Abstract
TV series are significant media products when considered as part of audience's leisure activities at home. Marketing of leisure activities to the audience in front of the screen as an indicator of individuality is one of the basic conditions of media consumption. With the watched product, the person feels that he belongs to a community, or, on the contrary, he is unique. It is possible for the individual who watches the historical series to adopt/reflect the national and social spirit. Again, as a part of the consumer society, the displays of the spectacular elements that emphasize the individual's need to express himself/herself with commodities are quite high. In the study, the poster designs of two series that are shown in Turkey (and in various countries of the world) and reach a wide audience have been examined with both visual design elements and principles and semiotics to reveal clues about cultural memory and orientalism in terms of reflecting the Ottoman history.
TopBackground
Before examining the concepts of orientalism and occidentalism, it is necessary to give general information about the series about the period of Ertuğrul Gazi, the father of Osman Bey, the founder of the Ottoman Empire, which is the starting point of the study, and the Magnificent Century series, which covers the period of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, which covers the rise of the Ottoman Period. “Ahmedi records that Osman's father Ertuğrul and his relatives are descended from Oğuz. … Zeki V. Togan thinks that the Kayı tribe, under the rule of Osman's father, Ertuğrul, came to Anatolia in 1230 during the struggle between the Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad and Celaledin Harzemşah” (Acun, 2000, pp. 60-62). Ertuğrul is known as the leader who provided the conditions for the establishment of the Ottoman state. The period of the subject in Muhteşem Yüzyıl is between 1520-1566, Diriliş Ertuğrul is during 13th century. Muhteşem Yüzyıl (The Magnificent Century) is about Ottoman history in the axis of the 10th Ottoman Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. The series is especially about what happened in the palace of Suleiman the Magnificent, the relationship of the sultan with his family and the life of the harem. Therefore, in the scenes of the series, rather than what is experienced in the outside world, the environment in the palace is generally magnificent and physically safe, wealthy, and flashy objects, furniture, clothing, and architectural features. On the other hand, the scenes of the Resurrection Ertuğrul series, the settlement area where the living conditions of the people living in the lands under the order of Ertuğrul Gazi, are shown, the lands where the struggles take place, in short, are generally performed in the external environment. From this perspective it is easy to say that Magnificent Century has more oriental design product due to the most scenes were shot in the palace. On the other hand, Resurrection Ertuğrul were shot outside with hard living conditions due to the daily life routines of the people living in that period. As a general view of the series Resurrection Ertuğrul, it can be said that the scenes have objects, background, textiles affected by occidentalism.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Poster Design: It is a graphic design product prepared for the purpose of introducing, conveying information, changing thoughts and behaviors in the desired direction. It is examined in three areas as advertising, cultural and social posters.
Design Principles: It is a set of rules that consists of balance, integrity, proportion, rhythm, emphasis, contrast, movement elements and that allows the design to be systematically formed.
Orientalism: Edward Said's concept includes the aim of dominating the East. It is a system of thought based on the definition of the traditions and rules of the East from their own framework by the Western government, intellectuals, and interpretation through marginalization.
Semiotics: It is a field that includes various theories that enable systematic interpretation of signs in images. Semiotics is an expanded science with contributions from Peirce, Saussure, and Roland Barthes.
Cultural Memory: It is the concept introduced by the German cultural scientists Aleida Assmann and Jan Assmann. It is a cultural accumulation that covers the traditions that have left traces from the past to the present through texts and images and guides the person in his behavior and daily life.
Graphic Design: It is the producing process of two-dimensional or three-dimensional, digital or printed designs following certain design principles and rules in order to promote a product or service, to convey information about a subject, to visualize an idea and theoretical knowledge, in short, to ensure the transfer of information to the reader, consumer, viewer through image and writing. Commonly used elements in a graphic design product are format, name / logo, typography, image (illustration, photograph, graphics).
Digital Media: It is a digital medium based on the principle of coding content such as audio, video, photograph, and text. While digital media consists of encodings at the software stage, it offers the reader, the audience, and the consumer the opportunity to see these encodings on the screen as audio, video, photo, text.
Design Elements: The design elements that make up the graphic design product are classified as point, line, shape, color, texture, area, value.