Description
Since 2000, the production of Turkish soap operas is in constant development.For many specialists on the subject, Turkish soap operas seem to be considered by the Turkish government as tools in order to enhance a positive image for Turkey and thus, augment its “soft power” particularly in countries that belonged to the ancient Ottoman Empire. Greece is one of the countries that imports systematically soap operas produced by the neighboring country. Based on an audience ethnography, this research focuses on the reception of Turkish soap operas by Greek audiences. This empirical study demonstrated that while Turkish soap operas’ appeal among Greek audiences is owed to the cultural proximity between the two countries, this proximity does not cancel out the political disagreements between these neighboring populations, nor does the Greek population’s taste for Turkish soap operas translate into support for the Turkish government. This study confirms the role of several factors as third-party mediators in the reception of these serial fictions, such as the public’s predisposition, current diplomatic relations between two countries, the audience’s worldview, and collective, family and/or personal memory.
