Point 1) Being able to identify with the characters in a telenovela makes one have emotional attachment to the show and get hooked to it. Point 2) Teenagers share similar desires, dreams, uncertainties, search for personal identity, and a need for independence.
I think that these two points are why the Mexican telenovela Lola.. Érase una vez, my chosen telenovela, gained so much popularity among teens and children not only in Mexico but also on the international level including Venezuela, Spain and in the United States. In this telenovela, I think a teen viewer would be easily able to find characters to identify with and relate to. Let me share 3 examples.
The main character, Lola, is a singer who is aspiring with her rock band to become musicians. She is a happy dreamer. She is both impulsive and vivacious. She is simply the girl next door. Teenagers, girls especially, can relate to her in some way, be it her personality or her adolescent desires.
Then there’s Jazmin who is an overbearing and prissy character; she is Lola’s antagonist. She stirs up conflict and trouble for Lola. She has her nose high in the air, and everything must go her way or else she throws hissy fits. (Think Regina in Mean Girls.) Everyone has dealt with or at least came in contact with a snooty person like her.
In addition, there’s Petra, the high strung “babysitter” figure who is easily flustered and always franticly anxious. The kids don’t particularly like being under her watch and even tunes her out, to her dismay. Every teen has had experiences with one of those type of authority figure in their lives and knows how they feel around her.
From just seeing the first episode, I can already see how teens can identify and relate with the characters and personalities of this telenovela. I can relate because I personally know people very similar to these characters. And believe it or not, the first episode has piqued my interest, and I am already getting into the telenovela! So I guess it really goes to show that if you can relate to your characters, you may be hooked to your telenovela too! And teens are no exception.
That's so true! I think a lot of times people disregard the fact that teens are living human beings and therefore have experiences just like the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteThere was a discussion that my friends and I were having this past weekend about summer flings. One of the participants is eighteen and another is 28. After one comment, the 28 year old told the 18 year old, "You're only 18! You haven't experienced anything!" I think that that comment is a perfect example of how a lot of adults feel.
Telenovelas that are geared toward the teen lifestyle and experience are great because they give insight into the issues and struggles that teenagers go through.
Although I'm not a teenager anymore, I can relate to a lot of the issues that the teenagers in my telenovela, Verano de Amor, are going through. The shows talks about everything from divorce, to sex, to unwed pregnancies and unrequited teenage love. Just these issues alone are enough to hook audiences no matter what age, but especially teenagers.