Telenovelas in South America

Before taking this class, I had always seen telenovelas as a show on TV but never really knew what they were all about. My first impression of them had been that they are probably just a show for people who speak spanish to watch. I never really thought much more into it other then that they are simple dramas just spoken in spanish. After learning in class that telenovelas are broadcasted in many different languages, it prompted me to dig deeper into the vary qualities of how the telenovelas are referred to across various countries. For example, in Argentina, telenovelas are referred to as "teleteatros" in comparison to Spain where they are referred to as "culebrones." The spanish title of "culebrones" means "long snake," a symbol for the long, complex plots of telenovelas. Another example of this can be seen in Venezuela where telenovelas are referred to as "seriados" due to the genres chronological order of episodes. Although Argentina, Spain and Venezuela all have spanish as the primary spoken language, all refer to the same genre of literate with different titles. I find it very interesting that an international genre as big as telenovelas is referred to as different things depending on where you are in the world.
Another aspect of telenovelas that varies across the world is the content through which they are produced. For example, in large telenovela producing countries like Brazil and Mexico, many of the scripts and episodes are based off of real world cultural and political problems. In Mexico, many of the telenovelas contain scenes hinting at sex before marriage or abortion. In a country with one of highest percent of Catholics, one living outside of Mexico might guess that this kind of entertainment would not be so successful. The opposite, however, is true in telenovelas being the most watched form of entertainment, sometimes rivaling soccer. "More controversial events are being included in the Mexican telenovela," says Barbara More, the main actress in "Rubi." This form of production by Mexico is good for the telenovela industry and adds variety to the genre. A sharp contrast to Mexico's production can be seen in Venezuela. As we learned in class, the Venezuelan government has a strong say in what can be produced in the telenovela. Many people believe this is due to the governments fear of its sad political realities being broadcasted to the rest of the world. Although all countries produce telenovelas, it is very interesting to me how each country puts its on "spin" on the genre in order to make it appeal to varying cultures.

http://www.academia.edu/4768368/Telenovelas_as_a_Culture

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4842220.stm

La Telenovela; Un Mecanismo de Cambio

El Oblelisco en La Avenida de Julio en la capital de Argentina, Buenos Aires, durante el mes del orgullo LGBT en el verano de 2016. // foto y modificaciones: Jay Horton

Cuando yo leí la lectura asignada para el primer dia de mi clase de telenovelas, una cita se permaneció en mi mente sobre del propósito de una telenovela.  En un sección de “Drugs, Thugs, y Divas” por Hugo O. Benevides, él escribe (si lo era en español), “telenovelas proveen apoyo para un continente con muchos problemas económicos y sociales como un mecanismo de enfrentamiento”** Esto es un propósito o concepto mental de una telenovela que nunca consideré antes de esta clase. Yo piense que telenovelas eran sólo para entretenimiento de las abuelas hispanas o los amas de casas en países lejos de acá. Nunca pensaba que las programas son más populares en la mayoría de hispanoamérica o que las telenovelas tienen la capacidad de influencia que las tienen. ¡Es increíble! Necesitaba cambiar mi vista de telenovelas. Solía pensar que las telenovelas son sólo programas rosas, muy melodramáticas y de las mexicanas. He aprendido en la clase que hay un espectro de tipas de telenovelas de rosa a de ruptura.

Esta cita me obligó a pensar más sobre de las posibilidades y capacidades de telenovelas de ruptura en particular. Si las telenovelas son mecanismos de enfrentamiento con problemas económicos y sociales, es también posible para que se conviertan a mecanismos de cambio económico y social.

Un problema social para muchos latinos es la aceptación de homosexuales en sociedad porque la mayoría de la población hispánica es catolica. En la religion catolica, ser homosexual es un pecado. Según un artículo en El Huffington Post, “Can Telenovelas Put an End to Homophobia?,” Roberto Pérez dice que la telenovela puede ser la mejor canal para cambiar las tradiciones de intolerancia religiosa y los estigmas de homosexuales. La presencia de homosexuales en telenovelas normaliza las vidas de personas LGBT y crea más exposición para las problemas individuales con esta identidad se tienen.

Pienso que esta idea es muy interesante. Así para mi proyecto final para la clase quise estudiar la representación de homosexuales en las telenovelas. La telenovela que elegí a estudiar es Relaciones Peligrosas de Telemundo. GLAAD, un organización LGBT en los Estados Unidos, dice en un artículo de 2012 que esta telenovela aborda el asunto de inclusión de homosexuales. En los primeros capítulos que veía, no he visto una trama gay, pero hay muchos capítulos y tiempo para esta tipo de trama a desarrollar. ¡No puedo esperar!

** Benavides, O. Hugo (2008). Drugs, thugs & divas. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. (pp. 5).

Portraying Problems as Plots

Like seemingly every other student in the class, I didn't expect to have my views changed so abruptly in such a short time. I've had no previous exposure to telenovelas, even in my high school Spanish classes. As others have said, I chose the class because I wanted to keep up with my Spanish. In the last two weeks, though, I've learned more about contemporary Latin American culture than I have in my last 7 years of Spanish classes.

I particularly like the idea that telenovelas portraying real, modern problems and conflicts in these countries is a way of coping with the problems in reality. A country producing telenovelas about narcotrafficking is, in a way, admitting that the problem exists. The same is true for portrayals of poverty, corruption, and stigmas attached to certain forms of social deviancy. This is why the idea that so much of Venezuelan television is censored resonates so much with me- denying that there are problems makes the problems worse, which is both obvious and subtle.

In December, I'll be moving to Guatemala, so I try to draw parallels between what I learn about Latin America with what I know and will experience in Guatemala. Clearly, Guatemala does not produce telenovelas, so none of the problems portrayed in them are specific to Guatemala. But many of the wider problems- especially the drug trade- are equally as applicable there. One of the signs that Guatemala is a less-developed country (socially) than those that produce telenovelas is that there are few media by which Guatemalans can discuss big-issue topics, so many go unnoticed or unattended. A few years ago, one of my older Guatemalan friends told me that, though there is a lot of discrimination towards the Mayan community in Guatemala, that community hasn't had a very strong leader to be a face for the group in a long time. Because of this lack of representation, the conflict is not addressed.

I think it would be interesting to look into how telenovelas focusing on racial prejudice could impact the social situation in Guatemala. Not that I think it likely that a telenovela would ever be made focusing so specifically on Guatemala and the social problems they face, but it would be interesting to compare their social growth with that of countries who can use telenovelas to face and admit the problems they are facing. To be fair, the area of Guatemala that I visit most often has a very low percentage of homes owning television sets or even having electricity, so this is all hypothetical.

Still, I find it intriguing and am really looking forward to learning more about the topic as the semester progresses.

Telenovela Impressions

I’ve never watched a telenovela before. Really all I knew about them was that they were dramatic love stories and that they have this reputation of being cheesy. However, I’ve never had a doubt that I wouldn’t enjoy it. It's always been one of those things that I know I'd love but never knew the best way to get into it. With the exception of my first semester of college, I've been in Spanish class since the fourth grade, and I've been enthralled with the Spanish-speaking culture ever since. I've travelled to Puerto Rico, The Dominican Republic, Bolivia (twice), and I am now preparing for my second trip to Nicaragua. Last semester, I took my last class to fulfill requirements for my Spanish minor. So when I heard that there was a journalism elective about telenovelas, I was immediately interested!

So far in these first two weeks of class, I’ve learned that there is so much more than to these productions than the melodrama and emotion. Within these weeks, Dr. A’s lectures and explanations have already shown me that there are clear societal relationships between telenovelas, their country of origin and the global telenovela universe. It’s been really cool to look at the clips of telenovelas like Sin Tetas No Hay Paraíso because they tell stories that relate to real issues going on in those cultures. It is sad to know that they aren’t all like that, like when we talked about how Televisa in Mexico distracts a country from things going on by getting people hooked on telenovelas. And not to bash American Idol and The Voice, but television phenomenons in America like singing competitions just don’t speak to society like a telenovela would in Latin American countries. I didn’t realize how popular and absorbing the telenovela culture is, and I was especially surprised by how they’ve reached cultures outside of Latin America. 

I still haven’t decided on which telenovela I’d like to analyze in the Identity Report; so many of the different styles and classifications have intrigued me I don’t know which one I’d like to really invest in. I think I’d rather analyze a telenovela produced in Latin American though. While its been interesting to see the various productions in The Middle East and in the United States, I want to look at where it all first took off. And of course I'd like to keep up my Spanish comprehension and speaking, so I'd prefer something in Spanish.

One thing that I’m excited to discuss in class that Dr. A has already prefaced is the racial representations in telenovelas. Diversity in representation has been talked about so much recently in American entertainment culture, and I’m sure its a universal issue. I’d like to see how it is being discussed in Latin American culture, and compare and contrast that with our own progress in diversifying representation in media.

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.

Telenovelas en Latinoamérica

Siempre he tenido un gran interés en las películas de América Latina como resulta de mis clases anteriores de español. En estos clases, fuimos expuestos a las películas con mucha violencia, angustia y con temas de amor inalcanzables o guerras de drogas. Siempre he encontrado que estas películas sean más dramático y cautivador que un montón de las películas producidas en EEUU. Había visto sólo un par de telenovelas antes de este clase de Telenovelas, pero mi opinión y puntos de vista sobre lo que en realidad los telenovelas consisten en ha cambiado drásticamente en los últimos dos semanas de clase.

Nunca pensé que estaría interesado en una telenovela donde, por ejemplo, una mujer se quema en un accidente y sobrevive, pero los médicos hacen un error y transformarla en su enemigo. Sin embargo, estoy muy interesado y quiero verlo! Aparte de las finales cliffhanging en cada episodio, el nuevo y loco drama todos los días, y el cariño personal de los personajes, pienso que lo que realmente me hace interesado en las telenovelas es cómo apasionada y involucrado la profesora es sobre las telenovelas. Dr. Acosta vivió en estos países, ella está familiarizada con la cultura y la historia, y ella es aún una prima de una de los escritores!

En general, espero conseguir más intuición a la cultura, costumbres y historia de los países Latinoamérica. Será interesante ver cómo la historia real está incrustado en el drama de las telenovelas. Estoy muy interesado a ver cómo las telenovelas chilenas se producen. Al paracer, muchos otros lugares rehacer sus programas porque el resto del mundo tienen problemas con sus acentos. Es evidente que sus guiones son de calidad, pero la gente parece ser, en mi opinión, ignorantes en contra de ellos. Estoy interesada en aprender más acerca de las telenovelas Chilenas y Argentinan frente a otros países de América Latina.

Telenovelas and Storytelling

I am a TV and movie fanatic–I admit it.

I mostly took this course because I wanted to have exposure to the Spanish language even though I would not be taking a Spanish class this semester and I am almost done with my minor. I did not expect to learn so much already about how the drama I love in movies and TV is expressed across cultures.

Nearly every time we watch a preview for a telenovela in class, I am on the edge of my seat. I love the suspense, and I love the stories. But what I did not pay attention to before was how similar these telenovelas are to the shows I watch regularly. Obviously, as we discussed in class, telenovelas differ greatly from American soap operas. However, I find them very similar to some of the popular television series I have seen.

For example, I am watching La Reina del Sur this semester for this class. It reminds me a bit of one of my favorite television series, Scandal, due to the strong female protagonist and thrilling, suspenseful nature. From the beginning,  it is fast-paced and exciting–but also shocking at times. It was interesting for me to learn in class that La Reina del Sur was written by Valentina Parraga for Telemundo out of Venezuela, because now it is extremely popular. It is comforting in a way to know that these stories can resonate with me and other people around the world.

I also find it interesting to learn more about the writers. I can't imagine how much creativity must go behind producers and writers like Parraga to bring those stories to life for such huge audiences. Since my majors are public relations and English, I value storytelling in its many forms. However, I have not always quite understood the more nontraditional forms of storytelling–that is, non-written forms. Learning about the production behind telenovelas and their evolution has given me a better background on how that method of storytelling has developed into the larger productions that appear today. I enjoy being able to connect the group of actors crowded around a microphone with primitive sound effects with the large-scale scenes found in telenovelas like La Reina del Sur. I am excited to continue watching in order to apply what I learn in class. I also look forward to learning more about representation and identity.

Telenovelas En Mi Vida

Cuando yo era un niña, yo recuerdo ver telenovelas con mi tía cada día.  Me gustaron los personajes y las parejas que continuaron a través de la serie. También, me encantaron los emociones de los personajes. Todos episodios tuvieron mucho drama y eran entretenidos. Aunque yo era muy joven, sentí una conexión con algunos de los personajes. Telenovelas tienen una especial parte de mi corazón.

Con mi conocimiento con telenovelas, yo sabía que tenía que tomar esta clase. Yo creía que sabía mucho sobre las telenovelas, pero estaba equivocado. Solamente en dos semanas, esta clase me ha enseñado mucho más acerca de la complejidad de las telenovelas. Estoy muy interesado en las diferencias entre las telenovelas en los estados unidos y todo el mundo. Me encantan todos los diferentes tipos de opciones de telenovela.

Después de ver muchas opciones de telenovelas en clase, me decidí a elegir Avenida Brasil. Yo vi el primer episodio y quiero ver más. El primer episodio tiene suspense, comedia y las emocione intensas. En este momento, hay tres líneas de la trama separados. Yo estoy muy interesado en la trama con la relación con una hija, su padre y la madrastra mal. Este situación fue muy, muy intenso y dramático.

Yo estoy muy emocionado para continuar este telenovela. Yo pienso que Avenida Brasil tendrá drama y no puedo esperar. Creo que esta telenovela mostrará muchos temas controversiales. La telenovela está muy bien hecha y estoy emocionado de ver más!

Países Crean un Conexión Con Telenovelas

Antes de comenzar este clase no conozco mucho sobre telenovelas. Cuando alguien dice la palabra "telenovela" pensé sobre una programa viejo, dramático y de baja cualidad. También pensé que telenovelas se producen solo en America Latina. Yo solo había visto telenovelas en mis clases de español en la escuela secundaria y en estas clases nosotros vimos telenovelas tradicionales.

Pero después de solamente tres semanas en esta clase conozco que la industria de telenovelas es mucho mas complejo. Hay muchas mas telenovelas de lo que pensaba y son mas interesantes y modernas de lo que pensaba. Por ejemplo hay telenovelas sobre el trafico de drogas, parejas en India, el mundo de los negocios y mucho mas. En mi opinion, lo mas sorprendente es que hay telenovelas de Turquía. Yo pensé que telenovelas son solo producen en países como Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela y Argentina. Pero hoy telenovelas de Turquía son muy populares en America Latina.

Lei un articulo aqui que dice que Turquía es el segundo largo exportado de series de television en el mundo después de los Estados Unidos. Muchas personas en el mundo y especialmente en America Latina son enamorada con estas telenovelas. Creo que personas de America Latina les gustan estas telenovelas porque son diferente de las telenovelas de America Latina. Telenovelas de Turquía muestra una vida y cultura diferente. También tienen actores nuevos para personas de America Latina.

Yo estoy muy interesado en telenovelas de Turquia y quiero aprender mas sobre este tipo de telenovelas. Creo que telenovelas de diferentes culturas pueden crear un conexión entre países. En nuestro mundo hay mucho tension entre países pero algo simplemente como telenovelas muestran que nosotros no somos tan diferentes.

Telenovelas

When discussing this class with my advisor, she mentioned it was a fun and interesting class that is especially great for those that have a Spanish minor or understand parts of Spanish. I wasn’t sure what a “telenovela” was, but I was open to trying it! I have been to Brazil and Costa Rica, so I am familiar with some aspects of their culture and how the locals feel about their country and history, so I knew this class would also give me more insight to the culture and history of some Spanish-speaking countries.

            In America, Soap Operas and the shows that are very dramatic with poor quality, are rarely watched and even aired in today’s world. They also are only broadcasted during inconvenient times such as early to mid-afternoon, when most people are at work or school. There is not much talk about these shows; there aren’t any trailers or advertisements for them. With this being said, I was also hesitant about taking a class on telenovelas, worrying that it would be boring, just like the American soap operas.

            To my surprise, the first day of class really had me intrigued by telenovelas. They weren’t boring, and there was so many of them! I had no idea how huge they actually were in other countries. I’m really excited for this class and to learn more about the culture of the countries with telenovelas. They are expanding all over the world, thus allowing us to learn about more and more countries. The drama, suspense, mystery, and love make the telenovelas addicting. You never know what turn could come next in the show. Also the fact that there aren't any seasons for telenovelas and you never know how long they could last has me very interested. It's always sad to me when I know the end of a season or show is coming up, so I'm anxious to see how I will feel not knowing when the ending will occur. I’m still trying to find a telenovela that has English subtitles, but I can’t wait to start watching my telenovela!