Türk Televizyon Dizilerinde Muhafazakâr/Dindar Kadın Temsili: Kızıl Goncalar Örneği

Abstract

This thesis examines the representation of religious/conservative women in Turkish television series through the case of Kızıl Goncalar. The series draws attention as it is the first time that religious/conservative women have been portrayed within a sectarian (tarikat) structure on Turkish television. Moreover, the broadcast suspensions and monetary fines imposed by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) led Kızıl Goncalar to be evaluated not merely as a television series, but also as a text that generated wide-ranging public debate. In this respect, the series was selected as the sample of the study due to both the forms of representation it offers and the discussions it has provoked.

Departing from the question of how religious/conservative women are represented in the series, the study analyzes, through a descriptive analysis method, the themes of motherhood, marriage, space, and privacy, as well as the relationships women establish both among themselves and with secular women. Within the framework of these themes, the thesis addresses how the everyday life practices, social roles, and experiences of womanhood of religious/conservative female characters are constructed within the television narrative. Accordingly, the thesis focuses on examining how religious rules and the sectarian structure shape women’s lives, and through which contexts and oppositions women’s social positions are rendered visible within the narrative of the series.