The Reality is Not as It Seems From Turkey: Imaginations About the Eurovision Song Contest From Its Production Fields

Abstract

This article applies notions drawn from Pierre Bourdieu's field theory to explore the Turkish production front of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) and to reveal unorthodox imaginations about the entertainment phenomenon. Its findings, based on in-depth interviews with actors who have been involved in the production of Turkey's contribution to the ESC-rather than consuming it via national media channels as the vast majority of the public does-indicate that the actors' views are vastly different from the dominant discourses about the ESC in Turkey. Along with a discussion of the reasons for the discrepancy between aggressive media discourses and producers' approaches to the ESC, this article also highlights national media outlets' key role in shaping the imaginations about communicative phenomena beyond national borders.