Gender identification in the portrayal of female roles in the remakes of American TV series in Turkey

Abstract

The transfer of stories across borders in translation, adaptation, or remake is a common phenomenon in the globalized world. In Turkey, translating foreign audiovisual products to enrich the cultural repertoire has been a prominent practice. Focusing on the portrayal of female characters in contemporary remakes of several American TV series aired on primetime national channels in Turkey, this study aims to pinpoint audiovisual norms that guide the “transfer” of these characters for Turkish audience. The analysis seeks to exemplify how remakes deconstruct, reformulate, and thus (re)construct the representations of women’s identities in Turkey. The study initially concentrates on remakes as a genre, moves on to outline the practice in Turkey, and analyzes the reformulation of gender roles in line with Turkish societal norms within the scope of audiovisual translation from the gender perspective. The study singles out a series of norms that seem to guide and color the transfer of female characters in the remakes for the Turkish audience, elaborates on why it is necessary, and suggests the implications of such practices.