The Representation of Gender Roles in Remakes: A Comparative Analysis of Fatma and Unseen

Abstract

The concept of gender, which gained prominence in Translation Studies during the 1980s, following the Cultural Turn, has recently emerged as one of the most prominent and controversial topics within the discipline. The interdisciplinary nature of Translation Studies has further increased both the quantity and quality of investigations at the intersection of gender and translation. Notably, it was only in the 2000s that a gender perspective became established within the domain of audiovisual. Given the nascent nature of this research area, this study occupies the confluence of two subfields of Translation Studies: Audiovisual translation and gender studies. A particularly under-explored field within audiovisual translation, remakes, serve as the primary focus of the investigation. In this regard, the representation of gender roles in remakes is scrutinized through a case study approach. In this study, a comparative analysis is conducted between two original Netflix productions, the Turkish TV series Fatma (2021) and its South African remake, Unseen (2023), and findings are contextualized through the lens of Katerina Perdikaki’s film adaptation model. The principal objective of this research is to elucidate the shifts in gender roles that transpired as a result of cultural divergences and to articulate the underlying motivations animating these changes. Consequently, this thesis demonstrates that remakes like Unseen are not mere copies of originals like Fatma, but reinterpretations that are shaped by the cultural phenomena. By altering elements such as characterization, plot structure, and setting, this remake reconstructs gender roles and offer fresh, culturally specific views on themes such as stereotypical representation of men, motherhood, and sisterhood.