The Making of a Militarized Self and the Other in Television Series: A Reformulation of the Center?

Abstract

This chapter provides an analysis of three television series that were produced in Turkey in 2017: Soz [The Promise], Isimsizler [The Nameless] and Savasci [The Warrior]. These series are significant since they reflect the ongoing political and social tensions in Turkey with regard to the Kurdish issue. The narratives point out the making of a militarized, national self located at the center, which targets the figure of the enemy aiming to capture the periphery. In this regard, the periphery is discursively established as a battleground that needs to be controlled by the center, so that the militarized, national self can realize its potential. Within this representation, the narratives do not look at the kinds of social and cultural exclusion that the Kurdish community may suffer due to Turkey’s long-running Kurdish issue. On the contrary, Kurdish civilians are generally portrayed as the state’s loyal citizens, content with the center’s policies. It is important to note that these series are produced by television channels whose televisual discourses, particularly soap operas, show the lifestyles of secular Turks, rather than Turkish society’s religious or Islamic elements. This chapter discusses the ways in which secular Turks tend to secure themselves a privileged space at the center in addition to the social segments represented by the government by means of signifying the periphery in a militarized manner.