Research Information System
in: Critical Thoughts on Contemporary Turkish Media, Prof. Dr. Nigar Pösteki, Editor, Polity Press, Cambridge, UK , Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, pp.124-153, 2019
In
the basis of cultural change processes, production and consumption
relationships have always been important. While factors determining the
communal class to which the individual belongs to or his life style are
profession, education and similar particulars, after modernism,
it is observed that in the basis of communal identities factors such as eating and
drinking culture, consumption habits, garment codes, free time activities, and
entertainment types began to gain importance. Following this process meaning of
objects and applications are being constantly redefined and identity of
individual is defined with his symbolic status. Symbolic status which is
referred in the study is an expression corresponding to a life style comprising
concepts such as leisure time activities, consumption
habits, food and beverage culture, entertainment types, home life and decoration,
garment codes, body,appearance, and image. Symbolic status contains certain
value indicators. These are indicators such as money, power, luxury,
flamboyance, consumption, and richness. These value indicators fulfills the
desires of an individual such as being differentiated, being different, and
being elegant. Furthermore an individual who has these value indicators
marginalizes the individuals not having these indicators by means of
categorizing, excluding and trivializing. While value indicators enable an
individual to show his power by means of displaying it and to reflect his image
to the members of class to which he belongs to, they also enable to
differentiate him from the individuals in lower class to which he does not
belong. Television, being among mass communication tools, creates status
differences with its contents, makes status designing and determines ideal
status. It provides room for visual, written and oral messages idealizing
symbolic status and it presents them to spectators by means of different
program types. In the study first five episodes of program named as “Social
Housewives” being broadcast each day in the week have been investigated
qualitatively and quantitatively by using content analysis method. In the
program it is revealed how symbolic status is designed as a life style, how it
is idealized, and how individuals in lower class not having value indicators
belonging to upper class are marginalized within context of messages and
images.