The rise of self-censorship in the ‘golden age of theater’
Ayşen Güven talked with names from different disciplines and several generations of theater on self-censorship in the theater scene
A strange chaos of censorship: Kaos GL Magazine’s struggle with censorship
We talked about the censorship story of Kaos GL Magazine, one of the most rooted publications of the Turkish LGBTI+ movement, two issues of which were declared obscene in 2000 and 2006, with the Editor-in-Chief of that period, Umut Güner, and the lawyer of the Kaos GL Association, Hayriye Kara.
TV writers speak: “We are not told not to write, but we know that if we write, bad things might happen to us”
TV series on both digital platforms and TV channels often come to the fore with censorship. Ayşen Güven from Speak Up Platform spoke with TV screenwriters from Turkey whose works have been censored especially due to the portrayals of sexuality and sexual identities. The second of the two-part series will be with screenwriter Yelda Eroğlu
“An injustice done to Anadolu Kültür would be an injustice to the culture of our Anatolia”
A lawsuit for annulment has been openned for Anadolu Kültür, of which human rights activist Osman Kavala is the founder and chairman of the board of directors, who has been held in prison despite the ECHR’s release decision. We talked to names that produced or got inspired in Anadolu Kültür, pointing out that for the first time in the history of the Republic, a lawsuit has been filed against a company on the grounds that “it carries out its activities similar to associations and foundations without profit”
“The crime of obscenity hangs like the Sword of Damocles above the literary texts”
We talked to the author of the book “Nasty Books: a Legal Criticism in the Context of Literary Works and Obscenity Crime”, A. Ozan Marakoğlu about the crime of obscenity and what kind of consequences this crime has in terms of freedom of expression
Abdullah Keskin: “The climate of fear has never been this prevalent”
We talked with Abdullah Keskin, Editor-in-Chief of Avesta Publishing House. The publishing house has been subjected to various bans on their publications in the last two decades. Our conversation took us on a tour of how they navigate through book bans, their struggle with overt and invisible censorship practices, and the history of the publishing house
Netflix Turkey rated ‘Heartstopper’ as 18+
Netflix Turkey changed the rating for the series ‘Heartstopper’ from 13+ to 18+. The series is an adaptation of the comic book series by English author Alice Oseman
The musicians are speaking (III): “If they don’t want to help, let us work, let us do our concerts”
In this part of our article series, the opinion that it is possible to return to live performance concerts comes to the fore. Both Tonmaister Hünkar Çalışkan and musician Ufuk Şafak say that concerts can be held under healthier conditions than the conditions of political party congresses, and they want the necessary conditions to be met. One of the two names who have been rendered incapable of performing their profession for a long time is trying to make a living by working as a marketer and as a motorcycle courier
The musicians are speaking (II): “It will take time to get back to former state”
The coronavirus pandemic continues to build a wall of “pandemic measures” against the performing arts in Turkey as well. Many musicians have not been able to take the stage since March 2020, and the halls cannot open their doors. Festivals experience online organizations, but it is not known when the concerts, which are the main source of income of the industry, will start. In the second part of our article series, we talk to the organizer, manager and operator Serkan Fidan about the reasons, consequences of this picture and what it points to
‘Desired censorship’ children’s books file (I): The struggle of children’s books against censorship in Turkey
In 2020, 13 children’s books were declared obscene. While the allegations of obscenity and LGBTI+ propaganda come to the fore in the decisions of the Board for the Protection of Minors from Sexually Explicit Materials, we sometimes even witness campaigns launched on social media for the inspection of children’s books. As the Speak Up Platform, we asked the experts about the issue that comes up frequently.