By: Kiera Deschin
The show that I had watched was a Turkish series called “Hear Me” directed by Ali Balcı and produced by Süreç Film. This drama was about a teenaged girl and high school student Ekim, who lives an ordinary life in one of the middle-class neighborhoods of Istanbul, Turkey. Ekim’s life is turned upside down by a tragic traffic accident that happens to her best friend right before her eyes. Ekim also faces bullying done to her by the rich students within her school. Throughout the show Ekim pushes to get past her dark and deep emotions from these experiences and ensure justice for everyone who is treated poorly from those of a higher class.
What I had noticed about the cultural aspects of the setting in the series, was definitely a difference in the environment of their neighborhood compared to the environment that I have grown up in. Their neighborhood consist of small road and a ton of hills. Houses are extremely close together and stacked up on top of each other. Many of the houses didn’t have any grass or yards so the children all played in the streets. some houses had rooftops as their outdoor space where I saw clothing lines for families to try their clothes outside. this neighborhood seem to be labeled as the poor neighborhood within the show. Then there was the wealthier neighborhood. This neighborhood had larger houses with some yard space. There weren’t any children playing in the streets and seemed like a very dry community compared to the poor neighborhood. The landscape overall within the area of Istanbul, Turkey, was surrounded by mountains but also giving a beautiful city view.
There wasn’t a whole lot of difference is that I had noticed about this neighborhood it in Turkey. Just like in New Jersey, We have poor areas with houses stacked up on top of each other and barely any yard space. Then we also have our wealthier areas with big homes that have acres of land. The characters also related to a rivalry that happen here in New Jersey as well. The rich students don’t feel that the poor students should be at their level. I really was happy to watch the show to find the similarities and differences from comparing towards the environment that I live in.