A few days ago, I was watching an episode of my telenovela, Verano de Amor. As I watched, I was searching for something unusual within the episode. During my search, I was surprised to find a scene where one of the lead characters, Federico, was crying. In between the time that I had first begun to watch the noveela and that particular episode I had seen tons of "masculine" behavior. For example, one character, Vito, is a wealthy elderly man. He has a wife, Aura and two grandchildren, Enzo and Isa, that are staying with him and his wife for the summer. Although Vito and Aura are very loving towards each other, it is clear who has the more masculine role in the family. The Aura is a stay at home wife and basically does everything that involves taking care of the house, while Vito takes care of business outside of the home. Aura is always crying about a problem that is going on in the community or with her son. On the other hand, Vito seems more like the level headed one who is there to comfort Aura in these "intense" moments. These are the kinds of scenes that are frequently a part of the show.
This particular episode was interesting because in class, we've talked about the different roles that are portrayed by men and women in telenovelas. However, this scene did not fit the script. Dylan, the son of a seemingly happy couple, finds his father, Federico, outside crying right before he and his wife are to go to Miami for a vacation. In this couple, both the husband and wife are working, however, the wife, Frida, takes her work much more seriously. When Dylan asks his father what is wrong, his father explains to him that things are not going well between him and Dylan's mother. The father feels that the mother values her job over their marriage and that he suspects that there may be someone else. This is a totally untypical view of the male's role in the relationship. So far, I had seen nothing but men who either felt nothing about the women they were with, or men who were portrayed as the leader of the household. I feel that most of the time, the woman is the one that is fretting over the future of the relationship. However, I like how the show portrays the other side of the coin. Although women may cry more, it's nice to know that men cry too.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I felt the same sort of shock with my telenovela. Rodrigo, my male protagonist, cried. a LOT. Actually, he cried to the point I thought it made him look like a wimp... I understand crying when it's something horrible, but after so many tears, they almost become inneffective (sp?). Yes, he loved Gaviota, and yes, he lost her several times, but I think the tears would have been much more effective if he didn't cry nearly EVERY time they had a fight/break up (which happened often).
ReplyDeleteAlexander, the male protagonist in my telenovela, was pretty stoic before he met the female protagonist who he eventually falls in love with. He was with another girl who he didn't truly love. After meeting the female protagonist, he started to display more emtion and a manifestation of that was crying. Tears don’t come easily to men, and his crying is pivotal to the situtaion in the telenovela...there is something quite moving when a Alexander, who is supposed to be the 'strong man' shows vulnerability and emotion.
ReplyDeleteDon Alberto cried a bit in Los Ricos También Lloan (go figure, right?).
ReplyDeleteI like that the male figures in telenovelas can cry. This whole boys-don't-cry business is a crock, and I'm glad that telenovelas aren't afraid to show it.