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ANKARA: Reading Turks' Minds Through 'Valley'

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  • ANKARA: Reading Turks' Minds Through 'Valley'

    READING TURKS' MINDS THROUGH 'VALLEY'

    Today's Zaman
    June 2 2008
    Turkey

    Nothing worked. Due to the violent content of the series, I tried to
    keep my son away from the television on Thursdays, when my husband,
    who is normally committed to playing with our son after work, was
    hypnotized by the "Valley of the Wolves, Ambush" series.

    Eventually, I found the solution to be to knock on the door of my
    next-door neighbor, who was kind of suffering from the same mania,
    with my son and some slices of cake in hand.

    But what is it that draws him and his fellow workers to the series,
    so much so that Fridays were full of dialogue from the last episode of
    "Valley"? "The Valley of the Wolves, Ambush," which will wrap up this
    Thursday, usually gets the highest ratings, including its re-runs. "It
    is themselves who they find so appealing in the series; it is their
    lives and their souls that they find," says psychiatrist and associate
    professor Erol Göka, chosen "Intellectual of the Year" in 2006 by
    the Writers Union of Turkey with his book "The Psychology of Turks."

    "The series is incredibly successful in dealing with the setting,
    characters and action, and it sums up the state of the emotions of
    our people very well. The work of fiction also does a good job in
    making enemies," says Göka, who also heads the psychiatry clinic of
    Ankara Numune Hospital.

    On that point, Ä°lham Khalilov, a psychologist from the Zen counseling
    center in İstanbul, agrees with Dr. Göka. "Every character is
    depicted with a particular feature. For example, Ä°skender, the
    narcissistic head of an unknown power, has been portrayed so well
    that his character comes through even in the language he uses." The
    characters even evolve as we do in real life, says Khalilov, pointing
    to Abdulhey, the manliest man, the bravest heart of all, the one no
    one can catch smiling, as an example. "He was more masculine at the
    beginning of the series. Now he has turned into someone else."

    Khalilov also links the obsession with strong, masculine characters
    -- portrayed so well by protagonists Polat, Memati and others --
    with the lack of an authority figure at home. In Turkey, he argues,
    as the father is usually at work, a dependent relationship between
    the mother and child exists. "For this reason the father figure is
    usually not prominent in the family, leading the child to look for
    an authority figure outside of home." But the argument does not apply
    to adult men, Khalilov says.

    The two experts share the same view on whether the series would ever
    become a bad example for teenage boys -- who are already busy building
    an identity and simultaneously trying to adapt to changes brought
    about by puberty -- because it is a frequent scene of violence in
    which people kill with no trace of regret on their face. That fact
    alone would give a false idea to a young mind that killing a person is
    not serious and that guns are not that harmful after all. Psychologist
    Khalilov plays down this option but says there are exceptions. Only
    mentally imbalanced individuals would be motivated by a work of
    fiction -- say, a movie or a story -- according to him. A healthy
    adult male can easily differentiate between fiction and reality,
    and that is the case with "Valley," Dr. Göka believes.

    The series tells the story of an intelligence officer, Polat, whose
    mission, given to him by men from the deep state, is to infiltrate
    a gang in order to get rid of it. He then ends up establishing his
    own gang because of corruption in the system that once employed
    him. Throughout this entire story, the men in his gang are depicted
    as heroes in terms of their loyalty to Polat, though their human side
    is portrayed at times. This characterization of the men as having
    flaws makes the series likeable, says Khalilov.

    A disturbing question, though, continues to bother the mind. It
    is of no harm to adult men, but what about teenagers struggling to
    find role models and dealing with raging hormones? That is, would
    the series have played into the wicked hands of those who want to
    use the young in their ill-intentioned scenarios like assassinations
    of prominent public figures such as slain journalist Hrant Dink? The
    Turkish-Armenian journalist was murdered by a 17-year-old who was later
    found to have links to a gang. Dr. Göka disagrees with this argument,
    voiced by many. He even goes further by saying: "No, I don't agree
    with that at all. We cannot judge a whole nation by the crimes of a
    few punks -- That is a crime bigger than crime itself." What he says
    then is remarkable: "A Turk's mind doesn't understand racism. Though
    Turks are a warrior community, as all historians agree, they are the
    nation which has the greatest tolerance in the world."

    Khalilov sees a connection between the socioeconomic background and
    gangs. "Children of less educated and less wealthy parents are more
    likely to be involved in gangs. A teenager who lacks those things would
    look for wealth and power outside his or her family," Khalilov says.

    Göka, who deals with the community psychology of Turks in his book
    "The Psychology of Turks," discusses the argument that it addresses
    Turks' need for guns and that it is for that reason popular among
    a nation famous for its gift of forming armies. What he says is
    nothing new: Turks are a military society. "The well-known trio,
    'At-Avrat-Silah,' [Horse-Woman-Gun] is of great importance in our
    'historical psychology.' The point is that it is not only the
    weapons, but also our 'warrior state of mind.' I do not know how
    other societies are, but Turks are like that. And we can never analyze
    anything correctly without realizing this feature of ours. Turks are
    well known in history for their warrior features. Turks, fighting
    without gender discrimination, fought not only for their nation;
    they were employed as warriors by other nations' armies because of
    their well-established war tactics. Therefore it is not this relation
    between Turks and guns which make 'Valley' a must-see on Tuesdays,"
    Göka says, giving another perspective on Turkey's "deep state." "The
    major part of the success of the series lies in the fact that it can
    make us ask questions about some issues in order for them to come
    under the spotlight in a country in which a great deal of secret and
    suspicious business has taken place." "To some extent, it helps to
    calm our paranoia [or the skeptic within]."

    On the other hand, Zekayi Altun, a fan of the series, says, "I don't
    think it is about the guns." What he finds so spellbinding in "Valley"
    is its scenario, which ties the latest developments in Turkey with
    fiction. He also dismissed the idea of guns being a "bad example"
    by invoking Memati's drug problem. Memati, a picture-perfect example
    of a strong man in the series with his courage, is forced to use drugs
    during his captivity by the antagonists of the series. Polat then comes
    to his rescue, but by then, Memati is already a drug addict. On that
    point, Polat's father, a mosque preacher, tries to encourage him to
    quit. The pious man functions as a messenger throughout the series,
    says Polat. Therefore, the series can balance its violence with
    a message about the results of the guns." He adds: "For instance,
    in the latest episode, at least 10 minutes were spent explaining
    the harms of drugs. I am sure those with a tendency to imitate the
    crimes in the series also take their cues from what Polat's father,
    who is even good to his enemy, preaches and models with his role."

    The series' fans are not all men. Fatma Yeler, 85, used to watch it
    when Elif, Polat's ill-fated lover in the series' first season, was
    alive. The scriptwriter killed her in a tragic car accident. "They
    fight less and are less entertaining," Yeler says. "They have not
    filled the gap that Elif's absence has left," says another former
    fan, Nevin Ozturk, a 40-year-old housewife from one of Ä°stanbul's
    upscale districts.

    The series is rated "seven and above" by the Radio and Television
    Supreme Council (RTUK). I ask Zekayi if his wife and young
    daughter watch it. "No," he says. The series' season finale is this
    Thursday. Though the questions asked above still remain unanswered,
    there is something for sure: Zekayi's wife, children and I will
    finally catch a breather from this show this summer.

    --Boundary_(ID_0AXMZ7yTXWwlhPv4wGy5TQ)--
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