Sol Yanim is a Turkish drama. I started watching this drama because of Ozge Yagiz. The plot is good. Serra lives with her mother in a small, crudely built shack. Each character is complex and has many hidden secrets which are unfolding in every episodes, with a touch of love and affection. It is based on the "departures of loved ones" because of that their left side (Sol Yanim) always bleeds as their half of the body is gone. Throughout, I enjoyed this series. But there are few themes that seemed problematic to me. Serra’s mother ignores her and give all her love and care to her brother. After her brother’s suicide, Serra takes care of her mother and support the living expenses.
It shows “son preference over daughters.” This depicts the double standards of our society. Parents show all their affection to their sons expecting financial support and care in return. One of the reasons of showing neglect and restrictive attitude towards daughter is their perception that daughters tend to move out of their home, as “they are brought up to serve someone else” – typically, their husband’s family.
Serra does her job well. She gets the offer of a Limousine ride from the famous businessman as an recognition of her work. She accepts the offer in order not to miss the class. She grabs the attention of the university students as she step out from limousine. Students assume that she comes from a very rich family and hence, they try to learn as much information as possible about her. All become fascinate by her car. This shows that we ,as a society lives materialistically. We live in a society where people are judged based on what they produce or consume. People prefer money over everything. They gets fascinated by wealthy people abruptly.
https://youtu.be/7WUAvhwhmw
Well done Ammara.
However I think that here could be so much room for improvement. I like this show but it had flaws like why did every side character get a plot? I don't want to know about what Selim's stepmom brother is doing. Or how they forced the relationship between Selim and Serra; Burak and Serra had more chemistry than them. I wanted those two character development. Also, why did they make every girl look stupid over Selim? First of all, he's not all that and it makes females look weak and embarrassing. And how they try to blame Selim for Hulay's actions? Like I'm sorry shawty is so in love with him that she wanted to end her…
Good work Ammara!
One of the best turkish series you have rightly mention our preferences are killing our morality and the fact that people just expect financial support from their sons don't you think that it puts a lot of pressure being a son in our society and why cant you expect financial support from your daughter while you are spending equally on her. Even in media the expectation of financial support by daughters are portrayed in very negative light in latest drama habs that women have all 3 daughters but her expectation after she gave them all they need from daughters are potrayed in a negative light.
Thank you for writing this great blog!
Great blog, Ammara! You have rightly pointed out the problematic themes here. It's a sad reality in many homes that sons are treated better than daughters just on the basis of gender and problematic concepts like "betiyan tou paraye ghar ki hoti hain" are circulated in the society. This is a huge issue in Pakistan but I'm surprised to see a Turkish drama highlight this as well. It's unfortunate that the same stigmas are a part of the Turkish society as well.
Great work!
Turkish dramas have become very popular over time. I think some of these themes that you have addressed are actually problematic and are also shown in other dramas. Also, due to such themes, the public always wants the guy to be rich and the girl to be poor, but I think that needs to be changed. For example, in “yasak Elma,” they have shown how money is everything. How everything starts from money and ends with money . for that, they also showed how the women also marry the same man over and over again. Although she caught him cheating on her several time but still every time she remarried him or gave up on her decision to divorce whenever…
Hi, Ammara! Thanks for the share! You have debunked gender stereotypes and consumerism pretty aptly. I have a pressing question for you since it has been weighing on my mind since quite sometime:
Do you think that TV dramas construct realistic representations of society? For instance, are all middle class families in Pakistan conservative (as depicted in ARY dramas)? Or, are all elite families arrogant (a stereotype exacerbated by Hum Tv)?