10 October 2023 | Medium
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Disney Plus should stream Atatürk on the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye, to promote values that are foundational to the entire democratic world — including the United States.
Sign the petition to stream Atatürk on Disney Plus here.
Today, the democratic values of secularism, freedom of expression, and human rights are under threat around the world. In one such example, on July 30, Disney’s streaming service Disney Plus pulled its hotly anticipated series on Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first president of the Republic of Türkiye — succumbing to an American epidemic of “cancel culture”.
For Turks, Disney’s unexpected removal of the series felt like the red carpet was pulled out from under them: Atatürk, whose honorific name means the “Father of Turks”, led the Turkish War of Independence as its general and then Türkiye as its first president, much like the first U.S. president George Washington. In spite of historical evidence to the contrary, an Armenian special interest group in the United States claimed that Atatürk orchestrated a genocide, obfuscating the truth of his unprecedented constitutional and social reforms to protect Armenians, minorities, and women in the Republic of Türkiye.
Removing the Atatürk series from the Disney platform today threatens to tarnish Atatürk’s legacy, exacerbate the epidemic of “cancel culture” in the U.S. and in the world, and throw a chapter of enlightened human history into the dark.
Disney Plus should reverse its decision and represent the facts of history by streaming the Atatürk series as planned on October 29, 2023 — the 100th anniversary of the secular Republic of Türkiye.
Who was Atatürk?
When young Mustafa Kemal Atatürk graduated from a Turkish military academy in 1905, his career almost ended before it began when it was discovered that he and several friends were meeting to read about and discuss political abuses within the Ottoman Empire. The group of friends was broken up and assigned to remote areas of the empire. Mustafa Kemal was sent to the Ottoman army in modern day Syria, where he was angered by the way corrupt officials treated the local people.
During World War I Atatürk oversaw Turkish forces and defended Istanbul against invasion from the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. At the same time, Armenians sought territorial gains in Anatolia and took up arms against the Ottoman Empire, sometimes in league with Russia and other armed groups subverting the empire. Atatürk was on the frontlines at Gallipoli and not a national leader when nearly one million Armenians were killed and deported from 1915 to 1917. When World War I ended, the Allied powers continued to occupy and seize land in the Ottoman Empire.
At a key turning point in history, Atatürk decisively took up arms against the Ottoman Empire and established a nationalist counter-government in Ankara, refusing to cede more land to the Allied powers. Against the odds, Atatürk fought an overwhelming force of Allied powers and armed insurgent groups to retain territory for a new, secular Republic of Türkiye.
A visionary for his time, Atatürk successfully transformed the crumbling Ottoman Empire and Islamic Caliphate into a democratic system of government, rooted in secularism and human rights. The Turkish government allowed women to vote before Europe (including France, Italy, Belgium, and Switzerland), banned headscarves in newly secularized public institutions, and converted time from an Islamic to Gregorian calendar. Atatürk ushered in a new era of modernization with civil and political equality for minorities in Türkiye, including Jews, Greeks, and Armenians, legally enshrined in the new Turkish constitution. Türkiye continued strengthening its relationship with the west during the Cold War, when it entered into significant economic and security initiatives such as the Marshall Plan, NATO, and integration with the European Union.
Disney’s democratic values
The power of Disney’s storytelling, experiences, and simply the name itself inspire people and resonate through generations. Founded just days before the Republic of Türkiye in October 1923, the Walt Disney Company has grown to become one of the biggest and best-known companies in the world. Since its founding, the American company has won over one hundred Academy Awards, and produced some of the greatest films of all time.
In this ironic display of “cancel culture”, the series on the visionary Turkish leader was canceled by a minority group that he protected under the Turkish constitution. In the U.S. today, citizens are entitled to freedom of expression and freedom of the press. All people and all leaders, even visionary leaders, are flawed. At its best, “cancel culture” is an insatiable judge, jury and executioner in search of a flaw. At its worst, it imagines and creates flaws in a mistaken pursuit of justice. It is important for democracy to embrace nuance and historical accuracy, and for an electorate to be informed. Succumbing to “cancel culture” does a disservice to these democratic ideals that the U.S. is founded upon, and to the ideals that Atatürk founded in Türkiye.
The Atatürk series was intended to be aired on the Disney Plus platform for a global audience. After succumbing to “cancel culture”, Cenk Soner, the director for Disney in Türkiye announced in August, “As a result of the changes made in our content strategy, a special TV version of ‘Atatürk’ will be broadcasted on our FOX channel (in Türkiye); two films will be in the movie theaters (in Türkiye) and then on FOX TV screens.”
However, the story of Atatürk should be shared with a global audience, and Atatürk should be recognized as a Disney hero.
Since the unjustified cancellation, many in Türkiye voiced their anger, calling for a boycott of Disney and vowing to cancel their Disney Plus subscriptions. One social media user declared Atatürk “is history that has challenged imperialism.” Another stated, “Disney obviously confused Atatürk with others and could not understand that he was an immortal leader and that he had a unique place in the hearts of the Turkish Nation.”
The Turkish government has also taken notice. Ebubekir Şahin, chair of Türkiye’s Radio and Television Supreme Council, declared that “Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of our Republic of Türkiye, is our most important social value”. Ömer Çelik, deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) echoed, “It’s a shame that an American-based film and TV platform succumbed to the pressure (…) and canceled the Atatürk series without airing it. This attitude of the platform in question is disrespectful to the values of the Republic of Türkiye and our nation.” Former Turkish Ambassador Namık Tan released a statement signed by 18 government officials relaying that “Turkish diplomats are dismayed and disappointed by Disney Plus’ reported decision to cancel the international broadcast of Atatürk series.’’
In one of his final speeches, Atatürk declared: “There are two Mustafa Kemals. One the flesh-and-blood Mustafa Kemal who now stands before you and who will pass away. The other is you, all of you here who will go to the far corners of our land to spread the ideals which must be defended with your lives if necessary. I stand for the nation’s dreams, and my life’s work is to make them come true.”
If Disney is in the business of making dreams come true, then it should illuminate the legacy of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk — a hero for the democratic world.