I haven't written any posts in English yet since it's my native language - this is my first. I thought about doing this post in Turkish, but I want to give my little review of this Netflix series in English so that I can highly recommend Ethos to more people. I wrote this tiny paper for an intercultural communications class I'm currently taking.

If you're a native Turk, I hope I haven't written anything offensive. This is just from my point of view and I would love to get your perspective about this series. I did read some reviews written by Turks in my research.

Thank you . . . here goes.

The Netflix original series “Ethos” (Turkish: Bir Başkadır) has much to offer students of intercultural communication as well as students of psychology, political science, film, and acting. Even without promotion by Netflix, this series has become an international hit. In fact, Ethos has been positively received by viewers in 18 countries and it’s currently on the most-watched series list in Germany (Özdemir, 2020).

In my opinion, Turkish actors are some of the best in the world. Turkish drama schools are well supported by the government as the entertainment industry displays the beauty of Turkish culture which boosts the tourist industry. Currently Turkey is the second largest exporter of TV series after the United States (Ziffer, 2020). Turkish series are so popular in South America that parents are beginning to name their children after Turkish TV characters.

Bir Başkadır can be translated as “Something Else” or “Something Different”. A theme of the series is that culturally diverse people can put aside prejudices. Most countries, including Turkey, see at least some division in the population along political and/or religious lines. In Turkey, 75% of parents would rather their children marry a partner with similar political viewpoints to their own, 61% prefer that their neighbors be like-minded about politics, and 86% consider members of the opposing political party to be “hypocrites” (France-Presse, 2021). Because of these divisions, stereotypes are born.

The story presented in Ethos is centered around the character Meryem, a headscarf-wearing religious woman who lives in a small town in the outskirts of Istanbul. Meryem has been experiencing fainting spells and when she’s been deemed medically healthy she begins to see a psychologist. Her counselor, Peri, is a well-educated, affluent and secular woman. Peri has preconceived notions about “covered” women because of her upbringing. Peri has been taught that covered women are uneducated or even ignorant.

The series not only focuses on their relationship, but on several other characters with different socioeconomic backgrounds: Gülbin, a second therapist who is from a middle-class Kurdish family; Sinan, a wealthy but lonely playboy; Ali Sadi Hoca, the hodja (religious leader) in Meryem’s town and his lesbian daughter Hayrunnisa; and two members from Meryem’s family – her brother Yasin, an angry ex-soldier, and his wife, Ruhiye, a depressed woman who is the victim of sexual trauma. The series uses a “non-linear” approach called “network narrative” to tell the story and to show how these characters are connected to one another (Cesarini, 2021).

The acting in the series is outstanding and the character of Meryem, played by Öykü Karayel, is exceptional. This actress attended Istanbul University State Conservatory where a conservative French method of acting is taught (Ziffer, 2020). Actors using this method pay special attention to diction/language, facial expression, and body movement. While playing this character, Öykü Karayel spoke with what’s considered a rural or “low” accent – she pronounced “k” as a “g” and pronounced the end of sentences with more “melodizing” (2020). Meryem also uses religious phrases quite frequently such as “may Allah bless you” (France-Presse, 2021). These acting methods help viewers to place Meryem in a group of people – lower income, religious members of rural communities.

Meryem’s use of a headscarf touches on a cultural hot topic in Muslim societies – the stereotype that women with covered heads are less educated and from the lower class. This “polarization around the headscarf” exists even though 58% of the women in Turkey wear headscarves (Ertan, 2020). Meryem is a charming, funny and very intelligent woman who endears herself to her therapist and everyone she meets thus contradicting the stereotype.

Some Turkish viewers feel that Turkish movies and TV series don’t do enough to represent the well-educated, professional headscarf-wearing women in Turkey (France-Presse, 2021). My online Turkish teacher, a professional, middle-class, religious woman living in Istanbul, believes that TV series usually portray the lower class as being deeply religious and the upper class as strictly secular. She doesn’t believe women such as herself are portrayed nearly enough in movies and TV series (Z. Telkesen, personal conversation, 2020). This is unfortunate because neglecting to present the wide variety of characteristics of individuals within people groups can lead to stereotypes and prejudism.

This series is culturally progressive in many ways. For instance, the women are portrayed as strong while the men are shown to be weaker. According to one of the reviews I read, “feminine solidarity” is seen to help the characters overcome their cultural differences (Ziffer, 2020). Another way this series is culturally progressive is that Meryem seeks the help of a secular counselor and hides this fact from the hodja. Also, the hodja’s daughter in the series is in a lesbian relationship. This may be the first instance of a lesbian character in an internationally viewed Turkish series. The Turkish Netflix original, “If Only”, was recently cancelled because of a gay character.

In the culture of many countries, addressing mental health issues is often seen as taboo. Ethos takes an important step to help end the stigma against mental illness by showing many of the characters in the series struggling with mental health concerns. Meryem is counseled to make her unconscience repressed feelings of attraction for men a part of her conscious self (a Carl Jung theory). Her fainting is shown as a physical manifestation of her repressed feelings. Many of the characters (Meryem, Peri, Ruhiye, the Hodja, and Hayrunnisa) seem to work through their personal conflicts; Gülbin and Sinan make progress but seem to have more work to do. Showing these stories gives us a more complete picture of culture in Turkey.

Chapter one of our textbook lists five ways to improve intercultural communication. Two of the ways listed are: 1) the development of better listening skills through interaction with those who are different and 2) the development of empathy for those people ( (Neuliep, 2021). It seems that the characters in the series who developed empathic relationships with people different from themselves, for instance Meryem and Peri, grew personally and were successful in handling their prejudices and personal conflicts.

The characters in this series represent a diverse group of Turkish people. The characters are shown as multi-dimentional individuals and the viewer is drawn into their personal struggles and triumphs. Through these stories, we can see how people are much more complicated than their stereotypes would have us believe. This series shows us how important it is to get to know people who are culturally different than us. Ethos is seeing success, both because of the quality of the filmmaking and acting, and because its message has resonated with viewers around the globe. I highly recommend Ethos.

References

Cesarini, P. (2021, January 10). Bir Başkadır: The Netflix Original Worth Waiting For. Retrieved from https://dizilah.com/reviews/bir-baskadir-the-netflix-original-worth-waiting-for

Ertan, N. (2020, November 23). Top Netflix Drama Lays Open Turkish Divides. Retrieved from https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/11/turkey-netflix-show-ethos-divides-already-polarized-society.html

France-Presse, A. (2021, January 05). Turkey's Social Divides Laid Bare in Netflix Hit 'Ethos'. Retrieved from https://entertainment.inquirer.net/400786/turkeys-social-divides-laid-bare-in-netflix-hit-ethos

Neuliep, J. (2021). Intercultural Communication: A Contextual Approach. 8th Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Özdemir, E. (2020, November 20). An Excellent Turkish Series Ethos on Netflix: Turkish TV Series & Drama. Retrieved from https://www.doyouknowturkey.com/an-excellent-turkish-series-ethos-on-netflix/

Ziffer, B. (2020, December 17). New Netflix Show is Going to Upset Turkey's Erdogan. Retrieved from https://www.haaretz.com/life/television/.premium.highlight.magazine-turkey-s-erdogan-new-netflix-series-ethos-1.9351668