For this final blog post, there are four things I wanted to talk about. I wanted to revisit the sexism topic I talked about in my second blog post, speak about Turkey’s government/media relationship, look at some production elements of Yargi, and discuss Twitter’s reaction to who the killer is.
Why does every man in Yargi have to be a cheater, have some weird past, or just be a horrible person? Ceylin’s brother-in-law is having an affair with his wife right after she lost a child. And when his mistress tries to leave because she is being investigated for the murder he convinces her that she’s the love of his life and to come back to him.
Then Inci’s teacher preys on her and has an affair with her behind his wife’s back which makes her extremely angry and depressed. It’s been hinted that Metin had a weird past and that he had to be forgiven for it. Of course Yekta and Engin are just foul people. Yekta is cruel to his family, his daily work is helping guilty men get away with their crimes, and is avidly trying to keep Engin out of jail for his own reputation. Engin is a murderer and actively trying to get away with murder so he’s obviously not a great person. The only woman in Yargi to behave slightly similarly to these men is Inci and she ends up being killed. To me, this feels somewhat sexist and it gives off the “boys will be boys” vibe. Of course, this is done for the drama, but why are only the men horrible and why are they all getting away with it? Why was Inci killed indirectly for her affair with her teacher while all these men haven’t had anything bad happen to them?
The only thing bad about the women is they’re all pushovers. They don’t do bad things but they also don’t have much of a personality outside of being sad or motherly. Ceylin’s mom, Engin’s mom, and Ilgaz’s aunt are very tied to the women listen to the men in the household belief. When Engin’s mother found Inci’s earring in her house and showed Yekta, she just let him verbally abuse her and tell her what to do. I know she loves him and her son but it felt extremely condescending for her husband to speak to her like that and her to just take it.
Yargi does do some to break sexism since Ceylin and Ilgaz are the complete opposite of a sexist relationship. She’s strong and is determined in her work, and he doesn’t talk down on her or act nasty like the men I mentioned.
In Turkey, similar to Venezuela, most news outlets are controlled by the government or by people who sympathize with the government. In 2013, protests broke out in Turkey after Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government became increasingly authoritarian. CNN Turk became the poster child for government-controlled news when it began self-censoring. The problem with media regulation isn’t as in Venezuela because independent news outlets like Halk TV are able to get their unbiased news out. However, it is a struggle for them to compete and independent journalists often face being arrested.
Unlike Venezuela, Dizis in Turkey are embraced by the national government. The original audience for Dizis was Turkey, not the entire world, so they served as a form of nationalism and cultural identity for Turkey. They do generally serve the purpose of making Turkey look good which is probably why Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hasn’t attempted to ban them. I can see how Yargi makes Turkey look good because there isn’t any poverty or racism representation in it. Dizis also bring in a ton of money because today they are on a huge global scale competing with telenovelas and other melodramas. What president doesn’t like a successful industry, well I guess Chavez and Maduro don’t. If a historical dizi isn’t historically accurate according to the national government it could be cut short or banned. Because Erdoğan is the chairman of The Justice and Development Party (AKP), an Islamic aligning political party in Turkey, Dizis do have regulations on sex scenes and blood which we’ve talked about in class.
When I found out Engin was the killer I wanted to know what everyone else's reaction had been to it when it was airing in 2021. I went to Twitter and honestly, I was surprised by the reactions. I was expecting omg no way Engin is the killer but instead, I got how Ilgaz is so smart since he had a gut feeling it was Engin. I think this just goes to show that as traumatizing as watching what we thought was a sweet kid kill someone, people still are focused on the main protagonists. You know Yargi’s casting and writing team did some amazing casting and character creation with Ilgaz if people are commenting on him rather than Engin.
“Ilgaz is the king because he was sure since the beginning that Engin was the killer” - @ola15_L5 on Twitter 10/17/21
Yargi is a winter dizi so the plot is pretty heavy and everyone is wearing long sleeves in it. It’s produced by Ay Yapım, the main writer is Sema Ergenekon, and it is directed by Ali Bilgin. Sema Ergenekon is extremely talented at writing subplots for every character and of course for throwing dramatic challenges for Ceylin and Ilgaz. Sema won Best Screenwriter and Ali Bilgin won best director at the 48th Golden Butterfly Awards. Yargi is filmed on location in Istanbul.
The courthouse where many Yargi scenes are filmed.
Door to Ceylin’s office.
The actors live in trailers.
This photo I’m guessing is of the wardrobe trailer because the robes Ceylin wears for court are outside it.
Speaking of wardrobe, Ilgaz’s tie has been the same color as Ceylin’s outfits for a couple outfits now. I think this is such a fun and cute detail the wardrobe team decided to include. Another thing that me and a lot of fans love is that the women’s everyday outfits are super realistic. Ceylin wears pantsuits rather than skirts and dresses. It’s nice to see them dress her how an attorney would dress when they have a long day ahead of them.
Sources
Jennifer. “Meeting the Yargi Cast.” Curated by Jennifer, 20 Jan. 2023, www.curatedbyjennifer.com/meeting-the-yargi-cast/.
Reyaz, Mohammad. “Neo-Ottoman Turk-Scape: Analyzing the Role of Dizis as ... - Sage Journals.” Sage Journals, 2 Aug. 2023, journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23477989231181788.
Tahiroğlu, Merve. “Snapshot – Media in Turkey: Why It Matters and Challenges Ahead.” POMED, 2 June 2022, pomed.org/publication/snapshot-media-in-turkey-why-it-matters-and-challenges-ahead/.
Hey Kara! I really liked reading your post, it was super interesting and informative. In my telenovela, almost, if not all, the male characters I have seen so far have been super toxic so I can definitely relate, well except for the murder plot, they are not that bad (yet?). I really liked how you mentioned the wardrobe as well because that can be something subtle that can make a big difference. I have noticed in what I'm watching how they dress Rubi, the main protagonist/villain, in much more eye catching, "attractive" outfits compared to Maribel, her friend who follows more of the cinderella characteristics, who is dressed much more conservatively. It's also interesting to see the different color palates they usually follow for each character.
ReplyDeleteHey Kara!
ReplyDeleteI definitely understand your frustration and/or confusion with the fact that the male characters are super toxic. In the show that I'm watching, Kara Sevda, the main antagonist is obsessed with the female antagonist so he essentially blackmails her. I always think.. "this is completely unnecessary!! why do the women always have to suffer?!" The writers of these melodramas really know how to evoke emotional responses from their audience, especially those of anger.
I love how you pointed out the styling of the characters! Styling is super important as it can help you understand one's personality. Being that the dizi is filmed during the winter, the outfits are accurate to the weather and also realistic, as you said, to what an attorney would wear.
Overall, I think you did a great job analyzing even the smallest details of the plot! Ilgaz's tie matching Ceylin's outfit is adorable!