Viewing Turkish TV series in Skopje: Audience memories on travelling cultural products

Özalpman D., ÖZMEN S.

International Communication Gazette, vol.85, no.3-4, pp.250-265, 2023 (SSCI) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 85 Issue: 3-4
  • Publication Date: 2023
  • Doi Number: 10.1177/17480485221151119
  • Journal Name: International Communication Gazette
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, IBZ Online, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, American History and Life, Communication & Mass Media Index, Communication Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), Film & Television Literature Index, Historical Abstracts, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, PAIS International, Political Science Complete, Public Affairs Index, Social services abstracts, Sociological abstracts, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  • Page Numbers: pp.250-265
  • Keywords: audience research, Balkan, counter-flow, cultural memory, eidetic memory, Macedonia, Ottoman, prosthetic memory, Skopje, Turkey, Turkish series, TV drama
  • Istanbul University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Despite gradually increasing consumption patterns, the notion of memory remains a key concept that is rarely drawn on by scholars to better understand television (TV) series. This research contributes to the existing literature on the reception of Turkish TV series in the specific case of Macedonian audiences by conducting interviews in Skopje, the capital city of Macedonia. By focusing on a majority Christian demographic that does not speak Turkish and has no familial bonds to Turkish people, this study hopes to move beyond cultural proximity arguments. The findings suggest the crucial importance of photographic (eidetic) and prosthetic memories from mediated accounts of Turkish series in creating cultural and collective affinities with local audiences.