RE(IMAGINING) NATIONAL IMAGINATION IN TURKISH REMAKES OF BRITISH DRAMAS
Vol.12, Issue 1, 2026, pp. 173-195 Full text: PDF . HTML
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33919/esnbu.26.1.11
Web of Science: [WOS=]
Author:
Mehmet Erguvan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3649-8392
Affiliation: Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Türkiye 025mx2575
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.
Keywords: transnational exchange of dramas, Turkish remakes, Thematic interpretants, National imagination, Indigenization
Article history:
Submitted: 07 November 2025
Reviewed: 12 January 2026
Accepted: 21 April 2026
Published: 20 June 2026
Citation (APA):
Erguvan, M. (2026). Re(imagining) national imagination in Turkish remakes of British dramas. English Studies at NBU, 12(1), 173-195. https://doi.org/10.33919/esnbu.26.1.11
Copyright © 2026 Mehmet Erguvan
This is an Open Access article published and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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