Abstract
This study is firstly built on the determination of the orientalist elements in Turkish Airlines' commercial film Journey, which was broadcast in the Super Bowl final of the 2019 American Football League, and how Turkish culture is represented in Istanbul with these orientalist elements. In the context of the sample handled in the study, Turkish architectural structures, Turkish historical structures, Turkish Islamic cultural elements, and Turkish traditions are included, and the presentation of Istanbul from the eyes of a “foreigner” with an orientalist point of view has been handled with the method of semiotic analysis. The main problem of the study is on the different presentation of the East and Istanbul, despite the usual orientalist perspective in media contents and especially in advertising. In this sense, it focuses not on anti-orientalism, but on the conclusion that orientalism is presented with the change of classical narratives.
TopConceptual Framework - Orientalism And Cultural Context Of Advertising
“Orientalism is all the institutions that examine and take the subject of the East, the attitudes adopted, the analogies made, a kind of doctrine, form of government or a form of government (Said, 1998, p.14). Said also speaks of the influence of mass media in the development of people's thinking and perspective, and the formation of the attitude towards the “self” and “other”: “Serious negotiations, artistic production, the interaction of ordinary people with each other in daily life, their compromises and conflicts come from their own will. began to come under the domination of the media. As a result of the lack of sensitivity between “Us” and “Them” on both sides of the existing imaginary line, sensationalism, mere xenophobia and intense conflicts became events in the daily order ” (Said, 2000, p.50).
“The West has always shown an interest in the East, Eastern civilization, philosophy, art, religion and culture. However, it is noteworthy that this interest was built on the East-West opposition and difference over time ” (Boztemur, 2002, p.135). Media content is one of the main indicators of this construction process. There are countless movies, TV series, commercials and promotional films reflecting the orientalist view of the West to the East. Advertisements have an important place in these media contents, most of which are built on mystical prejudices.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Orientalist Discourse: Putting into effect of West as a systematic scientific discipline which has associations, publications, customs, language and rhetoric in order for the West that aims to transform the East to actualize this aim
Advertisement: Any form of announcement broadcast or any broadcast for self-promotional purposes whether in return for payment or for similar consideration by real and legal person in connection with a trade, business, craft or profession in order to promote the supply of goods or services, including immovable property, rights and obligations, to advance a cause or idea, or to bring about any other effect.
Semiotics: Semiology, the study of signs and sign-using behaviour. It was defined by one of its founders, the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, as the study of “the life of signs within society.”