryptions and there is no ongoing work to encrypt TV series. “If the related minister requests information from us, we can work on possible actions on this issue,” said Dursun.