The Liz Smith Column | 06/22/2009 11:00 pm
Liz Smith: Kivanc Tatlitug – Will Turkish Soap Star Wow the World?
Also from Our Gossip Girl: Cher and Chaz … Helen Mirren and ‘Phédre.’
Kivanc Tatlitug/Image: Wikipedia
"Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know why I look this way. I’ve traveled a long way and some of the roads weren’t paved," said America’s greatest populist philosopher, Will Rogers. Hey, kids, I’m back here at wOw after a few days rest, ready to start all over again.
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Here’s some hot skinny from the Middle East and Arab countries where real news – not cable talk and advanced supposition – is being made every single day. Every single minute, in fact, thanks to Twitter, which has revolutionized the Iranian "revolution."
In North America these days and nights, the London-born model and actor Robert Pattinson, vampire star of the film "Twilight," is all the rage. He is putting those romantic heroes who came before him – Newman, Redford, Clooney, Willis, Pitt – to shame, fighting off gangs of fans and fighting to stay alive.
But in Turkey, it is one Kivanc Tatlitug who has captured the hearts of females across the Arab world, and particularly in his native Istanbul and everyplace else in Turkey where they can get a TV signal. And Kivanc is not yet a movie star. He is a creation of the soap opera world. Still, he is the rage from Dubai to Saudi Arabia.
The blonde, blue-eyed Turk, whose name is pronounced Kee-vanch Tat-loo-too, started out as a model. He is not married and plays a "good" guy on his show, "Noor." But still his performance has created a tsunami of scandal in Turkey. For years, Turkish women doted on soap operas made elsewhere in the Middle East. They didn’t mind watching them and going "Tch, tch!" at the loose morals. But when their own country produced one, everybody was "shocked, shocked," and Turkish women began complaining to their husbands that they weren’t as understanding, sympathetic and adorable as Kivanc. This has led to a few cases of separation and divorce and some mighty odd behavior by Turkish women.
The good news? Mr. Tatlitug affected tourism all across the Middle East last summer and especially in burgeoning Istanbul. The background of his soap opera, whatever its moral content, shows off the beauty of modern and ancient Istanbul. It runs once a week and everybody waits for it.
This is a worldwide phenomenon. Woody Allen caused a tourist upswing in Spain last year with "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and "Slumdog Millionaire" did likewise for Mumbai (Bombay).
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Claims that Cher herself has been connected with plans to sell to TV daughter Chastity’s sex change transformation into "Chaz"? They strike me as highly unlikely. Cher would surely not lend herself to such a reality endeavor though this week she certainly did the P.C. thing and expressed her support, saying she is respectful of Chaz’s decision. She is quoted by Reuters as saying, "The one thing that will never change is my abiding love for my child."
Cher © Getty Images
There have already been big explorations of selling this entire event (hormones to operation and aftermath) to the major networks. But how much of Cher herself could have been promised in the advent is questionable. And maybe that’s why it hasn’t sold to date.
Read more about: Bill Cunningham, Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, Celebrities, Chastity Bono, Cher, David Rockefeller, George Clooney, Gossip, Helen Mirren, Jean Racine, Kivanc Tatlitug, Liz Smith, London, News, Nicholas Hytner, Paul Newman, Robert Morgenthau, Robert Pattinson, Robert Redford, The Liz Smith Column, Theater, Tommy Tune, Travel, Will Rogers, Woody Allen
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21 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment
Oh, Lord! I recently posted (half tongue in cheek), on another blog here about Chastity/Chaz Bono, the plea that this not be turned into a reality show. Lo and behold, someone is trying to do just that. I do hope that neither Cher nor Chastity/Chaz will lower themselves to this level.
I had heard about Kivanc Tatlitug but had not seen a picture of him until now. He is indeed quite handsome.
Deena, your previous blog gave them the idea to do the reality show! Just kidding. :-O
Turkey is a fascinating country (and talk about some cradle spots of religion.) I belatedly discovered a Turkish writer called Orhan Pamuk. He may still be teaching Comparative Literature and Writing at Columbia University. I not sure on that, but he was. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2006. I just read one of his novels called Kar (English: Snow) a few months ago.
After reading the above, you have to wonder if there isn’t already a secret revolution going on in the Middle East with women watching soap operas and at least seeing an alternate world where they can desire change and better treatment. If it comes from a soap opera—even more interesting. I’ve been reading a lot the past few weeks how Twitter has been used to become part of and record history in the making. As you stated, it has been invaluable in Iran. Fascinating, isn’t it? We had a really bad subway accident in my city yesterday, and it was amazing how much Twitter text and how many photographs were coming out from people there at the scene. We are all becoming Brenda Starr!
Thank you for the Helen Mirren news. I can see the film at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre. If you’ve never been there, it is a library and research facility to Shakespeare, but it also has PEN/Faulkner Readings and Awards, musical events, plays and the most incredible reproduction of an Elizabethean theate, which is where I am sure they will show the film.
Tommy Tune. Isn’t he a ……TEXAS boy??? Sure he can dance, but have you seen his art? wOw!
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Oh, Please Ms. Smith, You may be famous, and your area of expertise may be gossip, but you are still a journalist and you should do a bit of research before making blatantly incorrect statements.
The Muslim world and the Arab world are not synonymous. Not all Arabs are muslim, and not all muslims are Arab. The main thing that binds Arabs is that they speak Arabic. So you can think of them as a socio-linguistic group. Turks and Iranians/Persians are not Arab (nor are they all muslim). That was error #1.
Error #2 is the implication that women in the Middle East, Turkey in particular, are not treated well by their husbands and don’t know that they can be treated well. OH, PLEASE. That situation is UNIVERSAL. There is a very large sector of educated, informed, modern Turkish women who are not all that different from their American and European counterparts. Something that might exemplify the rights of women in Turkey is that they gained the right to vote in 1930 - before women in France, Japan, Spain, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, and dozens of other countries. Do your homework please, before spreading misinformation and false impressions!
Saskia! Thank you. I was about to post the same thing.
Liz: I love you completely despite the gaffe. You can’t know everything. I wish we were closer in age as I have a gigantic crush on you and would love to have dinner with you.
I understand your point. Certainly they should continue to be upfront about it. Maybe do a well produced documentary if so inclined. But a reality series feels like exploitation rather than education. And that would be counter-productive. Of course, I am no fan of the medium anyway, so maybe I am not the best judge. In my opinion they are, at best, borderline tacky.
Ignorance here is so strong that it almost looks like disinformation. Middle Eastern soaps were never popular in Turkey. You’re getting the situation entirely wrong. I guess you read it somewhere and then got the facts mixed up (reversed). It is Arabs who were introduced to Turkish shows and culture and it is Arab women demanding more romance from their husbands after watching this Turkish show, which is originally in Turkish language vut dubbed into Syrian dialect of Arabic.
Which is more disturbing, as a journalist, that you don’t pay attention to your articles or you are completely unaware of the world surrounding you?
I advise you to update your article to prevent further confusion.