We are a string of pearls

In reality, everything, like everything else, begins centuries ago. Those drumbeats aren't for nothing. Incomprehensible—at least to us—screams. Spinning around fires in dances that would make animators cringe, using sound-producing devices while dancing. Rituals, acting according to religious beliefs. Joining the dancers with applause-like movements. Costume-like garments created for almost every game or actor. Coloring faces and bodies. The primitive steps of entertainment. Entertainment changes over time. With the Renaissance, entertainment takes on a different form in every field for the West.

Although it's said that tastes and tastes are indisputable, entertainment and its concept vary from person to person. Entertainment can also be considered a form of leisure time. Like everything else, entertainment varies depending on the current circumstances and the lands we inhabit. Carnivals, festivals, and theater were influential in Byzantium. Subsequently, entertainment in Istanbul centered around Galata, and early versions of taverns emerged. Restaurants and clubs emerged for the "elite." Tektek and taverns were run by minorities.

We won't delve into the debate of "art for art's sake or art for society?" The author takes a stand on this issue: art is for society. As time progresses, attempts are made to shape society's entertainment according to the direction and restructuring of the ruling classes. One of the greatest pastimes is football, which oppresses the public with its incredible budgets. Especially during the reigns of dictators, football was used as an opium in Chile and Argentina. Matches played on weekends, and then, when that didn't suffice, moved to weekdays, allowed fans who would never have been able to gather together, united in "sorrow, grief, joy, and pride," to focus on the created enemy—the opposing team—until the next match, thinking of nothing else. Of course, the joy that ensues when a victory is achieved is a different story. In Türkiye, the junta leader's decision to prevent an Ankara team from being relegated is unforgettable.

We're in Turkey, and we're moving on. As is the case everywhere, in the following years, beyond football, theater, cinema, and then television emerged. Of course, these fields are entertainment for ordinary people, unless you're a producer or a well-known actor, and even that's a bit of a rip-off these days. For ordinary people, cinema became intertwined with music in the late '70s. Arabesque—a social and cultural way of being, "loved for its flaws" and "struck to the core if necessary"—was born.

Sobs remain in minibuses, Gülhane Park, movie theaters, or taverns where "Oh, Ahmet Bey, they've done you honor." Because it's impossible to reach those who would rebel. They easily turn their backs on the culture they represent anyway, joining the ranks of the unreachable. They gain a place on high-ranking boards, in villas on the Bosphorus, thanks to the tens of thousands of cassettes and vinyl copies they print.

Entertainment venues are also a hot topic. The "Etiler-Tarabya" debate becomes a symbol of luxury and popular entertainment. In fact, by the 1960s, casinos, which later transformed into casinos, became the center of luxury entertainment. Nightclubs proliferated. Press bosses and film producers sat at the front tables, with representatives from the mafia at the side tables. Places where shots were fired. Casinos where newspapers sling mud at each other for advertisements, and where, in addition to the menus they pay a fortune for, they order lahmacun and whiskey on the side. And let's not forget the nights of the daisies, the discos, and the bars.

In Türkiye, where untamed capitalism came to power in the 1980s with the junta's approval, television became one of the most important entertainments for those on fixed incomes, even if the casinos were full. And of course, the series broadcast. The Guiding Light was the first series to air on US television. In Türkiye, it was Mother-in-Law. People come to Türkiye, a country that exported series since the TRT era, and where tours of the sets are organized.

It's been almost 10 years. As the name suggests, Bodrum Tale was filmed in Bodrum. The series featured a scene in the courthouse garden. Meanwhile, a development forced a break from filming. Four of the eight suspects apprehended in a drug operation in Gümbet were brought to the courthouse. They were charged with drug trafficking. The suspects who weren't brought were found to be users. Fortunately, the actors only watched; they weren't detained for any reason.

Detention? No. There is no detention. But before addressing the detention issue, it's necessary to summarize the recent events. Whether the prosecutor's office intervened or not is unclear. Along with those known by the chant "Enerciii," two young women known by their mother's surname, two singers (one of whom was banned from ancient theater concerts for criticizing the mayor's arrest), and the remaining television actors, 19 people are accused of "using drugs or stimulants." So, what was done? An invitation? No. Detention that isn't even called detention? According to a lawyer, if the duration exceeds 15 hours, it's detention. Was it a humane approach to draw blood and conduct a full blood test? Anyway, a lawyer mentioned "present statement process," allowing some comment on the developments. A statement from the ruling party cast doubt on the fact that this operation was a tactic of powdered sugar. The person in question, quoting a former British prime minister, warned artists not to "lecture the public on why and how to vote."

Some actors and singers criticized the detention process, which wasn't a detention process. While the media was a bit cautious, the captain of a demoted, drydocked ship, with the experience of someone who can identify people using "substances" by their eyes, somehow made the diagnosis that "it definitely looked like substance use." Now, all eyes are on distributing copies of the clean bill of health door to door. Perhaps the leading newspaper of the drydock media is taking a different step to get a thumbs-up? While the news of the operation was published with photos, they kept the name of the actor who will star in an upcoming series on its sister channel secret. Whether the fact that the series of one of those taken to the deposition ranked second in the EU ratings a day or two later indicates that the current situation isn't being accepted by the audience is unclear.

When we look at the series of actors who have undergone the current testimony process, we see three that involve drugs. These are just three of the dozens of ratings-pushing series: The Courtyard, Tatar Ramazan, and Ring. The operation likely didn't begin there. The reason will one day be revealed. Broadly speaking, this country has a problem with artists and performers. If the problem isn't related to the artist, it could be attributed to a municipality, or a concert where the public can enjoy themselves. These aren't just people enjoying themselves à la carte at a venue in Bodrum.

The true consumer of popular culture (and we might add entertainment for our purposes) or popular culture, whether consciously or not, is the working class. Its suppliers are the ruling classes, who profit from these segments of society and do everything in their power to ensure the system remains intact. They are deeply angered by the loss of control. In the established order, women's rebellion and people speaking out against inequality through television series, even if portrayed as scripted, can be contagious and disturbing. They can use all the resources and clownish voices at their disposal to counter such situations. In television series, actors act within the framework of their assigned roles. A few RTÜK fines are trivial. However, acting like a citizen who can break away from their role in the series and react outside the set is the greatest sin. The price may not be a series of pearls, but a series of present-day statements.

Note: Pervin Buldan from DEM redefined censorship in Turkish: Positive contribution.