International Communication within the Context of Popular Culture: A Study on the Success Turkish Television Series Have Had in Latin America
Pınar AslanThe importance of International communication has increased in the globalizing world; it has become a complex concept that needs to be understood and analyzed. One of the main concepts that comes to mind in this context is international public relations. It is important to consider international public relations practices within the context of culture and the globalization of culture with the rise of new communication technologies. Recently, Turkish TV series, which have become popular worldwide, have created positive interaction in different countries where they are broadcasted. In this respect, it is possible to consider Turkish television series within the framework of international public relations, and to evaluate it as a soft
power source that would complement cultural diplomacy activities. Given that Turkey’s soft power resources are rather limited, we need to understand that the potential of Turkish television series is valuable. The aim of this study is to see whether Turkish television series can be evaluated within the framework of ‘international public relations’, ‘soft power’ and ‘popular culture theories’. In-depth interviews were conducted in Chile, the first country where Turkish TV series were broadcasted in Latin America; the results of this interview were analyzed within the scope of theory.
Uluslararası İletişim ve Popüler Kültür Üzerine: Latin Amerika’daki Türk Televizyon Dizileri Üzerinden Bir Araştırma
Pınar AslanUluslararası iletişim, küreselleşen dünyada önemini arttırmış; daha da karmaşıklaştığından anlaşılması ve analiz edilmesi gereken bir kavram haline gelmiştir. Bu bağlamda akla gelen başlıca kavramlardan biri de uluslararası halkla ilişkilerdir. Uluslararası halkla ilişkiler uygulamalarının kültür ve kültürün küreselleşmesi bağlamında ele alınması gelişen yeni iletişim teknolojileri nedeniyle önemlidir. Bu uygulamaların en etkililerinden biri olan yayıncılık kültürel etkileşimi kısa zamanda gerçekleştirebilmesi ve uzun vadeli sonuçlar yaratması açısından önem taşır. Bu açıdan ele alındığında Türk televizyon dizilerinin uluslararası halkla ilişkiler çerçevesinde değerlendirilmesi, kültürel diplomasi faaliyetlerini tamamlayıcı bir güç olarak yumuşak güç kaynağı şeklinde değerlendirilmesi mümkündür. Türkiye’nin yumuşak güç kaynaklarının sınırlı olduğu düşünülürse, Türk televizyon dizilerinin bu konuda taşıdığı potansiyelin ne kadar değerli olduğu anlaşılabilecektir. Bu çalışmanın amacı Türk televizyon dizilerinin ‘uluslararası halkla ilişkiler’, ‘yumuşak güç’ ve ‘popüler kültür teorileri’ çerçevesinde değerlendirilip değerlendirilemeyeceğini görmektir. Bu nedenle Türk televizyon dizilerinin Latin Amerika’da yayımlandığı ilk ülke olan Şili’de derinlemesine görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiş; bu görüşme sonuçları teori kapsamında analiz edilmiştir. Bu sonuçlara göre, Türk dizilerinin Şili’de ve Latin Amerika’da Türkiye’ye dair önyargıların yıkılmasındaki rolü, Türkiye’ye dair bir bilgi kaynağı olarak rolü, Türkiye’ye dair uluslararası halkla ilişkiler çerçevesinde değerlendirilebilecek yaratıcı kültür endüstrisi ürünleri olarak rolü ve Türkiye’nin yumuşak gücü üzerindeki yapıcı rolü üzerinde durulmaktadır.
The globalization process no longer only affects the economy; it also affects and rather complicates communication and international relations. Today international communication has become an umbrella term that includes many concepts such as international public relations, public diplomacy and country branding. This study deals with international communication from a different angle.
Turkish television series which have a remarkable audience in our country today have taken their place in the international market and have proved to be successful worldwide. Turkish television series are attracting a gradually increasing number of viewers in many different countries breaking viewership records. “Short-term return on investment, new communication technologies, Istanbul’s ‘magnetic nature attracting new talents’ and different sociocultural forces and policies are instrumental in such extensive spread of Turkish soap operas” (Karlıdağ, & Bulut, 2014, p. 76). This success has turned out to be more than a mere export of a product; it is one of the prominent sources of Turkish soft power since it has become a promotional practice that introduces and represents Turkey. In some countries, research shows that this success and representation can be explained by situations such as physical and cultural proximity. However, besides Arab and Balkan countries (where this success is quite understandable due to the abovementioned reasons), there is also a growing interest in Turkish television series in surprising parts of the world such as Europe and Latin America. The scope of this study relates to the fact that Turkish television series have taken second place in export and international broadcastıng markets behind the United States and, hence, they should be considered as a product of cultural industry within the context of international public relations strategy.
The main aim of this study is to examine the success of Turkish television series abroad, especially in the Latin American market, and to determine the possible results of this effect. It is no longer possible to see Turkish TV series as a simple form of entertainment and time-consuming habit; Turkish series broadcast abroad should be considered as a product of the culture industry or even as an international public relations strategy since there is no doubt that the long-term deep effects of Turkish television series being broadcast and becoming popular in different countries will be examined in the very near future. It is important to know what these effects will be, and to provide data on what to do in the future. The study includes in-depth interviews with Chilean viewers. The reason why Chile was selected for study is the fact that Chile was the first country to buy and broadcast Turkish television series and it still acts as a leader in the region today.
The results of the research carried out within this framework contain important clues about the four variables mentioned in the research problem, aims and designs. Turkish series in Chile play an important role in the eradication of prejudices about Turkey in Latin America. They are also a source of information about Turkey. In addition, they could be evaluated in the context of international public relations producing mostly positive results on behalf of Turkey and Turkish culture beside the constructive effect on Turkish soft power.
Undoubtedly, the worldwide success of Turkish TV series will have an economic and cultural impact on Turkey. The fact that Turkey becomes the second country that exports the most series around the world behind the long term leader who is highly experienced in cultural imperialism means that Turkey now has a unique opportunity to spread its culture and values all over the world. Thanks to the success Turkish television series have had, Turkey has the chance to increase its soft power, which is an important element of cultural diffusion. However, what matters at this stage is to succeed in creating sustainability so that the success and the positive effect can continue. Hence, regular measurement and evaluation, as well as the vision to improve, are highly important for the future of Turkish television series.
