I think that it is too obvious to just say that the telenovela, Corázon Salvaje, is bad media/literature. This is apparent for so many reasons... it's overdone, overdramatized, melodramatic, poorly acted, Juan de Diablo had terrible hair... I could on, but I would rather talk about something else: such as, why are telenovelas so popular?Though, first of all, I would like to address the issue of whether or not this is literature. I think it's arguable. I don't believe the series could fall into the category of literature if we were to only look at it as visual media, however, I will admit that, in some context, the screenplay could be considered literature as it was written. But we are not reading the screenplay so I would argue that what we are viewing is not literature.
Second, Why are telenovelas so popular? I can't say I didn't enjoy watching it, but only because it made me laugh. I didn't take any of it seriously. Like American soap operas however, the telenovela seems to be addictive and watched religiously. My own mother records her soap opera every day while she is at work. She has been watching it for over 15 years. The few times that I have watched it with her I have had to stifle laughter at how silly the whole thing is. It's so phony and overdone, but she loves it, just like so many other women. (I think that it should be mentioned that this genre is aimed primarily at women, especially housewives). I think that these housewives maybe feel that there lives are mundane and they turn to these shows as a way to escape. The melodrama and the luxuries appeal to them because it is world so far from theirs.
This reminds me... there seems to be a gender issue here that irks me. Why is it that the literature/media that appeals to women that we have studied in class are considered bad, and the one book that appealed to the men in the class was not really bad?
5 comments:
ouch, i totally agree. every time i think of books like Eva Luna and CAPC i feel a bit embarassed that they are so catered to women and that they are also written by women - are these the only examples the public has of latinamerican female authors? and by becoming bestsellers they are a self fulfilling prophecy, since they make everyone think thats what female literature in spanish is. isn't there more? though i bet this telenovela was written by men oddly enough and produced of course by men and directed by men but targeted at women.
anyway, good post, it has made me think and rant :)
Well,
I think there is a big cultural bias at work here. There seems to be a lot more romance in Latin soaps than North America. I haven't watched too many, but it seems here they are based on story, such as cheating and betrayal. In Latin America they seem to have these elements too, but there seems to be a "dreamier" aspect based on romance, such as one of the women getting together with the desirable (for many Latinas) Juan el Diablo.
I think there is a passionate site to latin americans where they give in to certain things easier than North Americans. We tend to be more serious in that it is harder for us to seperate the serious and not-so-serious aspects of our lives. I think in L.A. a serious, career proffessional can go home after a days work and just give in to these novelas for an hour, and not see it as cheezy.
I've seen this with humor too. I knew a very intelligent, street-smart woman who grew up in Havana during the special period there (the austere 90s in Cuba), and I've seen her literally sit on the floor directly in front of the TV and watch basically what was a kids show (from Argentina called "Dibu") and laugh histerically. We here simply don't give in to things as easily.
When they want to be romantic, they're romantic. When they want to laugh, they laugh, cheezy or not.
That's my casual observation of why perhaps it is hard to understand people from L.A. actually taking the story serious. I think many do.
Dave
BTW,
To clarify my last comment, I was trying to answer your question "Why are telenovelas so popular?"
About the gender issue, I think some important points are raised. However, even if more literature judged "Cheezy" happened to be geared towards women (which I don't believe), just think of professional wrestling. How cheezy is it to watch men on steriods pretend to fight each other and then to jump up and down to cheer the winner? Wrestling also has many ongoing story lines. I always considered it soap operas for men.
good point dave
Ashea, I must state my profound disagreement with you on the following point: Juan el diable does not have bad hair, he has great hair! I only I were so lucky!
Post a Comment