(This discussion on Eksi Sozluk was opened to criticize Turkey's entry selection for Eurovision.)
Assuming that Eurovision is really a place to present an identity - an interesting thought though I must say -, right away, the question that comes to one's mind is what Turkish identity that is not well presented in Eurovision is like. We, as a nation, love to live at the peaks of a reactionary attitude. But, don't you think that slowly we need to start to understand that this land we live in has a history and that we didn't land here from space or even more absurdly from Central Asia? Our essence is a mixture. Only 7% of our genetic pool is originated from Central Asia while around 30% is from Middle East and another around 30% is from Europe.
We have made ourselves so deeply condition that we Turks have to be the center of the world, that we are a very special race crowned by the contemporary fact that we are a Muslim nation, we tend not to understand or see that we are owners of this also in terms of civilizations highly fertile land . Being cut from history other than the official one, we tend to forget what really matters is the LAND. Cultures flourishing on it don't vanish but only change form by interacting with each other. Have no illusions: We are Urartu, we are Hittite, we are Sumer, we are Persia, we are Antic Greece, we are Troi, we are Byzantine, we are Armenia, we are Seldjuk and we are Ottoman.
With this certain stupid idea what a real Turk is like (encoded by official and still too nationalistically oriented education system) in our head, we struggle to find whether we fit into that image. But the minute we try to fit ourselves into something is the actual moment where we put a distance to our true selves.
Manga, Mor ve Ötesi, Hadise, Kenan Dogulu - all of these artists are rooted from this land. They grew up here and they were loved here.They are PART of this land. They reflect this land. Without any complexes they should be accepted.
And if really needed - I don't see why we should it need it though - we shouldn't refrain from looking directly into the eyes of our sarcastic foreign friends and say "hey - we are this, I don't fucking care about the rest, really."
Don't think we are pure. Nobody actually is. But living up to the idea that we are mixture can be really nice - creative, passionate, joyful. And we have an opportunity where we could realize this state of mind more easily than most of the other nation states.
Assuming that Eurovision is really a place to present an identity - an interesting thought though I must say -, right away, the question that comes to one's mind is what Turkish identity that is not well presented in Eurovision is like. We, as a nation, love to live at the peaks of a reactionary attitude. But, don't you think that slowly we need to start to understand that this land we live in has a history and that we didn't land here from space or even more absurdly from Central Asia? Our essence is a mixture. Only 7% of our genetic pool is originated from Central Asia while around 30% is from Middle East and another around 30% is from Europe.
We have made ourselves so deeply condition that we Turks have to be the center of the world, that we are a very special race crowned by the contemporary fact that we are a Muslim nation, we tend not to understand or see that we are owners of this also in terms of civilizations highly fertile land . Being cut from history other than the official one, we tend to forget what really matters is the LAND. Cultures flourishing on it don't vanish but only change form by interacting with each other. Have no illusions: We are Urartu, we are Hittite, we are Sumer, we are Persia, we are Antic Greece, we are Troi, we are Byzantine, we are Armenia, we are Seldjuk and we are Ottoman.
With this certain stupid idea what a real Turk is like (encoded by official and still too nationalistically oriented education system) in our head, we struggle to find whether we fit into that image. But the minute we try to fit ourselves into something is the actual moment where we put a distance to our true selves.
Manga, Mor ve Ötesi, Hadise, Kenan Dogulu - all of these artists are rooted from this land. They grew up here and they were loved here.They are PART of this land. They reflect this land. Without any complexes they should be accepted.
And if really needed - I don't see why we should it need it though - we shouldn't refrain from looking directly into the eyes of our sarcastic foreign friends and say "hey - we are this, I don't fucking care about the rest, really."
Don't think we are pure. Nobody actually is. But living up to the idea that we are mixture can be really nice - creative, passionate, joyful. And we have an opportunity where we could realize this state of mind more easily than most of the other nation states.
4 comments:
I'm even not comfortable to call it "we" or "us" anymore, grouping Turks as one identity (or one dominating identity among others).
In some smaller population nations such as Finland it might be easier to find similar features among masses and call it "Finnish people", even though this is still too generalization.
But in Turkey I started to believe that there are so many groups that do not share a single moral or cultural value. Is it enough to be born in the same land (or inside the same drawn borders) to be called "us"?
yes - it feels there are many groups and the focus of "our" identity crises is non-existence of a super identity.
a super identity by definition is artificial and has an ideological background - this way or another and it's clear turkey has a big challenge about building or if we consider what the republic gave a valid super identity - to re-build it.
and it's not easy as the nation ideology is actually shaking heavily - all around the world. world is in an identity crises and if we consider how fastly it shrinks it is inevitable.
i believe this identity should be built on the land because if you build it wisely, it encompasses acceptance of other cultures and peoples.
world is a land after all and could potentially lead to a borderless future.
if you give people a valid identity and if that identity is fulfilling basic desires, people will accept it.
I think that there is no difference between saying just "we" or "we turks" while living in turkey.
"we" are "we" and it doesn´t matter if turk, german, english, chinese or something else.
there is no identity which someone can just put into you by brainwashing or while doing something else. if you like the way you are and the way the others arround you are, than you don´t care about the difference between "we turks" or "we" or what.
and eurovision. who cares the eurovoson song contest?! I ve got the impression that this contest is getting more attention in turkey than in germany for example. turkey cares a lot about the picture and the impression they are showing towards foreigners.
but be sure, nobody cares as lot as the people in turkey. we ( I am turkish, too) want everybody to show our culture, our mentality and so on.. but the others don´t give a f*ck abot that.
so I think that the only important thing is to exapt all cultures, all people .. there is no other way, when we want to live withou any bordesr and without any silly problems.
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