Coming into this class, I did not understand how telenovelas are so wrapped up in Latin American culture. They are commanding. In America, there is not just one type of show or movie that everyone watches. Some people prefer thrillers while other people prefer comedies. Some can binge-watch shows with hundreds of episodes and some prefer to spend their time watching a movie. I find it fascinating that telenovelas hold so much power in Latin American culture. But I have to wonder if they have the power to influence politics.
The producers and writers of telenovelas have a platform and a spotlight. Telenovelas are broadcast almost every day and during primetime. While telenovelas are mostly dramatic love stories, do the writers ever slip in comments or develop certain characters' personalities to try to influence the political world? Maybe if everyones’ favorite character were to start supporting a cause, the watchers would open their minds to this idea or concept the writers were trying to get across. If writers were to do this, would it cause the watchers to lose trust in the show?
The relationship between the writers and the watchers is an important one to maintain if the producers want their show to keep getting views. Watchers of telenovelas expect certain things out of the story they are spending their time watching. High emotions, melodramatics, and complicated love stories are just some of the qualities that keep watchers coming back to the telenovela. I do not think that politics are something they want to spend their leisure time hearing about. If the characters started to pertain too much to real life what would happen? Is the love for telenovelas so great that the watcher would not care if politics were involved? Or is part of the beauty of the telenovela that the watcher gets to take an hour out of their day, sit on the couch, and believe in some unpredictable story where real life has no place?
There are some telenovelas that are more realistic. Maybe the political information would work better if they were slipped into this genre of telenovelas. Or maybe the watcher would be more receptive if they were hearing tidbits of political information in the more traditional style telenovelas. Of course, this would be in telenovelas developed for older age groups.
Also, it is possible that this has never even crossed the minds of the writers. In America, people take any chase they get to advertise or share their opinions. It does not matter how young the audience is or how moldable the young mind is. Advertisers take advantage of their platform in any way they can. Their power to reach so many people is abused.
I would assume that some parents do not let their kids watch telenovelas. When I was young I was not allowed to watch Disney Channel shows. My parents just thought they would rot my brain. I know that random television shows in the United States don't hold the same cultural power that telenovelas do. I think that the children of telenovela watchers are the ones watching the telenovelas for young children. The parents trust the writers and the producers to create something that is age-appropriate and will not rot their children's brains. The telenovela is not looked at as a waste of time like the Disney Channel is looked at among American parents. The telenovela is a piece of culture.
When children start watching telenovelas at such a young age, it breeds almost an addiction. Telenovelas play into the brain's need to know what happens next. Cliffhangers at each commercial break and in between shows keep the watcher coming back to the same telenovela. Because there is usually a resolution, the watcher knows that their question will be answered and in a way, they will be fulfilled. When children experience this lovely close-looped story, they will keep watching telenovelas all through their life.
Something specific about telenovelas that I think is very different from most shows that we watch in America is the fact that it is a closed loop story. The knowledge that things will be resolved and that there is usually a happy ending is comforting to watchers. They know that no matter the twists and turns throughout the story, things will turn out ok. This can translate very well into real life. While things don't always work out as well as they do in a telenovela, the possibility for a happy ending is always true.
The telenovela is powerful.
Wow, this is good. I can relate to this a lot. Similarly, I did not know a thing about Telenovelas either before this class but I think the most shocking thing I learned was how popular they are in Latin America. This is because of how unpopular Hallmark movies are in the USA. A Telenovela could really reroute the political view of a country if they wanted too. If so many people watch these shows that the electrical grid might go out, then maybe lots of those people could be reached. This was a really cool point you made and the Telenovela is very powerful.
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