Between global and local: translation and localization in Netflix Turkey’s media paratexts

ABSTRACT

This study analyses Netflix Turkey’s media paratexts in which Netflix’s foreign productions and Turkish originals are promoted by the creative use of local elements and/or culture-specific references. It aims to identify the role of translation in these paratexts in promoting both Netflix and its shows such as Stranger Things among others in Turkey. It also discusses the functions of these paratexts in relation to their socio-political contexts of production and the wider debates around regulation and censorship in Turkey. The analysis shows that translation and localization in the selected paratexts serve to make the foreign shows relatable, evoke a sentiment of nostalgia and create a sense of belonging. Further, the paratexts on Netflix Turkish originals highlight the untranslatability and culture-specificity of Turkish expressions to appeal to the viewers’ national pride, which is arguably informed by a populist approach due to the increasing possibility of restrictions on content.

KEYWORDS:

• Paratexts
• localization
• translation
• media
• Netflix Turkey

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 All translations are mine unless otherwise indicated.

2 https://www.youtube.com/c/NetflixT%C3%BCrkiyeOfficial

3 Netflix Turkey’s own version of El Camino’s trailer can be accessed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v = 514hqNH3XDA&ab_channel = NetflixT%C3%BCrkiye. See Özsefil 2019 for Netflix Turkey’s censorship of the offical trailer at https://filmloverss.com/citizen-kane-neden-bu-kadar-guzel/

4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v = fh0ovAKtVSw&ab_channel = NetflixT%C3%BCrkiye

5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v = 0DAmWHxeoKw&t = 1s&ab_channel = Netflix

6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v = nNwL4Cgr1uE&ab_channel = NetflixT%C3%BCrkiye

7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v = 0T1F6YM1Oew&ab_channel = NetflixT%C3%BCrkiye

8 https://twitter.com/netflixturkiye/status/922471523964698624.

9 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v = R1ZXOOLMJ8s

10 https://twitter.com/netflixturkiye/status/925738693289299970.

11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v = -D5J4l6R4sg&ab_channel = NetflixT%C3%BCrkiye

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Aysun Kiran

Aysun Kiran is an Assistant Professor in Translation Studies at Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey. She completed her BA degree in Translation and Interpreting, and her MA degree in Modern Turkish History at Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey. She obtained her PhD in Translation and Intercultural Studies at the Centre for Multidisciplinary and Intercultural Inquiry (CMII) at University College London, UK. Her PhD thesis investigates the uses of non-translation, multilingualism and intertextuality in new Turkish cinema. Her research interests include multilingual films, representations of multilingualism and translation, paratexts in literature and media.