The Ultimate Turkish Gossip Detective
The U.S. is bombarded everyday with hundreds of gossip headlines from E-Channel to TMZ and to personal blogs such as D-Listed. Real-time news mixed with Photoshopped images and profane language makes these sources of numb entertainment undeniable. I confess that some of these sources have been the best break for me.
As humans we are equally disgusted by and attracted to spying on and judging the lives of other people. We find it extremely hard to confess this trait to any of our peers. It gives us comfort and alleviation to criticize, envy and comment on things that we are not in control of. It is easy to get a doze of that in the U.S., but not so much in Turkey. The paparazzi is stuck with only a handful people and the media lacks in creative hands to spice up the news, even if it is just a dull update on a famous soccer player’s new car. That is where the infamous Bulent Cankurt comes in.
I first landed on Cankurt’s Turkish gossip column by accident while I was skimming trough the news online at the Turkish Newspaper, Sabah’s website. Dressed in a suit with a semi-serious, funny look this author has been since able to make me laugh with his reporting on the Turkish Hollywood and high society. His use of multi exclamation marks and his seriousness in reporting some of the most absurd stories from the popular spots and galas around Turkey seems to be the window to a completely different view of the country. Constructed on the grounds of respect and courtesy without any profane language, his articles succeed in creating an entertaining superficial bubble that doesn’t exist outside of his column.
I am not here to judge what Cankurt writes about and how he writes it. I see it as the cycle of life and I confess that I always look through his column. 1-2 Cankurt articles a day gives me the perfect break from all the political, religious and financial dilemmas that constantly surround us today. It might have been a different story if I was one of his subjects…
Bulent Cankurt regularly writes (no English translation available) for the Gunaydin edition of Sabah (also available on www.sabah.com.tr).
and i quote: “kulliyen yalanmis!!!!!”