"La Reina Del Sur" is a roller coaster because of the ongoing storylines and character dynamics changes. The story revolves around Teressa Mendoza and how she advances through her life. Each character fulfills their stereotypical gender and socioeconomic norms in the telenovela.
The story begins with Teressa's drug lord boyfriend, Guero Davila, being killed by his companions. During the grief period, they show numerous flashback scenes that reveal Guero and Teressa's life before his demise. In most of the clips, she is portrayed as dependent on him. He provided for her and was mainly in charge of both their lives. However, this dependency cost Teressa a lot because she was forced to survive alone in a male-dominated society after his death. There is a contrast from this to later in the show when she starts dating Santiago Fisterra, another drug transporter; however, instead of being completely reliant on a man, she takes charge this time. She makes valuable connections like Coronel Abdelkader Chaib and does the drug negotiations. This taking order was seen as very daring since she is a woman. Sadly, Teresa has to take measures to ensure that the men in her life respect her and see her as more of a person than an object that would sleep with them.
Moreover, Fatima, who plays the role of the "best friend" of the main character, finds herself instantly liking Teressa as she sees what she aspires to be in her. Many men in the telenovela, such as Dris, dismiss her opinions and needs and treat her like a thing for their convenience. She learns to stand up for herself and her morals for her son and herself. She grew up in a place where men ruled over women and women were always restricted; she represents how slowly women have begun standing up for themselves and making a place for themselves in this society.
Men in this show also fit into the stereotypical misogynistic beliefs. For example, Dris, the bar owner, views women as props to fulfill his needs. Since he grew up poor, he idealizes money and richness; he views people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds as worthless and participates in human trafficking.
Another worse example of this is Manolo Céspedes. He also views women specifically as objects that he can buy with enough money and influence. His looks are not conventionally attractive, but he believes that women still love him for his money. Moreover, later in the show, he "cashes in his favor" towards Teresa and rapes her. He does this to assert dominance over her as she rejected him earlier. This also portrays how offended he was that a woman, who is supposed to be just a mindless pretty thing, refused and insulted him, a man with money and influence. This toxic masculinity is a common trend in the show.
Another example of this misogyny is when one of the two drug dealers is chasing Teressa after Guesro's death says that he should make the most of her before killing her and proceeds to rape her. She shoots him in self-defense, but his companions do not take well. They see this as an act of rebel against their masculinity that a woman killed one of them. This further shows how toxic masculinity and blatant ignorance are common themes in the show.
Additionally, viewers like Santiago Fisterra mainly because he respects Teressa and views her as an actual person, even though it is the bare minimum. Overall, the telenovela highlights numerous societal issues and attempts to break these stereotypical gender norms and other issues.
I am so glad you analyzed the stereotypes and themes in your telenovela as I never thought to do so in mine, and there are many similarities between "La Reina del Sur" and my telenovela choice, "Ingobernable".
ReplyDeleteInitially, the main character, and wife of the President, Emilia Urquiza, is very similar to both Teresa and Fatima in different ways. Emilia is assumed to have killed her husband, the president, but she has to stand up for herself and take measures to protect herself. In the olden days, this would have never been able to happen. She also has valuable connections instead with someone she works with who she has to trust with her whereabouts as she is in hiding. She has to work to hide because in her world she is seen as a murderer if she were to show her face. This brings us to her similarity to Fatima, as both of them work to find a place in society. As Fatima is restricted, so is Emilia. Emilia wants to get a divorce and separate from her husband but he physically abuses her when she brings this up. This is when the typical male dominance is apparent in the telenovela as he controls her and screams at her against her will. Emilia as an equal partner in the relationship should be able to voice her concerns for the relationship but the male dominance comes into play to cause violence and mishap. Her husband is similar to Manolo in that they both have a superiority complex and think of women as less than them and try to control them. I suppose this theme is evident in many telenovelas as it is a common problem across the globe and many people certainly relate. Just as Manolo asserts his dominance by raping her, the President physically abuses Emilia, pushing her and locking her inside the apartment. I find the parallels between these shows very fascinating as both use common gender stereotypes and issues as a plot enhancer. Finally, Emilia does work to break this gender norm as she fights back for her right. But, this can get tricky as we do not know if she crossed the line in this.
The inclusion of societal issues and stereotypical gender norms is definitely a highlight in Ingobernable as well. I am so glad you covered it so I could see the effect on the telenovela as well!