Whose Deaths Are Worth Mourning? Gendered Death in a Turkish TV Series1
By Gülce Zeynep Bektaş (Yeditepe University)
One of Turkey’s most-watched TV series, the mafia-themed Valley of the Wolves (Kurtlar Vadisi, 2003-2005) and its sequel series, Valley of the Wolves: Ambush (Kurtlar Vadisi Pusu, 2007–2016) frequently portray death, but not all of them are shown equally within the screen. This blog post explores why the series focuses more on some deaths than others, analyzing death scenes of Süleyman Çakır and his wife, Nesrin Çakır, addressing the question, “Can death have a gender?” as a contribution to the FILM AND DEATH project.2[i]
Süleyman Çakır: A Beloved Mafia Figure
Despite appearing in only two seasons (S1–2E1–44), Süleyman Çakır is still one of the most beloved characters in Turkish TV series history. He stands out anger and brutality, which are framed as legitimate expressions of masculine power. Oppositely, Nesrin is limited to the roles of mother and wife. This contrast becomes even more apparent in the characters' death scenes.
Süleyman Çakır: A Heroic Death
In the world of Valley of the Wolves, death is common, but when one of the main characters, like Süleyman Çakır, is attacked with a gun, audiences did not expect him to die. His death scene begins with him being shot by one of his enemies (S2E43). Time slows down as the bullets enter Çakır's body in slow motion (Figures 4-5). Then the tension increases as the protagonist, Polat Alemdar, takes him to the hospital. The detailed surgery scene keeps alive the possibility that he can be saved. Meanwhile, the flashbacks and the Black Sea folk song "Hekimoğlu" deepen the audience’s emotional connection (S2E44). When death is confirmed, the narrative shifts to a theme of revenge, and the story concludes with a funeral scene (S2E45). This narrative structure intensifies death temporally and emotionally by spreading it across three parts; death thus becomes a narrative legend intertwined with heroism.
What is most interesting is that this death did not just stay on screen but also touched real life. Audiences grew so attached to the character that they held funerals and published obituaries in newspapers and social media (Figure 6). Still, fans continue to commemorate the anniversary of his death each year, with Süleyman Çakır repeatedly trending on social media.
The Silent Death of Nesrin Çakır
On the other hand, his wife Nesrin Çakır's death is almost invisible in the series. In Valley of the Wolves: Ambush (S7E174), Nesrin is shown arguing with her son about starting a new relationship just before her death; according to her son this relationship was a betrayal of his deceased father. Then, her death is not dramatized. The audience learns of it only when her son is told, “Your mother is dead” and the camera briefly focuses on the body covered with a newspaper, and the narrative moves quickly (Figure 7).
When these two deaths are considered together, the main question arises: For whose death do films and tv series suspend time? As the FILM AND DEATH Project emphasizes, death is not only an event represented on screen but it is also an experience that opens to thought through the extension, slowing down, or interruption of time. Although Süleyman Çakır kills many people in the series, his death is showed at length in a heroic narrative; the story slows down, allowing for collective mourning. By contrast, the death of Nesrin, who was accused of being a cheating woman is shown for only a few seconds. In this way, death becomes more than an ending, it turns into a gendered experience shaped by visibility, duration, and remembrance on screen.
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