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.