The Role of Translation in Commercialisation of Popular Culture: The Little Prince

English (OpenAlex)

The capitalist framework drives both individuals and society to incline towards consumption as a result of excess production. The excessive consumption of culture has led to the commodification of culture, giving rise to a cultural industry problem. The development of social relationships within the sphere of language and literature in the cultural sector also transforms into a consumption factor, which parallels with popular culture in contemporary times. Literary and artistic creations have also been commercialized within popular culture. As a result, the popular works of literature are made accessible to readers worldwide through translation. This study aims to discuss the positioning of popular literary works in the Turkish cultural system through translation within the framework of the concept of the culture industry. In this context, The Little Prince, one of the most universally translated works, was chosen as the object of study. The reason is the popularity of the work as well as its narrative, which has sparked numerous debates within the context of translation in Turkey. The study will explore how the reception of this work varies across translations, and its presentation to readers with different ideologies within the Turkish cultural system, using culture industry theory as a framework.