Thursday, August 25, 2016

Alexis Williams: Blog 1




Decisions

Going into this class I thought I basically knew what telenovelas are, but realized very soon that my knowledge was limited. I was familiar with telenovelas rosas because of high school Spanish classes but had no idea how much more complex and "real" they could get.

This realization has made choosing a telenovela quite difficult; if all the telenovelas were essentially the same with the same type of characters in a mansion, making a decision would be simple. However, since there are more options than originally thought, it has taken more research and trailer views than imaginable. Though there are still underlying characteristics that apply to essentially every telenovela, there are other, "de ruptura" themes I am looking for to narrow my search.

As a Women Studies minor, one aspect I will be focusing on is the female characters in the telenovelas. Though telenovelas rosas would offer an interesting perspective on women's roles and place in a society in their own way, I want to find a telenovela that has both interesting and dynamic female characters and a complex plot that includes societal issues in the country.

The reason I want a telenovela that discusses relevant social issues is because I believe that will speak more to the role and views of women in times of a crisis or in a "real" setting. However, though I personally would love to watch a telenovela with a strong female character, strong does not necessarily always equal dynamic; I hope to find a female character that is conquering the world but has an in-depth history and has more than two personality traits.

I think this class will definitely pair well with my minor, my current Women Studies class (Critical Feminist Reading), and my major (Public Relations) because it will help me analyze more than one cultural and broaden my understanding of media and television/film across the world.

Furthermore, it is just an incredibly interesting and fun class. A class based around telenovelas that's homework is watching Netflix and digging deeper to understand a culture is most students' dream and I am excited to dive in.

As of now, I'm leaning towards "La Reina del Sur" but everything is up in the air. I'm sure I'll stumble upon another interesting telenovela and completely change my mind in the next 20 minutes.

1 comment:

  1. Alexis, I think it's very cool that you learned about telenovelas in high school Spanish! I'm a little upset because I never did, but really wish I could have. I also agree with you in that this class is so fun and the perfect scenario! I like that you are trying to find a telenovela with a strong female lead. To me, it seems as though many of the telenovelas have a strong female and male lead, which provides a great dynamic. Having a minor in women's studies will definitely give you a different outlook on these telenovelas, which will be incredible for you to learn from. Good luck on finding the perfect telenovela!

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