Re(imagining) national imagination in Turkish remakes of British dramas
Re(imagining) national imagination in Turkish remakes of British dramas

Summary/Abstract: This article examines how Turkish remakes of British television dramas deconstruct, reformulate, and (re)construct national, non-national, and transnational imaginaries, particularly in relation to their potential resonance among English-speaking audiences amid the limited export success of Turkish dramas in Western European and North American markets. Focusing on intra-medial transcultural television remakes in Türkiye, the study conceptualizes remaking as an isosemiotic, interlingual, and inspirational form of audiovisual translation (Gottlieb, 2007), employing qualitative thematic analysis of interpretants to examine how cultural meanings and identities are negotiated through adaptation. The findings suggest that Turkish remakes primarily serve domestic audiences and therefore retain a distinctly national character, especially through transformations of source genres and the reconfiguration of characters via interventions in gender identity and representations of sexuality. At the same time, some remakes depart from dominant television conventions, generating innovative and hybrid imaginaries. The study argues that national imagination in Turkish remakes is not fixed but continuously negotiated within transnational media circulation, contributing to scholarship on audiovisual translation and cultural adaptation while offering directions for future research on audience reception and international resonance.

• Details
• Contents