History is one thing, storytelling is another

When we speak of "history" in a scientific sense, we undoubtedly think of university history departments and the research and studies conducted in the academic world. Historical films, series, and television programs, on the other hand, are subjects of popular history that carry elements of entertainment. Public interest in history is directed more toward this popular sphere. The density of historical series on private television channels, led by TRT, reflects the supply and demand traffic in this area. 

Some historians prefer to become the periodic celebrities of popular culture rather than engaging in scientific work that requires intensive effort, such as working with Ottoman archives, foreign sources, and field research. A short-lived fame, like morning dew, overshadows academic prestige, and scientific rigor and academic seriousness give way to on-screen storytelling! 

Meddahlık, one of our traditional performance arts, is a one-person show based on portraying different characters through voice and mimicry.

The performer's mastery lies in their ability to portray dozens of characters while keeping the audience's interest alive within the fluidity of the story they are telling. Münir Özkul and Erol Günaydın were among the last masters of the meddah tradition. Meddahlık (traditional storytelling) was a unique art form in Turkish humor, with roots in shadow puppetry and traditional folk theater.

What is being criticized here is that when history and storytelling are swapped, beyond the evaporation of historicity and scientific rigor, the art of storytelling itself is not done justice and is instead diluted. Furthermore, some programs are being turned into a battle of wits between the main characters of our traditional theater, Ortaoyunu, Kavuklu and Pişekar. It is being transformed into a mere verbal sparring match. 

It seems that this brand of screen history, performed by historians with academic labels and dynasty historians without them,acting at times as Kavuklu and Pişekar, at times as a Meddah, and at times as a sycophant, is set to continue for quite some time. In short, we will have to endure the reign of these screen celebrities on television for a while longer—figures who have detached themselves from the academic world and long forgotten that history is a serious scientific discipline that does not tolerate fabrication.

After all, with an audience ready and waiting, spin as much as you can, sell as much as you can, deceive as much as you can!

This anesthesia delivered via the screen affects large segments of society and leads to addiction. The demands of the screen-addicted masses are repackaged and offered back to the public as new products and new programs. A chain reaction of cultural shallowness and mediocrity continues to be reproduced, constantly losing altitude.

On TRT and other channels, through dynastic series that twist history and historical storytelling that dulls the public's consciousness, a virtual, fantastic, and synthetic perception of history—one that never actually happened in the past—is being injected into our screens morning and night as our 'glorious past'.

The mission undertaken by these storytellers in paralyzing the common sense, collective consciousness, and national sensitivity of a public disconnected from the real world by screen hypnosis will be better understood in the future.

Let us conclude our article with one of the most current, painful, and thought-provoking examples of the erosion of national consciousness, of commitment to the values represented by October 29, 1923, and of the sense of unity in grief, sorrow, and joy. The mise-en-scène of the dynastic wedding held during the Republic's centennial, the dynastic guards in period costumes, the historian and politician witnesses to the wedding, and the praise for the dynasty and insults toward the Republic in this staged farce are a cautionary snapshot of where the Republic of Turkey is being dragged!