VOA文化艺术2024--Turkey's Export of TV Shows Also Fuels Tourism

Turkey has become a leading exporter of television shows in recent years.

Millions of people are watching Turkish TV dramas known as Dizi. Many of the shows involve the nation's famous historical and cultural places.

Experts say the success of the television dramas has created a billion-dollar industry that continues to expand. Between 2020 and 2023, demand for Turkish TV series increased by 184 percent. That number comes from Los Angeles-based research company Parrot Analytics.

Izzet Pinto is chief of the Turkish media company Global Agency. "We reach over 400 million viewers every night around the world," he said. Global Agency exports Turkish dramas to world markets. Pinto noted¹, "The soft power we create with Turkish dramas cannot be even compared to what could be done in politics."

The Turkish drama Deli Yurek was the first to be exported. Turkey sent it to Kazakhstan in 2001. But it was the love story series called Gumus that brought fame to Turkish dizis. The story is about a traditional woman who must adapt to life in the city. Gumus grew hugely popular in the Middle East.

In 2006, viewers in Europe's southeastern Balkans area enjoyed A Thousand and One Nights, a series based on Middle Eastern folktales. The stories were set in modern-day Istanbul. Turkish TV also produced the show Magnificent Century, a popular historical drama based on the life of Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent.

Turkey was once an importer of Latin American TV dramas known as telenovelas. Now, it is exporting TV shows to Latin American countries. In 2018, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro visited the set of the Turkish drama Resurrection: Ertugrul.

Haley Uganadi founded a website for fans of Turkish TV series called Dizilah. About 1.5 million people from the United States, Canada, Greece, India and Pakistan visit her website monthly.

Uganadi said the popularity of the dramas comes from their subjects. She said they are about family, friendship and love and usually involve rich people in Istanbul or historical stories.

Uganadi said the shows offer "something for everyone," and added, "I see reflections of my mom, myself and my siblings²" in them.

Pinto of Global Agency agrees that Turkish dramas are right for everybody. "There is no nudity, no cursing or bad words, not much hate," he said, "So, it becomes watchable for the family."

As Turkey's industry grows, it is expanding the themes of its series. For example, the series Red Roses explores issues affecting a family that is culturally Western and a fictional³ Islamic brotherhood⁴.

During a recent period between filming, actor Ozcan Deniz told the Associated Press that diversification⁵ is important for industry growth.

He said, "Countries that were not able to transform (into) a different genre⁶ are now lagging behind in the export of series." He added, "Turkey has now caught this momentum⁷, but if it cannot diversify⁸, if it cannot also tell different things, it will end somewhere."

Resurrection: Ertugrul is an example of the growing success of Turkish series. Mehmet Bozdag is a producer and writer. He said the first show of the series had over 157 million views on the Urdu language YouTube channel of Turkish state broadcaster TRT. Another series, Foundation: Osman, was broadcast in over 110 countries.

Words in This Story

drama -n. a story about a serious or realistic subject

soft power -n. influence among nations that is not based on military strength but on cultural and non-tangible qualities

viewer -n. a person who watches television

reflection -n. a similarity

fictional -adj. something from stories that is not real

nudity -n. the state of having no clothes on

diversification -n. the idea of being involved in several different areas to protect against losing too much if one area fails to produce

flourish -v. to grow and expand in health and wealth

genre -n. (art) a specific kind of art form with certain qualities

1 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

2 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

3 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

4 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

5 diversification   

n.变化，多样化；多种经营

参考例句：

• The seminar was to discuss diversification of agriculture. 该研讨会讨论的是农业多种经营。 来自辞典例句
• Firm diversification is increasingly achieved by the means of takeover and merger. 通过接管和兼并，厂商经营范围日益多样化。 来自辞典例句

6 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

7 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

8 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。