A Review of Dogs of Berlin (A Netflix Original Series)

"We were born to the law, rules, ethics and morals of the moment we were born. Which one can we choose?" Dogs of Berlin

Netflix has released a new original series made by Germans called Dogs of Berlin. The topic of the series is described on Netflix as "Two cops investigate the murder of a famous Turkish-German soccer player, but one of them has underworld connections that mire the case in controversy."

I took German lectures in High school, and watching series or movies in German encourages me to learn German again. Therefore, I enjoy watching them. So, when I saw the ad of Dogs of Berlin, I knew that I would watch it.

Dark was the first German series I watched on Netflix. Hence, I started to watch the show with great expectations. The first episodes were kinda boring to me but I wanted to continue watching. And I'm glad I did! As a Turk, it's weird to watch Turks situation in Germany. Dogs of Berlin was a great show in terms of showing the bad and the good of each nation. Creators didn't caricature the nations. There were immigrant gangsters and Neo-Nazis. But also, there were good people from each nation.

Germany was destroyed after the WW2. Therefore, they had to rebuild their country but had a shortage of laborers. As a result of that, Germany has allowed immigrants in 1960s. Many workers from Turkey went there. Today, Turks are the largest minority group in Germany. They make up around 3.7% of the German population.

Kanake (Die Kanaken) is an insult word for describing the immigrants in Germany. Neo-Nazi supporters don't hesitate to use these word towards immigrants. The show has taught me the word.

Having too many immigrants can cause some demographic consequences for the country. Thus, a good integration program needs to be applied. Although Germany, a country which applied for integration programs, suffers from gangs. Moreover, Dogs of Berlin has shown me the other side of Germany. I've never realized Gangs are a major issue in Berlin.

Dogs of Berlin

My favorite character on the show was Erol Birkan (Fahri Saydam). He represents the good side of Turks. (Third generation Turk-Germans are doing a great job in Germany). Besides, I love Erol's accent while speaking Turkish. It's clear that he was born and raised in Germany. ^.^ Erol is gay, and therefore his father refused him. The facial expression of Erol after having a discussion with his father is strong. He's a great actor, that's for sure.

"Just because you happen to be on some holier-than-thou trip, doesn’t mean you have to bring the whole family down to your pathetic, narrow-minded level." Erol Birkan, Dogs of Berlin

Dogs of Berlin

I was told that the common Turk type in Germany is mostly the same - they have a long beard, short hair and hang out in nargile cafés. However, the types in Turkey vary from one another. If you visited Turkey, you might realize that. Turks don't have a specific type. People from the West (North) differ from the people from the East (South).

In conclusion

The Germans did it again. I loved the partnership of Kurt and Erol. I can't wait to see season 2. C'mon Netflix, give us the season 2 immediately!

P.s.: This show has reminded me of Alarm für Cobra 11 (Kobra Takibi). I used to watch it when I was a little kid.

Emel
Jan 2019