In the series, an alternative method called ‘family syntax’ applied by the character named Zaman is highlighted, an approach that the source of people’s problems is based on their family trees. However, in the series, nothing like “we apply the family line” is never said.
So what is this family lineup? How and for what purpose was it used in the series? If you don’t mind me giving a little spoiler, let’s start the review of the movie together.
The inclusion of all his social circles in the individual recovery journey of a cancer patient is treated as a collective enlightenment in the series.
In the series, we see that the character of Sevgi has cancer. Her friend Ada is a doctor and is very interested in Sevgi’s illness. Of course, I will not explain everything in such detail, but I am making my way to explain where the breaking point of the threads comes from in the series, why the family sequence is processed (I will explain what it is in a moment).
As her cancer condition deteriorates, she conducts various researches on her own and finds someone in Cunda who believes that emotional problems are the reason behind people’s illness and does non-medical healing works for people. Then Sevgi and her friends go to Cunda. This is how the real issue begins. All the people around Sevgi begin to enlighten about themselves, their lives, their past and their family roots, under the leadership of the character, Zaman, who lives in Cunda. After this stage, we will be discussing the way family constellation, which is one of the populist therapy methods that has come to the forefront for urban people recently, is handled in the series.
Family constellation is a therapy method by German psychotherapist Bert Hellinger.
The term family syntax was first coined by Adler (1927). In other words, with these concepts, it is desired to define that all members of the family system have a duty. The family constellation in Adler’s system includes parents, children, and extended family. The transformation of family constellation into therapy emerged in the 90s.
According to the family syntax practice, the family is connected to each other by invisible networks for generations, so the spirit of the family is a whole and is felt by all members. Thus, the family into which the individual is born shapes the individual. There is an understanding that the fate of one person in the family system depends on the fate of the other family member. In fact, although it is the method used by a psychotherapist, you can see that it contains spiritual teachings.
Because, according to the family syntax, all the members of the family, in which the soul embodied in the process of spiritual evolution (progress), were born by choosing each other. In this evolutionary journey, the idea that all family members will learn from each other comes to the fore. Hellinger states that most psychological disorders are caused by problems in the family of origin.
Actually, this practice is like psychodrama, but not quite.
Your family members do not need to be alive for the family syntax to be applied. A person just needs an awareness to break the problematic cycles that he/she lives without being aware of. In order for the person to win this, he must have group therapy, as Zaman does in the series.
It is possible to liken this practice to psychodrama, but still, a specific situation or behavior is not exhibited in this practice, as in psychodrama. For example, as you can see in the series, everyone participating in the practice sits in a place they want, and then, in the light of the information given by the client to the practitioner guide, other people stand up and talk to their mother, father, sibling, etc. they take on roles like Then, during the study, people representing family members reveal the experiences of the family tree and the client experiences an awareness of his past. The most important question in this process is the question “How do you feel?” that Zaman character constantly asks the players.
Thus, at that moment, the actors who portray a person’s family history reveal information about the past pattern of the family by expressing what they feel. The time character, that is, the practitioner guide, makes various directions and allows the client to accept the family history, so it is thought that the problems will be solved. But Zaman character never talks about how and in what way he put this practice into practice.
How is it that family members can feel and express the emotion that a family member has experienced in the past, for example, they are never mentioned clearly. Only a show is played, as if it were a collective ritual. Just like in the collective crying scene of Florence Pugh and the bridesmaids in the movie Midsommar (Ritual), but of course differently, you can feel as if the same event enters everyone’s mind while watching…
- Image: Midsommar (Ritual) movie
In fact, the most striking point in the series was that everyone who received consultancy from Zaman read Mark Wollyn’s book “It Didn’t Start With You”. In this book, it is stated that not only biological characteristics are transferred from ancestors, but also traumas and emotional breaks. The emphasis of ‘the reason for your traumas is your family background’ has been heavily used in all domestic TV series and movies lately. That’s why it’s not surprising that this emphasis is in the foreground in this series as well.
In fact, such practices that highlight modern healing are an example of the New Age movement.
At the end of the 20th century, the social expectations after the Second World War were not met, the perception of modern life changed and the New Age movement emerged. In short, people reacted to the lifestyle brought by modern life and wanted to fill the gaps in belief as they saw that the influence of traditional religions in social life had decreased considerably. We can gather all the alternatives that people seek to fill their spiritual voids under the roof of New Age.
Now, why did I tell you this, what is its connection with the series, to explain it, I would like to start by saying that the family series is also a New Age application. In general, in New Age practices, there is an understanding of spirituality blended with Indian and Far Eastern teachings, despite the competitive and difficult life of today’s capitalism. We see that these types of practices have become very popular today by including them in the discourse of ‘personal development, finding oneself, getting rid of the burdens’.
Now I have to give spoilers; As you can see in the series, Love has cancer, so she needs regular medical checkup, surveillance and medication. When the Zaman character applies the family sequence to himself, it turns out that the root cause of his cancer disease is the murder of his father in front of his eyes. Sevgi enjoys this practice with Zaman and stops taking her medication by settling completely in Cunda. What’s interesting is, Sevgi is getting better after meeting Zaman Bey, and the results of the analysis are clear. In fact, Sevgi constantly states that people who have all the problems and illnesses around her should talk to Zaman Bey. Here, in the details I gave for the sake of all these spoilers, we see that the holistic health approach, which is a New Age approach in which the mind, body, emotions and spirit are handled as a whole, is highlighted.
I think the point that needs to be criticized here is why an approach that explains why such an important disease as cancer can be cured with such a treatment is adopted. However, since Sevgi stopped taking her medical drugs and no longer went to doctor’s check-ups, the cancer relapsed towards the end of the series. Thus, we can see that the scenario works a little more logically here. When there are many cancer patients who have already had chemotherapy for years and have had their regular check-ups but still can’t get better, it wouldn’t make much sense to abandon modern medicine altogether and just turn to a holistic approach.
The character Ada, on the other hand, is almost a science soldier, but in the end, he still succumbs to his curiosity to learn about his ancestors’ past.
Ada character, who is a doctor, does not believe in this method of Zaman and resists until the end and defends science in return. But in the end, she thinks that the root of her anger problem, her problems with her mother and her partners, may be a family trauma, as Zaman says. Thus, towards the end of the series, we see that the character of Ada is among those who believe in Time. With these examples, it may be emphasized that we have to accept the fact that there are situations that even science cannot explain as a sub-message in the series.
Moreover, the fact that Zaman used to be a doctor and is now dealing with these matters further increases Zaman’s authority in Ada’s eyes. After all, medicine always has a hegemonic-superior position in social life. Because medicine has an understanding focused on survival, and because of this understanding, an unquestionable mission is attributed to the field of medicine. Thus, you can understand that if Zaman used to be a doctor and now heals people with a more alternative method, it will be easier for this situation to be accepted by the society. If you are interested in family trauma, root family, ancestors, healing, this series may be of interest to you, but if you are looking at diseases with a more realistic approach, it may not be of interest to you.
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4
