Learning about Telenovelas

            Before coming to class, I thought that telenovelas were only produced in Latin American countries, but turns out they are produced all around the world. I even watched a Koreantelenovela without realizing it. The only exposure I had to telenovelas was a Korean telenovela and Jane the Virgin which I later learned wasn’t even a telenovela! The more I learn about telenovelas, I realized that my grandma used to watch Taiwanese telenovelas and I would stand next to her fascinated by the drama unfolding on the screen. Despite only watching a few minutes of it, I would be so invested in the characters until my mom dragged me away from the television. She would tell me that these shows are neverending and repetitive.

My mom preferred to watch movies the story would be over in about an hour and thirty minutes and it required low commitment, so because of that, I grew up watching more movies than shows. I never understood how people can commit and watch 50+ episode shows that seemed predictable. After watching some telenovela clips in class I already feel hooked to the story and can’t wait for what happens next. I’m very impressed with the story writers’ ability to keep the audience's attention throughout the show. One particular telenovela writer really caught my attention. Dias Gomez used his telenovela Roque Santeiro to speak on political corruption using satire. It makes me wonder if other telenovela writers have spoken out against political issues through their show. 

This opened my eyes and allowed me to see that there was more to telenovelas than just a love story. They included several subcategories and genres even telenovelas curated for different age groups. In my Latino Literature, Language, and Culture class, I learned that none of the big telenovela networks such as Telemundo were Latino-owned. This made me reflect back on how most of the protagonists in these telenovelas had lighter skin tones. It was really interesting to see the influence telenovelas had on Latino culture and Betty la Fea was mentioned in my Latino Literature, Language, and Culture class. As I was choosing my telenovela, I decided to choose one from Netflix because it would be easier to access. Also, I discovered this language learning chrome add-on that allows me to see two different subtitles while watching Netflix. I can also click on specific words and look at the definitions. I think that this will be very helpful for me to understand the telenovela I choose. 

There is so much history behind telenovelas and I’m very excited to watch a telenovela and identify all the different elements that define them.