'Erkenci Kuş': Review of A Turkish Wonder
When we grow up, many of us begin to push back the daydreams that once inspired us to keep going, whether it is about finding love or the job of our dreams, many often settle with realistic expectations that can be accomplished through a specific time goal. However, in each one of us, the dreams and daydreams that we have archived are very much alive. And sometimes it takes a series to let you remember the dreams often neglected. This is what happened to me after watching Erkenci Kuş, a Turkish rom-com series featuring Can Yaman and Demet Ozdemir, known in English as Early Bird and in Spanish as Pajaro Soñador which is aired its final episode on Univision, a Spanish-language television network.
The story follows Sanem, a recent college graduate whose dream is to become a writer. When her family threatens to arrange a marriage unless she finds a job, Sanem’s sister Leyla helps her obtain a position in an agency where she meets Can Divit, the owner’s son and the one chosen to run the agency after his father stepped down. A beautiful love story between Sanem and Can is written with many sweet, romantic, fun-loving, and deeply heartbreaking moments. When first watching the series, I felt a very happy and relaxed sensation. The cast and their wonderful works made being in a lock-down feel less lonely since the characters and everything about them felt very personal and engaged me deeply, that at times I found myself also feeling as though I was a part of them. While traveling was forbidden for at least a huge part of 2020, the striking and breathtaking sceneries and the setting of Istanbul, where Erkenci Kuş was filmed, gave me another deep desire to see the end of this pandemic and travel to Turkey to visit the wonderful places that gave me freedom and wonderful moments through a screen, while the world was shut down. The wonders that Erkenci Kuş gave to me during the pandemic don't just stop at the beautiful sceneries, but it goes much deeper than what the eye can physically see, it opened and awakened the eyes of my soul and dreams that were dormant while the world was crumbling from the virus.
Our generation no longer dreams of such ‘silly’ things anymore but watching something that can reawaken past dreams is certainly worth watching and learning from.
As an aspiring writer and a current college student, I felt deeply connected with the character of Sanem and her free-spirited personality. Being fresh out of college certainly seems like a very scary life event, especially when the world has many possibilities to offer to us but at the same time, it can feel as if those doors waiting to open are quite narrow to walk through. Watching Sanem go from a tea and coffee maker for the company to a creative director for many of the agency’s campaigns, and eventually accomplishing her dream of becoming a writer, her strong motivation and passion for her dreams helped me realize that starting from the bottom is not so scary anymore and that the dreams that we often push aside to focus on ‘realistic' expectations, can actually be the motor and starting point for one day succeeding.
Another beautiful aspect of Erkenci Kuş was the strong themes revolving around love, family, and friends. I come from a family where bonds and affections mean everything and seeing Sanem’s family resemble my own felt quite personal and helped me engage and even appreciate the series in a deep and personal manner. Aside from our parents and sisters having quite the same personalities as well, what really bonded me was to see how close and important family connections are. To know that even when the world crumbles around you, your family will always be the support you can count on, no matter what the situation is a treasure. The theme around friendship is also very important in Erkenci Kuş because even though the family is the greatest bond there is, sometimes venting and opening up to a friend can be easier but just as meaningful.
The last but not the least important theme is all about love; nowadays many people have lost hope or interest in finding a love that can help one grow and change for the better. While many of us are busy with many other things, love is one of the greatest blessings that we should never take for granted, but often do. Sanem and Can’s relationship has really brought me a different insight into love. In many of the modern shows that we see, most tend to neglect love and focus on more superficial acts that get treated as ‘love and romance’ but do not build or explain or even show the strong thematics around such an important but very difficult subject. After watching Erkenci Kuş and little by little watching Sanem and Can’s relationship develop, I learned that love is certainly not easy and not written to be perfect, it is all about trust and care, and genuine love for the other person, so that even if hard times threaten such a beautiful relationship, in the end fighting for what is worth fighting for will always prevail.
Our generation no longer dreams of such ‘silly’ things anymore but watching something that can reawaken past dreams is certainly worth watching and learning from. The greatest lesson I have obtained from this Turkish wonder has been to never give up on anything that we initially labeled as a dream. Nonetheless, how we view dreams can change, but giving up because of fear or just because we have forgotten how it feels like to have a dream can never be an option. Dreams and working hard through every situation to make what we long for reality is what truly gives us passion and motivation to become the people we are meant to be, and Erkenci Kuş really depicted this theme brilliantly. It also reminds me of the times my mom encourages me to dream big, and not worry if my dreams tend to be silly for the rest, for as she always tells me “only those who build palaces based on dreams will one day have the blessing and the chance to inhabit in them.”
