Representations of extended family in Turkish television series

This thesis examines the ideological and cultural influence of television dramas, focusing on how they participate in the construction and reinforcement of dominant social structures, particularly in the context of the family. Television series, as mass cultural products, function not only as sources of entertainment but also as sites where national identity, gender norms, and social hierarchies are shaped and circulated. Within Turkish television, the family has consistently been positioned as a central institution, both as a narrative focus and as a bearer of traditional values. Building on this context, the thesis explores how the family, particularly the extended and patriarchal model, is represented and negotiated in Turkish television narratives. Before moving into close analysis, it provides a historical overview of the transformation of family structures in Turkey, tracing the shifts from the early Republican period to the present day. This background allows for a deeper understanding of how television reinterprets and reframes the notion of family within evolving sociopolitical and cultural frameworks. The core of the thesis consists of a comparative analysis of two television series, Çukur (Çatay, Çukur, 2017-2021) and İstanbullu Gelin (Güvenatam, İstanbullu Gelin, 2017-2019) both of which center extended families, albeit through different aesthetic and narrative lenses. Through textual and visual analysis, the study investigates how patriarchal family models are reproduced, how intra-familial power dynamics unfold, and how gender roles are mapped onto family relations. The research highlights the contrasting approaches of each series to gender and family. Despite their narrative differences, however, both ultimately affirm the central ideological role of the family in Turkish society. Keywords: Turkish television series, extended family, patriarchy, gender roles, cultural representation