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Orhan Kemal was a modernist pioneer of the Turkish novel
whose works continue to be relevant more than half a century
on. Producers cannot seem to get enough of his works, with
two new adaptations
 Orhan
Kemal’s ‘Kötü Yol’ is the story of a young woman, played by
Şükran Ovalı, who escapes from an arranged marriage, as well
as a cheating boyfriend.
The frustrations of the working class, the changing face of
feudal Turkey, the crippling effects of patriarchy over
women and men, the ever-fascinating appeal of untamed
chemistry between the sexes. All of these themes are the
go-to material for TV producers trying to create the next
best TV series in a period where dozens of new shows replace
dozens of others.
All of these themes are at the core of Orhan Kemal’s novels
and stories. Kemal is one of the greatest of Turkish writers
and a modernist pioneer of the Turkish novel. His realist
novels on class differences and the poor in Turkey left
their mark on a period spanning two decades after the early
1950s, now called the Golden period in Turkish literature.
Meeting another great literary name, the “romantic
revolutionary” Nazım Hikmet, in prison in the early 1940s
had a profound effect on Kemal’s literary direction and
social politics. He began writing poetry and stories,
eventually trying his craft in novels and plays.
Kemal was one of the first authors to write about the
working class, the alienation of immigrants in big cities,
mass urbanization and the changing social structure of
Turkey after World War II. He shed a realist light and took
a brutal look at poor people living in dignity. Kemal’s
stories, novels and plays also lent a voice to working-class
women for perhaps the first time in modern Turkish
literature.
Kemal has always been relevant. No wonder TV producers
haven’t been able to get enough of his work in the last
three years, not to mention the early TV adaptations dating
back more than two decades.
His trilogy of novels “Vukuat Var,” “Hanımın Çiftliği”
(Lady’s Farm) and “Kaçak” (Fugitive), written between 1958
and 1970, became the first to capture the attention of TV
producers in the recent boom of TV series in Turkey.
Adapted both to TV and screen in the past, the trilogy is a
reflection of the political and social changes in 1950s’
Turkey, especially on landlords and the working class. Set
in southern Turkey, home to Kemal, the books offer a vivid
portrayal of the changing classes and Turkey’s democratic
transition and entry into the capitalist world. The trilogy
is also memorable for its strong female characters, albeit
more often than not, they define themselves through men.
‘Feels like a celebration’
In 2009, the trilogy was adapted into a popular series that
chose the more audience-friendly title of the second book,
“Lady’s Farm.” Starring acclaimed actors Özgü Namal and
Mehmet Aslantuğ, the series ran for two seasons, changing
the events of the original books as they went along.
Now, two other novels of Kemal have been turned into TV
series, both set in the 1960s, and both similar in subject
and tone, dealing mainly with problems of migration to
Istanbul. While “Kötü Yol” (Going Astray) sticks to the
original period, “Evlerden Biri” (One of the Houses), has
been adapted to today’s Turkey, albeit with mostly
unsuccessful results.
“Kötü Yol” is the story of a young woman, played by Şükran
Ovalı, who escapes from an arranged marriage, as well as a
cheating boyfriend, from (once again) southern Turkey to
Istanbul in the vain hope of becoming an actress in the most
glittering period of Turkish cinema, coined as the Yeşilçam
period.
“Evlerden Biri” is the story of a family living in the
outskirts of Istanbul. The story is about the frustrations
of the working class, the retired and university students,
and depicts the eventual fall of the family, fuelled by the
newcomers to the neighborhood, an attractive mother and
daughter. Unfortunately, the mix and match of 1960s
sensibilities with today’s mores don’t really play true to
either period.
What makes Kemal’s novels and stories so appealing to
filmmakers and TV producers? Işık Öğütçü, Kemal’s son,
answered this question in a recent interview in daily
Radikal.
“Orhan Kemal’s works are visual, very cinematic. All of his
stories are structured like movies and TV series. When you
read his books, you find yourself immediately inside the
story, inside the characters and the places. There are
[only] a handful of writers who can tell stories so
vividly,” he said.
Öğütçü cites one other appeal of Kemal’s stories: “Producers
choose his books [because] they are full of dialogue. He
didn’t use long sentences; instead, he preferred
characterization through long dialogue. All of his 50 books
can be turned into TV series.”
Asked how he feels about two more of his father’s novels
being turned into TV series, Öğütçü said, “Heading toward
Orhan Kemal’s centennial in 2014, this all feels like a
celebration.” Some adaptations might be better than others,
but this should feel like a celebration.
September/03/2012
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