In my blogs, I usually criticise the RTUK (Radio and Television Supreme Council of Turkey) in terms of it’s discriminatory and partisan attitude and lack of providing the freedom of press and expression on media. But in recent days, it decided something long awaited for all participants of Turkish media. RTUK imposed Show TV’s reality show “Dünya Güzellerim” (My Outstanding Beauties) a huge fine for the dialogues that are normally have acceptance in reality tv but reached an intolerable level of annoying the audiences due to humiliation, belittlement and offensiveness.
For a while, Turkish Reality TV has been pushing the humanistic limits of society. The audiences always complain about that the content it has just includes jeering, insulting and scorning in order to amuse watchers and be watched. However while these shows moving in this way, they empty the meanings of social norms. Concern on this point is not to be conservative about the norms, but the situation came a state of attacking love, etiquette, privacy, personality and these kind of human values. Questioning, revisioning, rethinking and even standing against these values is meaningful for the society and further it’s one of the primary purpose of media, however just making laugh about them doesn’t give one step forward to us in any area.
I mentioned “Dünya Güzellerim” not just for a prologue, it has a difference from other current shows. The show publishes the journey of Bülent Ersoy, Banu Alkan, Safiye Soyman and Burcu Esmersoy at the voyage in South Asia. It contains a lot of scripted scenes such as snakebite, car crash and monkey purge snatch to show’s celebrities and of course lots of quarrels, as a reality show. But recently the show overstepped more. Before saying what happened, I’d like to introduce the celebrities of the show and their importance for Turkish television and music history. Bülent Ersoy, in other words the “Diva”, is known as one of the greatest singers of Turkish music, indisputably. In other side, Turkish actress and singer Banu Alkan is described as an 80s pop culture icon of Turkey. These two character are pillars of Turkish popular culture. But in the show, these pillars are wracked recently by placing them as two unmannerly women, always fighting with each other and don't hesitate to be cheekily about their professional and private life, financial situation and cultural background. Finally the show disinclined the audiences with that much of blasting away of celebrities to each other, and is penalised by RTUK.
Up to now, the reality shows have examined and drawed fire because of playing with our current meanings, values and norms. However, with “Dünya Güzellerim”, they started to diminish our cultural icons too. Compromising on these issues to entertain, may carry us a situation we will rue.
I think it would be a mistake to disregard these people's consciousness or subjectivity, they are not mere objects. It's the case that they sign for the show, with also knowing the content of the scripted parts. In my opinion, having the freedom of making people, with consent of course, humiliate each other on TV is more important for the society, rather than its ban. Yes it's true that it's cheap TV, but it has grounds to exist. Banning or penalizing these kind of TV shows for the sake of the society, will never be a solution to any corruption, it will only cause more and more bans and loss of freedom.
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