Telenovelas: Links Around the World

It has been really interesting to hear about everyone’s telenovela over the last few weeks, even the repeat telenovela presentations. The repeat telenovelas (like Sin Tetas, La Usurpadora, and even my own Rubi) have been interesting because everyone did such a great job focusing on different aspects of their telenovelas. I think one thing that has really stuck out to me through the process of watching other peoples presentations and doing my own presentation is how internationally popular they really are. I remember Dr. A. said that consumption of these telenvelas is most popular in places where poverty exists alongside extreme wealth, like in Latin America. When I was researching my telenovela Rubi I was surprised to find that the show, and the actress Barbara Mori, had so many fans in Serbia. This was interesting to me because I am studying the breakup of the former Yugoslavia and the following International Criminal Tribunal in my Geography of Human Rights class. The study of war crimes and genocide seem so irrelevant and unrelated to telenovelas, however I think it is interesting that some of the telenovelas we have studied have enjoyed such success in countries of the former Yugoslavia like Croatia and Serbia. I wonder if the countries recent and tragic histories have made people more eager to watch telenovelas like Rubi which provide opportunities to escape everyday life and also dream of climbing the social ladder, just like the typical rosa Cinderella of the telenovelas that they watch.