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“Nitelikli Televizyon”: Netflix Platformunda “Nitelikli Drama”nın Yeniden İnşası

Year 2021, Volume: 14 Issue: 2, 674 - 698, 25.04.2021
https://doi.org/10.18094/josc.871771

Abstract

Bu çalışmada Netflix’in küresel düzeyde en fazla izlenen The Witcher (2019- ) dizisi 1990’lı yıllardan beri televizyon literatüründe sıklıkla ele alınan “nitelikli televizyon” ve “nitelikli drama” kavramları zemininde incelenmiştir. Dijital medya platformları, televizyonun evrimini derinden etkilemiş ve daha “sinematik” dramalar için fırsat sunmuştur. The Witcher’ın dijital televizyon kültürünün yönelimlerini içeren bir dizi olması örneklem olarak seçilmesinde etkili olmuştur. Çalışmanın temel amacı Netflix’te nitelik kavramının işleyişini sorgulamaktır. Makalede ilk olarak kısa bir tarihçesiyle birlikte nitelikli televizyon kavramı açıklanmış ve nitelikli dramaların karakteristik özellikleri tanıtılmıştır. Sonrasında Netflix’in kendine özgü üretim sürecinin, hikâye anlatıcılığı tarzının, niş izleyici kitlesi yakalama ve üst üste izletmeye teşvik etme eğiliminin nitelikli drama üretimiyle ilişkisi ortaya konulmuştur. Çalışmada, bahsedilen eğilimleri somutlaştırmak üzere The Witcher dizisinin ilk sezonu metin analizine tabi tutulmuştur. Dizi, nitelikli dramaların ayırıcı niteliği haline gelen anlatı karmaşıklığı, estetik değer ve özgünlük gibi kategoriler aracılığıyla değerlendirilmiştir. Robert J. Thompson, Jane Feuer, Robin Nelson, Janet McCabe ve Kim Akass gibi öncü kuramcılara yaslanılarak belirlenen bu kategoriler aracılığıyla dizinin kültürel değerini belirleyen özellikler açığa çıkarılmıştır. Bu bağlamda Netflix platformunun sağladığı olanaklarla birlikte The Witcher’ın anlatı formlarının nitelik değerlerine denk düştüğü ve dijital medya platformlarının nitelikli televizyonda önemli bir geçiş alanı olduğu savunulmuştur.

References

  • Becz, P. (2016). Netflix goes to cinema the new chapter of quality TV conquers the big screen. Copenhagen.
  • Bignell, J. (2007). Seeing and knowing: reflexivity and quality. J. McCabe, & K. Akass içinde, Quality TV: contemporary American television and beyond (s. 158-190). London: Tauris.
  • Booth, P. (2011). Memories, temporalities, fictions: temporal displacement in contemporary television. Television & New Media , 12 (4), 370-388.
  • Bourdaa, M. (2011). Quality television: construction and de-construction of seriality. M. Perez-Gomez içinde, Interdisciplinary studies in TV series in the third golden age of television (s. 33-44). Sevilla: Universidad de Sevilla.
  • Brunsdon, C. (1990). 'Problems with Quality'. Screen , 31 (1), 67-90.
  • Buckland, W. (2009). Introduction: Puzzle plots. W. Buckland içinde, Puzzle films: complex storytelling in contemporary cinema (s. 1-12). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Caldwell, J. (1995). Televisuality: style, crisis and authority in American television. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
  • Callaghan, D. (2016). The representation of prohibition in fully-serialised American prestige television. PhD thesis . University of Warwick.
  • Cardwell, S. (2007). Is quality television any good? Generic distinctions, evulations and the troubling matter of critical judgement. J. McCabe, & K. Akass içinde, Quality TV: contemporary American television and beyond (s. 19-35). London: I.B. Tauris.
  • Cardwell, S. (2006). Television aesthetics. Critical Studies in Television , 1 (1), 72-80.
  • Dunleavy, T. (2018). Complex serial drama and multiplatform television. New York, London: Routledge.
  • Feuer, J. (2007). HBO and the concept of quality TV. J. McCabe, & K. Akass içinde, Quality TV: contemporary American television and beyond (s. 145-157). London: I. B. Tauris.
  • Feuer, J., Kerr, P., & Vahimagi, T. (1984). MTM: Quality television. London: British Film Institute.
  • Fuller, S. (2013). "Quality TV" The reinvention of U. S. television. 2020 tarihinde https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2123/9556/fuller,s_thesis_2013.pdf;jsessionid=5A2E9FE65AC62E31AB664C6C430554D1?sequence=1 adresinden alındı.
  • Gitlin, T. (1983). Inside prime time. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
  • Hassler-Forest, D. (2014, December). Game of Thrones: quality television and the cultural logic of gentrification. TV/Series (6), s. 160-177.
  • Jacobs, J. (2001). Issues of judgement and value in television studies. International Journal of Cultural Studies , 4 (4), 427-447.
  • Jaramillo, D. (2013). Rescuing television "the sinematic": the perils of dismissing television style. J. Jacobs, & S. Peacock içinde, Television aesthetics and style (s. 67-79). New York, London: Bloomsbury Academic.
  • Jenner, M. (2015). Binge-watching: video-on-demand, quality TV and mainstreaming fandom. International Journal of Culturel Studies , 20 (3), 1-17.
  • Jenner, M. (2014). Is this TVIV? on Netflix, TVIII and binge-watching. New Media & Society , 18 (2), s. 1-17.
  • Johnson, C. (2005). Quality/cult television: The X-Files and television history. M. Hammond, & L. Mazdon içinde, The contemporary television series (s. 57-74). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
  • Johnson, S. (2003). Everything bad is good for you. New York: Penguin.
  • Jones, S. (2003). Web wars: resistance, online fandom and studio censorship. M. Jancovich, & J. Lyons içinde, Quality populer television: cult TV, the industry and fans (s. 163-177). London: BFI Publishing.
  • Kompare, D. (2005). Rerun nation: how invented American television . New York: Routledge.
  • Leverette, M., Ott, B. L., & Buckley, L. It's not TV: watching HBO in the post-television era. New York, London: Routledge.
  • Lobato, R. (2019). Netflix nations the geography of digital distribution. New York: New York University Press.
  • Maganzani, P. (2019). Netflix's cable girls as reinvention of a nostalgic past. P. Kathryn içinde, Netflix nostalgia streamind the past on demand (s. 153-169). Lanham, Boulder, New York, London: Lexington Books.
  • McCabe, J., & Akass, K. (2007). Introduction. J. McCabe, & K. Akass içinde, Quality TV: Contemporary American television and beyond (s. 1-13). London: I. B. Tauris.
  • McCabe, J., & Akass, K. (2008). It's not TV, it's HBO's original programming producing quality TV. M. Leverrete, B. Ott, & C. Louise içinde, It's not TV watching HBO in the post-television era (s. 83-95). New York, London: Routledge.
  • McKee, A. (2001). A beginner's guide to textual analysis (Cilt 127). Metro Magazine: Media & Education Magazine.
  • McKee, A. (2003). What is textual analysis? Textual analysis: a beginner's guide. London: Sage.
  • Mittell, J. (2015). Complex TV the poetics of contemporary television storytelling. New York, London: Bloomsbury Academic.
  • Mittell, J. (2004). Genre and television: from cop shows to cartoons in American culture. New York, London: Routledge.
  • Mittell, J. (2006). Narrative complexity in contemporary American television. The Velvet Light Trap , 58 (1), 29-40.
  • Mittell, J. (2013a). Phineas & ferb children's television. E. Thompson, & J. Mittell içinde, How to watch television (s. 56-65). New York, London: New York University Press.
  • Mittell, J. (2013b). The qualities of complexity: vast versus dense seriality in contemporary television. J. Jacobs, & S. Peacock içinde, Television aesthetics and style (s. 45-56). New York, London: Bloomsbury Academic.
  • Nelson, R. (2006). Quality television: 'The Sopranos is the best television drama ever... in my humble opinion...'. Critical Studies in Television , 1 (1), 58-71.
  • Nelson, R. (2007). Quality TV drama: estimations and influences through time and space. J. McCabe, & K. Akass içinde, Quality TV contemporary American television and beyond (s. 38-51). London: I. B. Tauris.
  • Newman, M. Z., & Levine, E. (2012). Legitimating television: media convergence and cultural status. New York: Routledge.
  • Ong, T. (2017, Aralık 11). Lauren Schmidt Hissrich is showrunner for Netflix’s The Witcher . Kasım 10, 2020 tarihinde The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/11/16761004/lauren-schmidt-hissrich-showrunner-netflix-the-witcher adresinden alındı.
  • Osur, L. (2016). Netflix and the development of the internet television network. PhD Thesis . ABD: Syracuse University.
  • Park, G. (2020, January 06). 'The Witcher' is the biggest TV show in the world Here's how to get Geralt of Rivia. November 17, 2020 tarihinde The Washington Post Illustration: https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/01/06/the-witcher-is-biggest-tv-show-world-heres-how-get-more-geralt-rivia/ adresinden alındı.
  • Rogers, M. C., Epstein, M., & Reeves, J. L. (2002). The Sopranos as HBO brand equity: the art of commerce in the age of digital reproduction. D. Lavery içinde, This thing of ours: investigating The Sopranos (s. 42-57). New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Schlütz, D. (2016). Contemporary quality TV: the entertainment experience of complex serial narratives. Annals of the International Communication Association , 95-124.
  • Simmons, D. (2012). Last in my class, last on the sports field, I'm not a loser anymore: centralizing the "Geek" in quality television. D. Simmons içinde, Investigating heroes essays on truth, justice and quality TV (s. 41-51). Jefferson, North Caroline, London: McFarland & Company.
  • Stankovic, M. (2018). TV Series or not? . AM Journal of Art and Media Studies , 17, 1-13.
  • Steiner, T. (2015). Steering the author discouse: the construction of autorship in quality TV, and the case of Game of Thrones. International Journal of Serial Narratives , 1 (2), 181-192.
  • Thompson, E., & Mittell, J. (2013). Introduction: an owner's manual for television. E. Thompson, & J. Mittell içinde, How to watch television ethan (s. 1-13). New York, London: New York University Press.
  • Thompson, K. (2003). Storytelling in cinema and television. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  • Thompson, R. J. (2007). Preface. J. McCabe, & K. Akass içinde, Quality TV contemporary American television and beyond (s. xvii-xx). London, New York: I. B. Tauris.
  • Thompson, R. (1996). Television's second golden age: from Hill Street Blues to ER . New York: Syracuse University.
  • Thorburn, D. (1987). Television as an aesthetic medium. Critical Studies in Mass Communication , 4 (2), 161-173.

“Quality TV”: Reconstructing “Quality Drama” on Netflix

Year 2021, Volume: 14 Issue: 2, 674 - 698, 25.04.2021
https://doi.org/10.18094/josc.871771

Abstract

The present study examines The Witcher (2019- ), the most-watched series on Netflix at the global level, based on the concepts of “quality television” and “quality drama” discussed extensively in the literature on television since the 1990s. Digital media platforms have profoundly affected the evolution of television, bringing about opportunities for more “cinematic” dramas. Its inclusion of trends of the digital television culture has influenced the selection of The Witcher as the sample. The study aims to bring into question the way Netflix deals with the concept of quality. Following a brief historical examination, the article elaborates on the concept of quality television and presents the characteristics of quality dramas. Then, it discusses how Netflix’s unique production process, narrative style, and the tendency of captivating a niche audience and encouraging binge-watching is related to the production of quality drama. In order to concretize the way Netflix is positioned as “quality television”, the first season of The Witcher is examined by means of textual analysis. The assessment is conducted through concepts that have become the hallmark of serialized dramas such as narrative complexity, aesthetic value, and originality. By means of these categories identified in line with the arguments of leading theoreticians such as Robert J. Thompson, Jane Feuer, Robin Nelson, Janet McCabe and Kim Akass, the features determining the distinctive narrative style of Netflix and the cultural value of the series are revealed. In this context, the study claims that with the opportunities provided for by the Netflix platform, the narrative forms of The Witcher correspond to the quality values and that digital media platforms constitute a significant transitory point in quality television.

References

  • Becz, P. (2016). Netflix goes to cinema the new chapter of quality TV conquers the big screen. Copenhagen.
  • Bignell, J. (2007). Seeing and knowing: reflexivity and quality. J. McCabe, & K. Akass içinde, Quality TV: contemporary American television and beyond (s. 158-190). London: Tauris.
  • Booth, P. (2011). Memories, temporalities, fictions: temporal displacement in contemporary television. Television & New Media , 12 (4), 370-388.
  • Bourdaa, M. (2011). Quality television: construction and de-construction of seriality. M. Perez-Gomez içinde, Interdisciplinary studies in TV series in the third golden age of television (s. 33-44). Sevilla: Universidad de Sevilla.
  • Brunsdon, C. (1990). 'Problems with Quality'. Screen , 31 (1), 67-90.
  • Buckland, W. (2009). Introduction: Puzzle plots. W. Buckland içinde, Puzzle films: complex storytelling in contemporary cinema (s. 1-12). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Caldwell, J. (1995). Televisuality: style, crisis and authority in American television. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
  • Callaghan, D. (2016). The representation of prohibition in fully-serialised American prestige television. PhD thesis . University of Warwick.
  • Cardwell, S. (2007). Is quality television any good? Generic distinctions, evulations and the troubling matter of critical judgement. J. McCabe, & K. Akass içinde, Quality TV: contemporary American television and beyond (s. 19-35). London: I.B. Tauris.
  • Cardwell, S. (2006). Television aesthetics. Critical Studies in Television , 1 (1), 72-80.
  • Dunleavy, T. (2018). Complex serial drama and multiplatform television. New York, London: Routledge.
  • Feuer, J. (2007). HBO and the concept of quality TV. J. McCabe, & K. Akass içinde, Quality TV: contemporary American television and beyond (s. 145-157). London: I. B. Tauris.
  • Feuer, J., Kerr, P., & Vahimagi, T. (1984). MTM: Quality television. London: British Film Institute.
  • Fuller, S. (2013). "Quality TV" The reinvention of U. S. television. 2020 tarihinde https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2123/9556/fuller,s_thesis_2013.pdf;jsessionid=5A2E9FE65AC62E31AB664C6C430554D1?sequence=1 adresinden alındı.
  • Gitlin, T. (1983). Inside prime time. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
  • Hassler-Forest, D. (2014, December). Game of Thrones: quality television and the cultural logic of gentrification. TV/Series (6), s. 160-177.
  • Jacobs, J. (2001). Issues of judgement and value in television studies. International Journal of Cultural Studies , 4 (4), 427-447.
  • Jaramillo, D. (2013). Rescuing television "the sinematic": the perils of dismissing television style. J. Jacobs, & S. Peacock içinde, Television aesthetics and style (s. 67-79). New York, London: Bloomsbury Academic.
  • Jenner, M. (2015). Binge-watching: video-on-demand, quality TV and mainstreaming fandom. International Journal of Culturel Studies , 20 (3), 1-17.
  • Jenner, M. (2014). Is this TVIV? on Netflix, TVIII and binge-watching. New Media & Society , 18 (2), s. 1-17.
  • Johnson, C. (2005). Quality/cult television: The X-Files and television history. M. Hammond, & L. Mazdon içinde, The contemporary television series (s. 57-74). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
  • Johnson, S. (2003). Everything bad is good for you. New York: Penguin.
  • Jones, S. (2003). Web wars: resistance, online fandom and studio censorship. M. Jancovich, & J. Lyons içinde, Quality populer television: cult TV, the industry and fans (s. 163-177). London: BFI Publishing.
  • Kompare, D. (2005). Rerun nation: how invented American television . New York: Routledge.
  • Leverette, M., Ott, B. L., & Buckley, L. It's not TV: watching HBO in the post-television era. New York, London: Routledge.
  • Lobato, R. (2019). Netflix nations the geography of digital distribution. New York: New York University Press.
  • Maganzani, P. (2019). Netflix's cable girls as reinvention of a nostalgic past. P. Kathryn içinde, Netflix nostalgia streamind the past on demand (s. 153-169). Lanham, Boulder, New York, London: Lexington Books.
  • McCabe, J., & Akass, K. (2007). Introduction. J. McCabe, & K. Akass içinde, Quality TV: Contemporary American television and beyond (s. 1-13). London: I. B. Tauris.
  • McCabe, J., & Akass, K. (2008). It's not TV, it's HBO's original programming producing quality TV. M. Leverrete, B. Ott, & C. Louise içinde, It's not TV watching HBO in the post-television era (s. 83-95). New York, London: Routledge.
  • McKee, A. (2001). A beginner's guide to textual analysis (Cilt 127). Metro Magazine: Media & Education Magazine.
  • McKee, A. (2003). What is textual analysis? Textual analysis: a beginner's guide. London: Sage.
  • Mittell, J. (2015). Complex TV the poetics of contemporary television storytelling. New York, London: Bloomsbury Academic.
  • Mittell, J. (2004). Genre and television: from cop shows to cartoons in American culture. New York, London: Routledge.
  • Mittell, J. (2006). Narrative complexity in contemporary American television. The Velvet Light Trap , 58 (1), 29-40.
  • Mittell, J. (2013a). Phineas & ferb children's television. E. Thompson, & J. Mittell içinde, How to watch television (s. 56-65). New York, London: New York University Press.
  • Mittell, J. (2013b). The qualities of complexity: vast versus dense seriality in contemporary television. J. Jacobs, & S. Peacock içinde, Television aesthetics and style (s. 45-56). New York, London: Bloomsbury Academic.
  • Nelson, R. (2006). Quality television: 'The Sopranos is the best television drama ever... in my humble opinion...'. Critical Studies in Television , 1 (1), 58-71.
  • Nelson, R. (2007). Quality TV drama: estimations and influences through time and space. J. McCabe, & K. Akass içinde, Quality TV contemporary American television and beyond (s. 38-51). London: I. B. Tauris.
  • Newman, M. Z., & Levine, E. (2012). Legitimating television: media convergence and cultural status. New York: Routledge.
  • Ong, T. (2017, Aralık 11). Lauren Schmidt Hissrich is showrunner for Netflix’s The Witcher . Kasım 10, 2020 tarihinde The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/11/16761004/lauren-schmidt-hissrich-showrunner-netflix-the-witcher adresinden alındı.
  • Osur, L. (2016). Netflix and the development of the internet television network. PhD Thesis . ABD: Syracuse University.
  • Park, G. (2020, January 06). 'The Witcher' is the biggest TV show in the world Here's how to get Geralt of Rivia. November 17, 2020 tarihinde The Washington Post Illustration: https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/01/06/the-witcher-is-biggest-tv-show-world-heres-how-get-more-geralt-rivia/ adresinden alındı.
  • Rogers, M. C., Epstein, M., & Reeves, J. L. (2002). The Sopranos as HBO brand equity: the art of commerce in the age of digital reproduction. D. Lavery içinde, This thing of ours: investigating The Sopranos (s. 42-57). New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Schlütz, D. (2016). Contemporary quality TV: the entertainment experience of complex serial narratives. Annals of the International Communication Association , 95-124.
  • Simmons, D. (2012). Last in my class, last on the sports field, I'm not a loser anymore: centralizing the "Geek" in quality television. D. Simmons içinde, Investigating heroes essays on truth, justice and quality TV (s. 41-51). Jefferson, North Caroline, London: McFarland & Company.
  • Stankovic, M. (2018). TV Series or not? . AM Journal of Art and Media Studies , 17, 1-13.
  • Steiner, T. (2015). Steering the author discouse: the construction of autorship in quality TV, and the case of Game of Thrones. International Journal of Serial Narratives , 1 (2), 181-192.
  • Thompson, E., & Mittell, J. (2013). Introduction: an owner's manual for television. E. Thompson, & J. Mittell içinde, How to watch television ethan (s. 1-13). New York, London: New York University Press.
  • Thompson, K. (2003). Storytelling in cinema and television. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  • Thompson, R. J. (2007). Preface. J. McCabe, & K. Akass içinde, Quality TV contemporary American television and beyond (s. xvii-xx). London, New York: I. B. Tauris.
  • Thompson, R. (1996). Television's second golden age: from Hill Street Blues to ER . New York: Syracuse University.
  • Thorburn, D. (1987). Television as an aesthetic medium. Critical Studies in Mass Communication , 4 (2), 161-173.
There are 52 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language Turkish
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Yasemin Özkent 0000-0002-8617-8429

Aytekin Can 0000-0002-7620-3766

Publication Date April 25, 2021
Submission Date January 31, 2021
Published in Issue Year 2021 Volume: 14 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Özkent, Y., & Can, A. (2021). “Nitelikli Televizyon”: Netflix Platformunda “Nitelikli Drama”nın Yeniden İnşası. Selçuk İletişim, 14(2), 674-698. https://doi.org/10.18094/josc.871771