Consumption and Identity in My Telenovela

It's human nature. We love to pick and prod and pit one against the other. Conflict fascinates us. So, it only makes sense that as consumers of pop culture we'd gravitate towards programs that do the same thing. In America, we're no strangers to the cat-fight culture. Here, we're either "Pro-Jennifer" or " Team Angelina" in the battle for Brad. And for avid Grey's fans everywhere, there's not a single viewer that didn't pledge their allegiance to either Dr.McDreamy or the endearing George in the quest for Meredith's love and affection. 

Today, in class we learned how the same type of fascination exists in the telenovela world. For one, in the telenovela adaptation of Doña Barbara we discussed the vast distinction between those viewers who were "Barbaritas" and those who were "Mariselistas." The fans, much like here in the states, take an almost quasi-political view in favor of whom ever they side with. For example, as we saw today, those who are " Barbaritas" take offense to those who favor the "manipulative" Marisela. Likewise, those who favor Marisela don't understand the mentality of someone on the "Barbarita" side. Afterall, in their eyes, Barbara was a cruel, murderous person. 

At first thought, it seems that my telenovela has no such tryst. Afterall, in "La Fea Más Bella", Lety, the show's protagonist (or the adaptation of Colombia's "Betty") is the only female to root for. We can't pit Lety against the fiance of her lover, Marcia. Marcia is not relatable and an overall evil character. We also can't pit Lety against Alicia, her competitor as secretary at the PR firm Conceptos because likewise, Alicia is mean and conniving. 

However, after thinking it through, I realized that "La Fea Más Bella" didn't altogether steer away from the love games that the telenovela adaptation of "Doña Barbara" exhibited. In Lety's story, two lovers constantly vie for the ugly duckling's attention with equal sincerity and affection for Lety. Here, I can see where the viewer distinctions may be made into two groups; one group rooting for the lovesick chairman Don Fernañdo who once betrayed Lety but now holds undying love, and the other advocating the triumph of Aldo Domenzain, Lety's sweet and generous fiance. Watching " La Fea", I found myself torn between choosing the two characters, but my choice was Aldo. I chose Aldo, even knowingly, that he would likely not be with Lety in the end. However, because of his initial sincerity and genuine love for Lety right from the get-go, he became the character I saw most deserving of her love. 

By the end of the Tele, we find out that Aldo is in fact a saint brought from the heavens to save Lety and ensure that she ends up with the true love of her life, Don Fernando. Nonetheless, I still remain apart of "Team Aldo" in my tele's audience. 

Too much too fast, but still addictive

I truly enjoyed watching my telenovela, La usurpadora, but I think the abridged version definitely took away from the experience. The fast paced scenes left little room for character development. For example, it didn’t show the transformation of Paulina into her role as Paola as it happened. In one scene she was a shy, long haired girl in modest clothing and the next she had a bob haircut with a sleek, sexy dress. Of course you understand what happened even with these scenes edited out but jumping from one major event to the next with no bridge feels less satisfying. Your emotions need a break once in a while!

I do admit that the abridged version held my attention well – I was so afraid I’d miss something if I turned around for even a second. I became pretty attached to the characters, and hope Paolina would eventually get over her naivety and pursue her own happiness.

I am curious to see how the abridged versions of telenovelas are consumed differently than those currently on air. I wonder if viewers watch DVD versions in installments or if they sit down for marathons.

Another interesting part of this experience is that my DVD didn’t have English subtitles. If my friends were over while I had it playing they would try to guess what was happening and then what would happen next and then what happened before....they got into it without having a clue as to what the characters were saying. I suppose this gives testimony to the globalization of telenovelas!

Sprinkle in some fair tale elements and see what you get

Telenovelas take the Latin American audience away from a dismal, gloomy reality for a short period of time. This applies to kid/teen telenovelas too, and in addition, fairy tale elements are added in the mix to kick it up a notch.

My telenovela Lola...Érase una vez is a cinderella fairy tale story with magical elements (talking fairies, magical tree, magical vines) and of course, the romantic fair tale ending, typical of the telenovela dramatic structure and most fairy tale stories.

Before I start researching about the consumption and reception of my telenovela, I am thinking about why and how magical fairy tales are able to suck the young girls in so much.

Fairy tales take the viewers to many places of fantasy, allowing them to see many things that they wouldn’t normally see in real life. Magic is attractive and enthralling. Young girls around the world love magical-mystical happenings and want to believe in happy love. They want to star as a princess in their own life movie.
Girls idealize romance and love, and so they eat up the Cinderella princess stories!
So, in Latin America where reality is difficult and trying, I suppose with these two factors combined it’s one of the reasons why the Cinderella telenovela (Lola...Érase una vez ) was so successful and receptive among Latin American teens. This is just my hypothesis..more to come as I do consumption research!

para la Navidad

Already on my Christmas list is the dvd set of Ciudad Bendita. It seems to be entertaining, I fell in love with Marisa Román (in an admiring fan sort of way), and I greatly respect the work both her and Leonardo Padrón. Ciudad Bendita seems to be one of the best productions of both the actress and the writer. Dr. A's research reveals the strong following this particular telenovela acquired from its fans, and for good reason.
I am drawn to watch the same telenovela that swept up hearts across Venezuela, but I am surprised by the awareness most latin american viewers lack. They are unaware of the social messages underlying carefully crafted novela scripts, specifically those by Padrón, and yet they watch and wait for his next novela release. They have not realized that it is Padrón's scripts' intelligent, wholesome qualities that attract them as consumers.
As much as Padrón tries to use tv to speak real messages to latinamericans, there is a disconnect. Dr. A said viewers are more hyper-sensitive to political messages written in novelas, and yet in real life it seems they are unaware of ways in which Chávez is mistreating the poor. The people accustom themselves to the "below model par" looks of the male protagonist in Ciudad Bendita, yet they cannot grasp the same message for the female protagonist--her physique (including her limp) is beautiful even with its "imperfections."
Makes me wonder, how many U.S. media messages are we missing? How far do we disconnect from the script-writer's intent? Are we so obsessed with our own political stances and social expectations that we refuse to change and see change in our own television shows?

Wait... pay attention.

Sin tetas no hay paraíso evokes laughter whenever translated.

Preparing for the worst, I expected a low production quality, C-class acting and a story held together by paperclips and duct tape. A couple beers might take the edge off, so my roommate and I made the best of the telenovela to come. To his misfortune, no subtitles. Brace yourself.

The spectacle that followed could be described as a low-grade, soft-core porno dubbed with music from Who Wants to be a Millionaire, laced with blatant boob-bias that made any onlooker's jaw drop to the floor.

Once we realized a show was taking place behind the montage of silicon and bronzed, busting flesh (seriously, at one point a side-boob shot was literally half the screen), the protagonist appeared and the looming issue was soon apparent. Her breast size was probably a third of every other female on screen.

What a way to begin a show. The director obviously was trying to engrain the small-boob complex into the mind of every viewer in the first 5 minutes. And the first two episodes were an orgy full. It honestly made it hard to concentrate on the dialogue.

Can't Stop Thinking About It

I finished my Telenovela over the weekend and although the entire thing was enjoyable, the last eight hours were by far the best. There is just one thing that keeps nagging me to the point where I am thinking about it and analyzing it over and over. I was so torn when Bruce decided he never wanted to see Rosita ever again. He hated her, his words we so hurtful and spiteful. His pride was crushed. He acted as if he couldn't stand the sight of her, when really her still loved her. It took me a while to figure this out. Whenever the two were in a room together, he would start on a rampage and I would think to my self "Wow, they really are never going to end up together because Bruce just won't give in and listen." Bruce who I once compared to Edward in Twilight, was now the epitome of hatred.

The actor did a really good job of portraying his feelings of hate for Rosita, almost too good of a job. I never knew that jealousy could drive a person that mad but it makes sense. He loved Rosita so much. He grew to lover her as Rosita when she was only beautiful on the inside, and he loved Rosita as Violeta when she was beautiful on the outside. It was an undying love, so strong and so passionate. His heart never wavered in another direction, even when he was married he could barely make love to his wife for he was constantly thinking about Rosita. I had to interpret all of this myself because unless they cut it out, there was never a scene where Bruce verbalized all of this. He just basically found out that Rosita was pregnant with his child and went soft. I would have liked for him to have had a conversation with her expressing all of this because even in the last scene, it was hard for me to be convinced that he was truly past all of his hatred.

I am tempted to go back to the beginning and watch the scenes where he is in love with Rosita and Violeta just to make myself feel better about the ending. I wanted to be convinced that he was truly in love with her the whole time and his hatred was driven by jealousy of Fabian and his pride which was crushed. I guess I should realize that not all love stories are like that of Edward and Bella, where Bella could basically do anything and still have Edwards unconditional praises. The reality of it is, people get mad and angry and jealous all the time, and even though they can still love a person sometimes those feelings are so strong that they impede everything else. I think I will go back and watch those beginning episodes, then maybe I can finally stop thinking about it!

La transformación

The change came. And not a moment too soon. Honestly, I was so tried of Marimar and her tribulations in the first DVD of the three part two-sided DVD set that I was more or less forcing myself to watch the telenovela. The drama was high and as melodramatic as I remember it, but like I wrote in my last blog post, Marimar was just too annoying. I honestly did not like her character, and maybe its just me and my cold, cold heart but I thought she more or less deserved all that happened to her because of her naiveté. But thankfully Marimar was put in jail for a whole ten minutes, came out, met her long lost father, and he transformed her into todo una dama in less than five minutes.
(After some searching, I found the three minute transformation of Marimar on youtube in Greek. I didn't know Greeks also liked this telenovela, but either way here it is. The montage I'm talking about starts two minutes in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys50Q71i7K4&feature=related).
This Marimar, well this new Marimar is someone I can root for. Sure she's rude at times, selfish a lot times, and way too high strung for my taste, but at least she's not helpless and whining all the time. After la transformación, I was able to finish watching my telenovela within a couple of days, as I no longer had to force myself to watch it, but was actually interested in Marimar and all her melodrama.

Music to Who's Ears?

Music is a key aspect in setting the mood. It can turn a scene of mild emotion into a gripping scenario of passion and zeal...

...if done properly.

If you have music like Los Ricós Tambien Lloran, then a scene of mild emotion turns into a mass confusion.

Los Ricós Tambien Lloran is a story filled with conflict and emotional rollercoasters. Lies and distrust fill the plot, coupled with class conflicts and conspiracy.

So why is it that the music can't seem to match the plot? Music cues at incorrect instances, swells that overshadows the dialogue...incidental music becomes almost accidental, and the effect is lost.

Because Televisa is.....CHEAP.

When a company doesn't want to pay royalties for music they used in a television show...they put their own in instead. And because of that, this telenovela--which I'm sure was once a magnificent piece--becomes hokey and difficult to watch at times.

Music is an important accent to emotion. It is not to be tossed about lightly, for the wrong music at the wrong time can ruin an entire mood.

on those characters we love to hate

So what makes a villain?

The telenovela I’m watching has all sorts of antagonists all bent in some form or another of keeping Monica and Juan del Diablo apart. But I’m having difficulty choosing that big-bad character to dislike. For example there’s Aimee, Monica’s sister and Juan’s former lover. Aimee is very free-spirited for her time, which won her points for me, but who ends up forsaking Juan to marry Andres, Monica’s former fiancé. She seems like the typical spoiled sister until Monica means to marry Juan, then she seethes with jealousy and doesn’t miss a chance to taunt her sister with the fact that she loved and had Juan first. Yet, Aimee is still a relatable character, she is silly but her jealousy is justified (if annoying).

Then there’s Doña Sofia, Andres’ mother and Juan’s stepmother. She sent Juan away as a young boy for being the bastard son of her deceased husband, ignoring his final wish that Andres and Juan grow as brother. Doña Sofia is calculating, shrew, and a very protective mother. But even at her worst the facts make her a redeemable character. Would you want the kid your husband had out of wedlock running around your house? Wouldn’t you want what’s best for your only son, whatever the cost?

Finally there’s the local army commander, Capitan Espíndola. He is the chief of prison and is, during his brief stay in the story, the closest we get to the big-bad-wolf. Capitan Espindola is as deplorable as they come. He arrests Juan because he’s bribed into doing so and sees no issue in selling whatever pretty girl is brought into the prison to the local brother owner. He takes advantage of his position of power but comes to a quick end.

That’s another thing about these villains and attagonists, their tragic endings. Aimee, the former wild child, ends up dying in a riding accident; Doña Sofia ends up losing the thing she spent her whole life protecting, her son. Capitan Espindola is the unmourned victim of Juan’s escape from prison. It would seem that coming between the protagonists is a very hazardous decision.

The Cinderella Cliche

Marisa Roman's surprise visit was such a treat. Having her answer questions about telenovelas and the industry really brought it to life for me. I tried to find her on google, but it was very hard. It's amazing how in Latin America she's such a superstar, and in Athens and the united states people do not recognize her at all. To find her I had to be really specific and use the name of some of her telenovelas like Ciudad Bendita. I told all me friends about it and how exciting it was that a famous telenovela actress came to our class, but they did not share my excitement. It makes me wonder if there is the same standard in Latin America. What if someone pretty famous, such as George Clooney traveled to Venezuela. Would many people recognize him? I guess a lot of it has to do with the type of work that particular actor or actress does. Marisa has primariley done telenoveals, which are not popular in mainstream America. However, actors that produce movies that are widely spread and dubbed are of course going to receive more attention world wide.


We talked a lot this week about the "Cinderella story" being the basis for most telenovelas and how they all have key elements which make them this way. The more you think about it, the truer it gets. Pretty much all the telenoveas that we have been learning about or seeing clips of live up to this stereotype. It is so weird that this theme has been successful over and over, and with such a basic plot line. My telenovela has many of these elements; the poor girl, living in the rural area who just wants to live a rich and comfortable life. Oh, and of course, she's very beautiful. My protagonist cannot be qualified as pure, however, because she is trying to use prostitution as a way of overcoming her poverty...so it has a little bit of a twist on the average telenovela.

America does the same thing in many of it's movies/tv shows, ect. The term Cinderella comes from one of our very own Disney classics, where the poor girl finally over comes poverty because of a persistent prince. All of the Disney movies follow these same guidelines. There is always a girl who needs rescuing and always a competent man waiting to save her. It's interesing how genders are portrayed in these medias. Why does the girl always need a man to save her? And how come she always seems to be strangely attractive and always very sweet and caring. The same continues with the story of Betty, La Fea. Here, the girl had the smarts and the personality, however she is lacking in appearance. She has great attributes, she just does not have the looks. It is only when she begins to become attractive and a beautiful woman does she finally win the guy. Being herself and being a good person is not enough. I think it's good how some of the newer telenovelas are touching on this subject of the over-importance of beauty. In countries where beauty reigns, we need a reminder that there is so much more to women, and people in gender.

Remembering Marimar

I underestimated Marimar yet at the same time I totally overestimated her. The telenovela is not quite what I remembered from having watched when I was six.
Certain things pop out now that I am older, wiser, and of course more critical of telenovelas thanks to Dr. A's class. For example, Marimar is annoying as hell. I just can't put it any other way. She is sickeningly naive and at times just stupid. Everyone in the telenovela, even the love of her life, has at some point called her salvaje, or savage. But what annoys me the most about Marimar is how she will fall into her wicked mother-in-law's evil plotting every time. You'd think she'd learn after the fifteenth time...
Of course, Sergio, prince charming, is simply too good to be true; but though he too is annoyingly naive, next to Marimar, he looks like a genius (and of course he is her savior).
But those glaring annoyances aside, some things that I totally forgot about Marimar are also some of the most entertaining. For example, the dog talks. How could I forget that Marimar's loyal companion talks? Like Marimar, he has an accent of those from la costa, or the coast, which everyone in Mexico makes fun of (well, at least my family does... maybe we're just mean). And Plugoso (which literally translates as the flea-ridden one), the dog, usually has one liners, which are suppose to provide comic relief, but to me are the equivalent of Alice's, the maid, zingers in the Brady Bunch. And again how could I forget that Marimar has a rich-soon-to-be-dead-father-who-left-her-at-birth? Of course, she would, and at the end of the telenovela she will have both Sergio's love and her father's money.
But despite all my Marimar cynicism, there's still something there with Marimar. I told one of my Latina friends this week that I was studying Marimar for a class and she started singing the entrada, which is honestly the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Marimar also. Not only that but Marimar has a whopping 1,845 fans on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=marimar&init=quick
Although that may not seem much compared to Kanye West (he's just been everywhere this week), you have take into consideration that this telenovela is 14 years old and I don't know many Latinos who have the courage to admit that they're a fan of Marimar... I know I don't... yet.

Cinderella Gone Evil

So Rubi is really entertaining, she is just sooo BAD!! She is almost completely evil you don’t even want her to end up with the love of her life Alejandro. It is really interesting to compare Rubi to the typical telenovela Rosa because it is completely Rosa but with a new twist. Rubi is Cinderella and the evil step-sisters all in one. Rubi is from a lower middle class family and becomes rich when she marries a prince, but to do so she has to steel him from her best friend Maribel! On Maribel’s wedding day! (told you she was bad). So there are lots of interesting twists to the classic Rosa telenovela, with out really doing any major renovation on the original format. I think that the gender roles are really interesting to look at in Rubi because they are REALLY traditional. The women are really stereotypical Rubi is like the “prostitute” because she uses her body and looks to get her way. Her mother, her sister and her ex-bestfriend Maribel are all virginal and pure characters. The men are good looking, strong and know how to control their women (there is a lot of shaking women around like rag dolls which is disturbing to me). Overall it is interesting to see that although Rubi may seem like a new kind of protagonist, she really is just an old formula re-mixed in a new way-but still really entertaining.

Production Value

5-6 shows per week for months... that's a lot of episodes. Feature film production takes close to the same amount of time, but only has between 1-2 hours worth of the final film. A big difference: production value.

Films will take days setting up for one shot or waiting hours for the sun to be in the right place. It's not something you see so much in Telenovelas. Can you blame them? No way! Again... 5-6 shows per week for months, maybe even over a year. That is insane. Think about this:

1) Pick your favorite show on NBC, ABC, etc. How often do they have a new episode? A safe assumption would be once a week.

2)Now, is it shown continuously for months? Most shows come in seasons and definitely don't play year-round. My all-time favorite show is "The Sopranos," not really the best example, but each season had about 13 episodes. A telenovela does that in about 2-3 weeks.

Honestly, the biggest problem for me to overcome when watching telenovelas is the production value. As a telecommunication arts major, my professors spend all semester stressing production value, but we also spend all semester producing something that is generally less that 10 minutes. We are supposed to analyze everything in the shot from lighting to camera angles so that each element enhances the story.

It took me time to realize, this isn't film. This is a Telenovela, one of the most beloved types of media in the world. There are telenovelas for everyone: telenovelas roasas, telenovelas rapturas, telenovelas para los ninos, etc. People follow Telenovelas because of the stories.

A good friend of mine is recovering form a bad break-up. Like most break-ups, it hit her after a few days and she really didn't want to talk about it...just to wallow. So, I offered her the best distraction I could...my rosa telenovela "Amarte es mi Pecado." I clicked on the English subtitles and watched her consume my telenovela.

The despecho she feels isn't quite as extreme as the one the protagonist Nora felt. My friend isn't pregnant, in a love triangle, or seeking revenge on all men because of her loss. But she does have a broken heart. She, myself, and all other telenovela consumers who ever have had a broken heart can relate to Nora, too. My friend found comfort in having more control over her life than Nora and I found comfort seeing the way that telenovelas have healing powers even if only for just a few minutes.

Roller coaster ride

First of all: I love, love, LOVE my telenovela!!!

It's so exciting, and even though the graphics and acting aren't amazing and I've definitely laughed at how silly some of the situations are, the plot is so thick and completely absurd that I can't stop watching it. After I popped the first disc in, I literally sat in front of my laptop for the next 4 hours non-stop.

After Monday's lecture, I immediately started piecing together which elements fit the telenovela I'm watching, which is Mariana de la noche.

I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but I'm getting a lot of different Cinderella elements/twists mixed up in the characters. For example, the protagonist is Mariana (obviously) and she fits the Cinderella prototype by being naive, kind, virginal, etc. The only thing that doesn't quite match up is she's the one who's rich. Her "prince" is the poor one who comes from out of nowhere with an obscured past, and since he is also good could he be a male Cinderella too? Are they a Cinderella couple? There are also several antagonists--Mariana's evil "father" who can be the equivalent of the evil step-mother, an evil "sister", and evil "aunt". They're all enemies to Mariana in a different way--the father wants to keep Mariana for himself, the sister is jealous that Mariana gets all the attention, and the aunt wants Mariana's "prince," or Ignacio.

I put all of the relatives in quotes, because in truth none of them are related by blood and that's where things get really crazy. If I try to even explain what the actual relationships are between the characters, I think I'd just confuse myself. I still have about 2 hours left of the discs, so I'm anticipating what kinds of twists and turns are going to happen next--super excited!!!

Gender roles and telenovelas

First off, I have to follow the trend and talk about how excited I was when I saw Marisa Roman come through the doors! It was a great surprise...and a great set-up! I even asked Dr. A about two minutes before Marisa walked in, "So she is in Venezuela right now?" Also, the second we left Grady that day, every single one of us was on our cell phones telling someone about the exciting news! Claire and I bragged in our next class about it, even though no one had ever even seen a telenovela before!

I have really enjoyed listening to the reasons behind the Cinderella Story trend in telenovelas this week. Whenever we watch a clip of a typical telenovela rosa, (especially everyday with Valeria)I feel like I am being hit in the face with machismo. Men are macho, women are scantily dressed. I like how Padron takes these typical rosa scenarios and puts a twist on them. I feel like in the United States we have come a long way from the typical Cinderella Story of the poor, naive girl which seemed to be typical of decades passed. Although men and women both watch telenovelas, I am guessing that the majority of viewers. How do you think women feel when they see themselves with sexy clothes at the will of macho men on telenovelas? Do you think that the women of Latin America in general disapprove of this stereotype, enjoy the stereotype, or have no opinion? Gender relations in pop culture has really been on my mind this week when talking about these Cinderella Stories.

Letty is definitely not Betty.

Letty is definitely not Betty...at least what I thought was Betty. In the only other version of "Yo Soy Betty La Fea" I have been exposed to, or UGLY BETTY , Betty is a modest, dependable, plain but nontheless sane person. In UGLY BETTY, Betty Suarez is a likeable and relatable underdog. We witness her misfortunes, empathize when her model-esque co-workers tease her and root for her to rise to the top. In Mexico's version, the 'fea' or Leticia "Letty" Salis, is also modest, dependable and plain. Sane and relatable, on the other hand, are debatable characteristics. 

As someone who was a dance company member for nearly nine years, I know, understand and have felt the wrath of "mean girls." Although I did have friends in my dancing years, they were few and I kept my distance from most of the girls. I'm not saying all dancers are drama queens, there were plenty of nice people, but when a large group of sequined, competitive girls get together, there's bound to be conflict. As such, I'd like to think of myself as the "Ugly Betty" in the competitive dancing world. I didn't conform. God forbid, at 14 years old my makeup was never perfect, my tights usually had holes and my hair was always parted to the wrong side. I once had a fellow team member chastize me for not putting my eyeliner correctly- I wish I were kidding. 

As such, because of my nine torturous yet highly enjoyable years as a dancer, I can relate to Betty. Betty has a job she loves but is surrounded by a group of people she loathes. But above all, Betty remains level-headed, down-to-earth and at the end of the day, she stays true to herself. 

But Letty? While the show is fairly amusing, I personally find it hard to root for her character. She is humble. She is smart. But she is also pathetic. Letty is portrayed in such a way that I am actually repulsed by her. Everything from her spotted black mustache, greasy pinned hair and twitching eye and over-the-top facial expressions make it hard for me to empathize with her. Instead of wanting Letty to rise on top and get the guy of her dreams, I'm just interested in how the writers are going to make it work in the end. Letty is not just homely, she is downright un-kempt and un-hygenic. Letty doesn't look like she just needs a makeover. She looks like she needs a good shower. 

And on top of everything, Letty hasn't showcased strength--at least not yet. Her character often falls victim to the machismo-maneras of her suave boss. She thanks her boss for allowing her to use his car washing rag for a tissue and doesn't grovel when she is put in the storage closet to do all her work. And she's a little out of touch with reality. She swoons over his ego-centric boss and believes that he is falling in love with her, even though he very obviously demonstrates his disgust towards her. 

No, this isn't the Betty I've come to adore in ABC's UGLY BETTY. I'm waiting for the protagonist to redeem herself, and I hope she will. But then again, Letty is definitely not Betty. 

Is that who I think it is?!

Last Friday I walked into class fully expecting to participate in a Skype video conference with a famous telenovela actress in Venezuela. I was beyond shocked when I turned to see that the late straggler to class was Marisa Román, the actress herself! What an incredible privilege and opportunity it was to take part in such an intimate gathering with one of the most talented actresses in Venezuela.

During that 55 minute period, Marisa touched on almost every single topic that we will study in Dr. A’s telenovela class this semester. But the issue that I found most fascinating is the one that has fascinated me from the beginning of the course. It is the debate over whether telenovelas should do more that solely entertain their audiences. It was really neat to get an actor’s perspective on the matter.

Marisa seemed to agree with both points of view – that telenovelas should entertain but also do something more for their audiences. She explained that the high level of media censorship in Venezuela presents telenovelas with the obligation to inform as well as to entertain. In her country, where education level is low and political turmoil is high, television must play an additional role aside from entertainment—it must educate. Marisa said that she and others in the industry would be taking the easy way out if they did not help address the pressing issues facing Venezuelans.

So Much to Say

Well first,I just have to mention how I am still not over the fact that our class met face to face , and spoke with Marisa Roman. Her honest and genuine conversation with us, and her appreciation for the non –superficial , truly showed how she is gorgeous from the outside in. It is always interesting in class to hear about Dr.A’s first hand experiences on the telenovela sets, so it was intriguing hearing Marisa’s acting experiences on the multiple sets she has worked on. During the first week of class, Dr. A told us that Latin American t.v. stars differ from the American ones in the way they are not fame struck, and Marisa proved this is as true. If we were not studying her work in this class, it would not have been so apparent she is such a famous actress. However, we learned a little bit of how talented she is in her field, and I have to admit, I am pretty obsessed.

Next, I have to admit that I am officially hooked! The telenovela channel 12 is becoming a common flip to for me on the television. I see the previews for “Yo soy Betty la fea”, and I wonder… what I am doing tonight at 10pm. I watched about 30 minutes of a telenovela on Tuesday afternoon , without even flipping the channel. Yesterday, when I got back from class, I told myself I need to catch up on my telenovela so I’ll watch a little bit. The next thing I knew, I had been sitting in the same spot for 1 hour and 30 minutes watching “ La Usurpadora”. The telenovelas are becoming so interesting to me because I can really connect what Dr.A talks about in class to the real thing. It’s fascinating how just in the previews I can tell there is going to be the hot male protagonist , with the beautiful female protagonist, and the sexy, manipulative looking antagonist to cause some drama, along with the possessive mother, and best friend. And, the intro song really does make an impact on the idea of telenovela. The lyrics in the song, if I pay close attention, tie into the story line.

The aspect of the telenovelas I have been viewing that hooks me on, is the drama, the heated passions, and the suspense of what is going to happen next. In “ La Usurpadora”, I am loving the story of the identical protagonists, but who are not twins, switching lives. I am definitely seeing the Cinderella plot line in La Usurpadora. I am just wondering when or if innocent Paolina is going to turn evil. …