Screening Piety

Abstract

Abstract In the 20th century, Turkish film and television series became important mediators of societal and moral messages, mirroring Turkish sociopolitical developments regarding religion. This chapter provides a chronological overview of the depiction of religion—mainly Islam, but also other religions as well as secularism—in film and television series. It demonstrates how reflecting on religion in the Kemalist era until 1950 was mostly negative. Films about Islamic topics started to be produced when Islam slowly resurged in public life during the multiparty period. While television was under state control until the 1990s, representing religious issues was difficult. Most series provided a neutral position toward religion by not reflecting on it, and religious identifiers were scarce. Private broadcasting diversified the media landscape during the 1990s, and television series reflecting an Islamic worldview occurred. The emergence of international video-on-demand platforms provided opportunities for exploring sensitive themes such as the divide between Islamic and secular in Turkish society and the injustices done to Jews and Christians.