Research Article

An Alternative for Turkish Serials: Uses and Gratifications of Watching Indian Soap Operas by Turkish Female Viewers

Number: 40 June 30, 2022
TR EN

An Alternative for Turkish Serials: Uses and Gratifications of Watching Indian Soap Operas by Turkish Female Viewers

Abstract

In the past few years, the popularity of Indian soap operas has skyrocketed in Turkey, especially in 2016 due to Is Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? (Bir Garip Aşk). The present article investigates female viewers’ motivations for watching Indian soap operas in Turkey. The study was conducted through qualitative research with semi-structured in-depth interviews with 30 female viewers between the ages of 22-60, who were primarily homemakers. This article has revealed five uses and gratifications of Turkish female viewers for watching Indian soaps: Identification, Guilty Pleasure, Relaxation and Escape, Moral Support, and Idealization. Results show that watching Indian soap operas is affected directly by participants’ favorability toward keeping social order (religious, traditional, and familial values) in the right way, their perceived concept of female power, and their willingness to live traditionally. The most unexpected and remarkable finding of this research is the use of watching Indian soaps as a protest against Turkish serials that include sexually explicit content and morally corruptive scenes. Unlike watching Westerner soaps, resistance cannot be found in the uses and gratifications of watching Indian soaps.

Keywords

References

  1. Abelman, R., Atkin, D., & Rand, M. (1997). What viewers watch when they watch TV: Affiliation change as case study. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 41(3), 360-379.
  2. Berelson, B. (1949). What ‘missing the newspaper’ means? In P. F. Lazarsfeld & F. N. Stanton (Eds.), Communications Research 1949-1948 (pp. 111–129). New York: Harper.
  3. Brown, M. E. (1994). Soap opera and women’s talk: the pleasure of resistance. London: Sage Publications.
  4. Burch E. (2002). Media literacy, cultural proximity and TV aesthetics: why Indian soap operas work in Nepal and the Hindu diaspora. Media, Culture & Society, 24(4):571-579. doi:10.1177/016.344.370202400408 Carveth, R., & Alexander, A. (1985). Soap opera viewing motivations and the cultivation process. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 29(3), 259-273.
  5. Cevik, S. (2014). Turkish soap opera diplomacy : A western projection by a Muslim. Exchange: The Journal of Public Diplomacy, 5(1), 78–103.
  6. Cohen, J., & Metzger, M. (1998). Social affiliation and the achievement of ontological security through interpersonal and mass communication. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 15(1), 41-60.
  7. Czarniawska, B., Eriksson-Zetterquist, U., & Renemark, D. (2013). Women and work in family soap operas.Gender, Work, and Organization, 20(3), 267-282. Eco, U. (1990). The limits of interpretation. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press
  8. Gandhi, G. (2015, February 20). India’s greatest export to the world is its entertainment. exchange 4 media. Retrieved 5 January 2018, from https://www.exchange4media.com/TV/Guest-ColumnIndias-greatest- export-to-the-world-is%20itsentertainmentGauravGandhi_59155.html .

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Communication and Media Studies

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

June 30, 2022

Submission Date

May 2, 2021

Acceptance Date

February 4, 2022

Published in Issue

Year 2022 Number: 40

APA
Yücel, Y., & Çapraz, Y. C. (2022). An Alternative for Turkish Serials: Uses and Gratifications of Watching Indian Soap Operas by Turkish Female Viewers. Türkiye İletişim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 40, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.17829/turcom.931464
AMA
1.Yücel Y, Çapraz YC. An Alternative for Turkish Serials: Uses and Gratifications of Watching Indian Soap Operas by Turkish Female Viewers. TURCOM. 2022;(40):1-16. doi:10.17829/turcom.931464
Chicago
Yücel, Yeliz, and Yeşim Ceren Çapraz. 2022. “An Alternative for Turkish Serials: Uses and Gratifications of Watching Indian Soap Operas by Turkish Female Viewers”. Türkiye İletişim Araştırmaları Dergisi, nos. 40: 1-16. https://doi.org/10.17829/turcom.931464.
EndNote
Yücel Y, Çapraz YC (June 1, 2022) An Alternative for Turkish Serials: Uses and Gratifications of Watching Indian Soap Operas by Turkish Female Viewers. Türkiye İletişim Araştırmaları Dergisi 40 1–16.
IEEE
[1]Y. Yücel and Y. C. Çapraz, “An Alternative for Turkish Serials: Uses and Gratifications of Watching Indian Soap Operas by Turkish Female Viewers”, TURCOM, no. 40, pp. 1–16, June 2022, doi: 10.17829/turcom.931464.
ISNAD
Yücel, Yeliz - Çapraz, Yeşim Ceren. “An Alternative for Turkish Serials: Uses and Gratifications of Watching Indian Soap Operas by Turkish Female Viewers”. Türkiye İletişim Araştırmaları Dergisi. 40 (June 1, 2022): 1-16. https://doi.org/10.17829/turcom.931464.
JAMA
1.Yücel Y, Çapraz YC. An Alternative for Turkish Serials: Uses and Gratifications of Watching Indian Soap Operas by Turkish Female Viewers. TURCOM. 2022;:1–16.
MLA
Yücel, Yeliz, and Yeşim Ceren Çapraz. “An Alternative for Turkish Serials: Uses and Gratifications of Watching Indian Soap Operas by Turkish Female Viewers”. Türkiye İletişim Araştırmaları Dergisi, no. 40, June 2022, pp. 1-16, doi:10.17829/turcom.931464.
Vancouver
1.Yeliz Yücel, Yeşim Ceren Çapraz. An Alternative for Turkish Serials: Uses and Gratifications of Watching Indian Soap Operas by Turkish Female Viewers. TURCOM. 2022 Jun. 1;(40):1-16. doi:10.17829/turcom.931464

All articles published in the Turkish Review of Communication Studies are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.