Populist styles and meanings in Acun Medya reality shows

This article reflects on the relationship between popular culture and populism through Acun Medya reality shows that are influential in the popular culture realm. Inspired by populism scholars and television studies framework, the article considers populism as ‘style’ (us vs them, mobilizing emotion...

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Main Author: Gökçe Baydar Çavdar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Istanbul University Press 2024-12-01
Series:Connectist Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/922388EA192F478687DD16E42CB52F80
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author Gökçe Baydar Çavdar
author_facet Gökçe Baydar Çavdar
author_sort Gökçe Baydar Çavdar
collection DOAJ
description This article reflects on the relationship between popular culture and populism through Acun Medya reality shows that are influential in the popular culture realm. Inspired by populism scholars and television studies framework, the article considers populism as ‘style’ (us vs them, mobilizing emotions/emotionality, personality cult) and political meanings informed by conservative ideologies. This paper will first review the populist hegemony of right-wing ideologies and interventions on television content. Then it will situate the reality television and factual entertainment in the Turkish television landscape. Through multimodal discourse analysis of three factual entertainment shows of the latest seasons, MasterChef (2023), O Ses Turkiye- New Years Special (2023) and Survivor (2024), the article discusses populism both enabled and generated by the formats, the production company and ordinary people participating. In the findings section, the populist style in the shows is explored through us versus them dichotomy, emotional style and personality cults. Then, assumptions and constructions of family, audiences, fans, and nation are discussed. In the discussion and conclusion section, the article briefly highlights the differences between these programs and other reality shows and argues that in all programs, the ideals of nation and family are revisited and reaffirmed in various ways.
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publisher Istanbul University Press
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spelling doaj-art-c708c228040f4ae5bd813771cbfdc0442025-08-20T01:48:12ZengIstanbul University PressConnectist Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences2636-89432024-12-0167618610.26650/CONNECTIST2024-1505745123456Populist styles and meanings in Acun Medya reality showsGökçe Baydar Çavdar0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9712-2597Hacettepe Üniversitesi, Ankara, TurkiyeThis article reflects on the relationship between popular culture and populism through Acun Medya reality shows that are influential in the popular culture realm. Inspired by populism scholars and television studies framework, the article considers populism as ‘style’ (us vs them, mobilizing emotions/emotionality, personality cult) and political meanings informed by conservative ideologies. This paper will first review the populist hegemony of right-wing ideologies and interventions on television content. Then it will situate the reality television and factual entertainment in the Turkish television landscape. Through multimodal discourse analysis of three factual entertainment shows of the latest seasons, MasterChef (2023), O Ses Turkiye- New Years Special (2023) and Survivor (2024), the article discusses populism both enabled and generated by the formats, the production company and ordinary people participating. In the findings section, the populist style in the shows is explored through us versus them dichotomy, emotional style and personality cults. Then, assumptions and constructions of family, audiences, fans, and nation are discussed. In the discussion and conclusion section, the article briefly highlights the differences between these programs and other reality shows and argues that in all programs, the ideals of nation and family are revisited and reaffirmed in various ways.https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/922388EA192F478687DD16E42CB52F80reality televisionturkish televisionacun medyapopulismcultural hegemony
spellingShingle Gökçe Baydar Çavdar
Populist styles and meanings in Acun Medya reality shows
Connectist Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences
reality television
turkish television
acun medya
populism
cultural hegemony
title Populist styles and meanings in Acun Medya reality shows
title_full Populist styles and meanings in Acun Medya reality shows
title_fullStr Populist styles and meanings in Acun Medya reality shows
title_full_unstemmed Populist styles and meanings in Acun Medya reality shows
title_short Populist styles and meanings in Acun Medya reality shows
title_sort populist styles and meanings in acun medya reality shows
topic reality television
turkish television
acun medya
populism
cultural hegemony
url https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/922388EA192F478687DD16E42CB52F80
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