City and Image: Gaziantep Simulation in Television Series

Media tools that develop depending on communication technologies play a decisive role in shaping cultural perceptions and consumption. Television is one of the most effective tools in this process in terms of accessibility and prevalence. The subject of this article is the city images of Gaziantep in television series around the concept of simulation used to explain the reality produced in the media. In urban folklore studies, image-oriented subjects are handled within the framework of applied folklore. However, mass media have an important role in the sharing and circulation of culture. In this context, the elements highlighted in the media are decisive in shaping the perceptions about cities. The concept of simulation is used to describe the reproduced reality while revealing the socio-cultural and political effects of the media. In the 20th century, with the realization of its image-based power, television, whose communication dimension was put into the background, turns into a tool of the entertainment industry. With the transition to multi-channel broadcasting life in Turkey since the 1990s, the diversity of television productions has increased. Television series is one of the productions in which cities are promoted on a national and international scale. Thanks to such promotions, it is possible to talk about the effects of television series in various fields, especially in cultural tourism. In this article, it is aimed to evaluate Gaziantep city images presented to the audience in Gaziantep-themed television series within this framework. The TV series Zerda, Yabancı Damat, Ezo Gelin, Karagül, Karayılan, Gülperi, Güvercin and Benim Adım Melek have been selected as samples and these productions have been analyzed by content analysis tech-nique. It is seen that there are more than one Gaziantep themed series in the same broadcasting period on different television channels. Information about the eight series discussed and the indicators used in the series are given comparatively in tables in the article. In the examination, it is identified that spatial and cultural indicators are used as city images in television series. The data obtained in the study have been classified as cultural space, professions/handicrafts, rites of passage, culinary culture, clothing, music and dialect. It is observed that elements of material culture, ceremonial practices and culinary culture take place predominantly in Gaziantep themed television series. Gaziantep Castle, Bakırcılar Bazaar, Bey Mahallesi, Zincirli Bedesten, Kır Kahvesi, inns, historical mosques and mansions in the city center are the cultural venues used in the TV series. Occupa-tions that have survived in the region from past to present and handicrafts such as copper making, kutnu making, mother-of-pearl and weaving are given as practical examples in the series. Traditions in the culinary culture, various tools, food and beverages, desserts and their production have been used as indicators in TV series. This situation contributes to the formation of intangible cultural heritage awareness. Ceremonial practices around birth, marriage, and death are widely shown in the series. However, some of these practices have lost their validity in the current urban life in Gaziantep. It is determined that the elements of local clothing, music and dialect are given little place in the TV series. In Gaziantep-themed television series, a city image network has been tried to be used in which cultural heritage is highlighted. In the article, it is concluded that a Gaziantep simulation is created in television series that partly adapts to the current cultural structure of the city and partly conflicts with it.