Foreign Soap Operas Dominate Kurdish Media Amid Raising Concerns

A scene from the Ameircan series of 24 which is subtitled into Kurdish dominating Kurdish-speaking T.V. stations in Kurdistan.

IRAQI KURDISTAN, ERBIL: Iraqi Kurdish television stations have already announced to broadcast several foreign movies and soap operas during the holy month of Ramadan starting from August 12, a move seen as a cultural violation by many people.

While foreign films, especially Turkish ones, are increasingly becoming popular in Kurdistan, people including movie producers and the government itself are expressing concern over the negative impacts of the foreign films in fading Kurdish tradition and culture.

Halo Abdulla, 15, watches all the episodes of the American series 24 and Turkish the Valley of Wolves. He says the reason why he prefers foreign movies to Kurdish ones are too many to count.

“I like [24’s hero] Jack Power’s character a lot,” said Abdulla. “He sometimes breaks the laws for the good of the people.”

Some people say that the reason why foreign moves have become relatively popular is a reduction of producing Kurdish series and films in the last few years on the one hand, and increasing the number of T.V. stations on the other.

T.V. managers airing Western and Turkish soap operas say that producing a local movie will cost much more money than dubbing a foreign movie while people still preferring the later.

Blind Muhabady, Manger of the Erbil-based New Line T.V., said that “the expense of dubbing a foreign series is less than 10 percent of what a local one costs” he said.

He added that neither Kurdish scenarists nor producer are good enough to attract a large number of viewers.

Among the currently broadcasted foreign soap operas are Turkish Asi and American 24.

"If we have good scenario and enough money we will be ready to produce Kurdish dramas, but we don’t” said Muhabady.

The Kurdistan Regional Government is also worried that the foreign movies will leave a negative impact on Kurdish culture but has done nothing to ban them.

Here in Kurdistan films critical of Islam or including pornography are not easily tolerated. The religious community has always expressed concerns not only about foreign films but also local ones in which religious men are sometimes badly portrayed.

Aria was a Kurdish soap opera banned by Kurdish-speaking T.V. station Kurd Sat two years ago for similar reasons.

“The dubbed series have a negative influence on our society,” said General Director of Cinema of the Ministry of Culture.

However, the KRG is starting to take measures to develop cinema and movie production in Kurdistan with opening the department of cinema at the ministry of culture. This department has allocated 8,598 billion Iraqi Dinars to produce three series in the provinces of Erbil, Sulaimani and Dohuk.

Two of them are about to be ready, and the third one will be ready after Ramadan, according to the Ministry of Culture.

Nasir Hassan, Kurdish film producer, applauds KRG’s step to pay more attention to local movies.

“This is the first time that ministry of culture produces three dramas in a year. That is really good,” said Hassan.” We can allocate more money for cinema.”

“We will not have any Kurdish or foreign series for Ramadan. There are many foreign series but are at odds with Kurdish culture,” said Nawzad Rwandzy, manager of Aro T.V. in Erbil.