Blog Post 1, Choosing My Telenovela

I'm really appreciative of the fact that I can take a class that allows me to connect with my childhood of watching telenovelas. I originally chose El Clon because I was drawn to the twin mystery and the setting in the Middle East that gives it an additional sense of culture. I was discussing the assignment with my mom and when I told her I was considering El Clon, her face lit up. She told me she watched it and loved it.
The fact that my mom seemed so excited about it set the deal for me and I knew I wanted to choose this telenovela. She got so excited for me to start watching that she started considering rewatching it since it had been so long.
I am thankful that this class allows me to have more connections with my mom and family by allowing us to bond more. I honestly haven't watched as many telenovelas as I did when I was a child, and I'm excited this class allows me to reconnect with myself.
I'm excited to link a fun pastime to educational purposes.

Blog #1

Nunca pensé que las telenovelas pueden ser reflexiones sobre el clima político de un país. La idea que siempre tuve sobre las telenovelas es la misma que la mayoría de las personas - la telenovela es solo un drama muy exagerado que no tiene sustancia. Ya aprendí mucho sobre el poder de la telenovela en las sociedades y cultura latinoamericanas 

El documental que vimos en clase me sorprendió mucho. El impacto de las telenovelas en un sociedad como vimos es inmensurable. La fantasía se vuelve más importante que la realidad que nos rodea. Los medios  en cada país son muy importantes, y como alguien que estudia periodismo, yo sé la importancia del periodismo y la responsabilidad que conlleva la decisión de ser alguien que presenta las noticias al público. Como vimos en el documental, podemos crear una realidad con las cosas que mostramos al público - y esa realidad creada es una realidad de algunas perspectivas y se puede crear de acuerdo con los deseos de algunas personas poderosas. 

Yo elegí Bolívar como mi telenovela para este semestre. Bolívar es una telenovela histórica que sigue la historia de Simón Bolívar, conocido como “El liberador” en Venezuela, y sus amores. 

La historia de los países latinoamericanos y su relación con España, la gente indígena de America latina, y la gente africano y el comercio de esclavos es muy complicada y todavía afecta como los latinoamericanos se identifican. Por eso, creo que será muy interesante. 

Voy a empezar esta noche!  

Telenovelas: una manera de vida

Por Sydney Higginbotham

Antes de este clase realmente no había estado expuesto a Telenovelas. En mi mente pensé estos programas eran solamente una “soap opera” en la manera que fueron influenciados de cultura Americana y era una copia de dramas y programas de otros países. Estaba tan equivado. En español, “soap opera” transduce a telenovela. Sin embargo, después de todo he aprendido sobre telenovelas, la telenovela es la única palabra que puede describir este género de televisión. La telenovela es una manera de vida y tiene tanta potencia puede controlar cultura, costumbres, sociedad e incluso el gobierno. Puedo ver por qué el género de la telenovela es atractivo a mucha gente. La telenovela es un trozo de vida y puede ser sorprendente realista. En una telenovela las emociones se hacen un espectáculo donde esta pasión y las emociones intensas hacen que el público se enamore más profundamente de sus personajes. Un otro dato con mucho importancia es el tiempo la telenovela es transmitido y de que pais es. En muchos países latinos, la telenovela es transmitido en el bloque de máxima audiencia 5-6 días a la semana. Estos son importantes porque mucho gente está mirando y gana mucho dinero por la estación de radiodifusión. Esto es muy extraña para mi porque estoy tan acostumbrado a esperar semanas o meses para mis programas favoritas han salido en la televisión. Un otro gran interés de mío es el gran impacto de los telenovelas en las redes sociales. Antes de este clase, la única emoción cerca de una telenovela que había visto era para el soltero o la soltera. Estos programas de televisión son seguidos religiosamente por sus fans en todo el internet y los redes sociales. Sin embargo, lo que es interesante es el hecho de que todos los seguidores de los actores y actrices en el soltero o la soltera son similares a los  seguidores de los telenovelas. Además, por último pienso los seguidores de los telenovelas son más apasionados y dedicados a las telenovelas que aquellos que ven la televisión americana. Estoy muy emocionado de aprender más sobre las telenovelas y cómo siguen impactando cultura y redes sociales de los países latinos y el resto del mundo.

Necesitaré un clon

Decidí ver "El Clon" como mi elección de telenovela este semestre. Elegí titular esta publicación de blog "Necesitaré un clon", porque estoy obsesionada con mis programas de televisión. Necesitaré un clon de mí mismo para completar todas mis tareas y trabajar para cuando estoy obsesionada con esta telenovela. Estoy fascinado por la intensidad de las telenovelas. Capturan una audiencia a su núcleo. Como hablamos en clase, son un "escape" para algunos y un "reflejo" para otros sobre su realidad.  El poder cautivador a veces es mal utilizado por gobiernos. Sin embargo, también puede ser una forma intensa de unir a las personas. Pienso que para mi, ahora es un escape de problemas con mi familia.  Pero estoy emocionado para ver a un reflejo también este semestre.

Mientras mira su telenovela, ¿cree que la está mirando para "escapar" de su realidad o reflexionar sobre su realidad?

Blog Post #1 - Ada Milla

Blog Post #1

Antes de comenzar esta clase, yo no sabía mucho sobre telenovelas. Sabía lo básico, como casi todos los niños que crecen en un país latinoamericano, pero nunca había visto una verdadera telenovela. Pensé que para ser una telenovela, tenía que centrarse solamente en una pareja que pasaban por una serie de altibajos dramáticos antes de terminar juntos, casi como Cenicienta. Sin embargo, en una de nuestras clases nos referimos brevemente a cómo se producen las telenovelas con una amplia gama de criterios. Algunos son divertidos, otros son dramáticos, hay narconovelas e incluso biomusicales. También hay telenovelas dirigidas a un determinado grupo de edad. Este bloque de clases me hizo realizar de que, de hecho, yo si había visto una telenovela antes. Cuando era nina, yo veía a Carita de Angel todas las noches durante la semana, y una vez que termino la transmisión de ese programa, empeze viendo algunas semanas de Suenos y Caramelos, junto con IsaTKM. Reflexionando sobre estos programas, creo que es realmente interesante cómo hay diferentes tipos de telenovelas, cada una producida con diferentes audiencias en mente.

**La telenovela que veré durante el semestre es La Impostora, y aunque todavía no la he comenzado oficialmente, estoy emocionado de comenzar a ver este fin de semana.

My First Telenovela Experience- Daley McCallum

Growing up, the shows I watched were the basic Disney Channel and Nickelodeon shows: iCarly, Hannah Montana, Spongebob etc. My parents, both born and raised in the United States, typically watched sports, the news, and the Housewives. Because of this, I have never been exposed to Telenovelas or their culture prior to taking this class. Let me tell you something-- I have been missing out.

At the very start of JRLC5060, when we would watch small clips from the Telenovelas, I thought to myself, "some of these plot lines are so unrealistic and dramatic, I don't understand how people can obsess over them." Now, I completely understand. I just finished the very first episode of "Pasión de Gavilanes," and to be honest, I am hooked. When reflecting back on my previous thoughts and ideas from the clips in class, I was mistaken at just how much these shows can pull you in.

The acting specifically pulled me into the plot-line. At first, seeing Libia's facial expressions made me feel bad for her. It was apparent that she was really hurting from her brothers' actions and opinions. After I had been drawn in, I was glued to the television. The amount twists and turns that the plot has (even in the very first episode!) makes me watch very closely to not miss a beat. I enjoy how the plot has three major stories going on between each of the brothers, and how their family members each value different things.

While there is still a lot to uncover, and 187 more episodes, I can definitely say that I am excited to learn more about Libia's love story with Bernardo. I am also very interested to learn more about the history behind Telenovela culture, and see how "Pasión de Gavilanes" made an impact in the Telenovela Society.

#1: Choosing a Telenovela

When preparing to choose a telenovela to watch, I compiled a list of possible options and then narrowed them down. I don't have much experience with telenovelas but I tried to choose wisely based on the other television shows that I like. I loved watching Gossip Girl so I had heard of Rebelde and watched some before this class so I knew that was an option. I had seriously considered watching Maria la del Barrio because I love Soraya's character and I think the show is just so classic and iconic and reminiscent of old telenovelas rosas. I also was really interested in el Rostro de Analia because it seemed sexy and dramatic and I thought it would really keep my attention. However all of these shows were made before 2010 and I thought I wanted to watch something more modern. I recently watched Elite and I loved Danna Paola so I looked up other shows that she had been in and two caught my attention. The first one I looked at was Quien es Quien? I liked this show and it seemed funny and interesting however the one that I ended up choosing was la Doña. I chose la Doña for a lot of reasons. It has Danna Paola in it, it was the most recently made telenovela that made my list, and it was the only one on my list I could watch on Netflix. The show has a strong, powerful female lead and it seems like it is packed with twists and turns that will surely keep me engaged and on the edge of my seat. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to finish all 120 episodes before the end of the semester but for now I'll say, challenge accepted!

Entrada #1

Amor Eterno (Kara Sevda)

        Antes de decidirme por Amor eterno estuve entre la Reina del Sur y La fea mas bella. Al principio comenzé viendo la Reina del Sur y no me gusto tanto. Mis padres fueron los que me habían recomendado esa telenovela y por eso me había decidido por verla. Al principio no me había parecido mal idea ya que yo ya había visto Queen of the South en Netflix. Aunque las dos novelas tengas cosas en común se nota clarito que Queen of the South no fue tan extremo como la Reina del Sur. Después de ver el primer episodio de la Reina del Sur me decidí por ver una telenovela cómica. De tanto buscar me encontré con la telenovela, La fea mas bella. Al ver los primeros tres episodios de esta telenovela me di cuenta que La fea mas Bella fue estrenado en el 2006. Al principio no lo vi nada de malo pero mi mamá me encontró viéndola y me pregunto porque estaba viendo una telenovela antigua. Al principio no supe como reaccionar y le pregunte que me sugería entonces. En ese momento me recomendó una telenovela turka llamada Amor Eterno.
       Antes de comenzar a ver Amor Eterno busque en el internet para ver sobre que se trataba. Con tal solo ver que uno de los protagonistas era Burak Ozcivit quede fascinada. Después de leer y ver que las novelas turkas tenían buenos comentarios me decidí por intentar ver el primer episodio. Al ver el primer episodio de inmediatamente me di cuenta que las telenovelas turkas no son nada baratas. La calidad de la telenovela y en como fue producida es muy distinta a varias telenovelas que ya e visto. Por ahorita estoy muy entusiasmada por seguir viendo Amor Eterno y ver como quedara el amor de Kemal y Nihan.

Blog 1

Some of my earliest memories that I have are when I would gather around the TV with my mom on the couch, and we would watch novelas starting from 7 pm. I couldn’t stay up past 9 as I had a bedtime, but sometimes I was able to sneak some episodes of the later novela enough to follow the plot along. The 7 pm novela usually wasn’t my favorite, so I would really start watching at 8. I could always count on that one to be good, but the 9 o’clock one was always better which aligns with the prime time system we discussed in class. I sort of unconsciously figured it out because I always complained or brushed off the early novelas saying that they weren't good because they were early on in the day. I deducted that if they were the best they would’ve had the later slot. Now, this isn’t always the case because an earlier one could be better if it fits more with your likes, but for the most part I think it’s a rule of thumb.

My dad, who is born in Maine, raised in south Georgia and is not of latinx origin, would always pass by complaining and questioning why we enjoyed watching the novelas, mimicking the actors crying, yelling, etc.

(pictured: My dad coming home to my mom and me upset over a Friday cliffhanger.)

This never strayed me from watching them though. Seeing the raw emotions on screen, the intensity of them made me feel at home in a way. In class, we’ve come to find that that, which my dad ridiculed of our culture, is something deeply embedded and telling of who we are. The emotions are full-fledged; they’re being depicted unabashedly. Men crying on the screen, heartbroken, remorseful, showing vulnerability is something that is not foreign in Latin American culture. Of course, it is dramatized for the effect on the audience, but also if that is something you grow up watching, I think it definitely builds a foundation and leaves an impact on its audience. That’s not to say that machismo is not prevalent and that emotions are always welcomed, but it is definitely still reflective of the culture.

As someone from a Mexican-American family, it resonated with me when we have talked about how Mexico is closed off from venturing from the norm, from the recycled stories as opposed to countries like Brazil and Turkey who are more accurately narrating today’s issues. Something I have also noticed in recent years when I became more exposed to cultures and people is the fact that Mexico does not stray from it’s path in reference to who is on the screens. It tends to be people of lighter skin tones with no representation of other facets of color. Colorism continues to be something of a challenge there, though maybe it is becoming more challenged against. The cast compositions are pretty much homogeneous. The conversation needs to continue being had on representation in novelas in countries like Mexico.

I remember years back there was an Indian drama on one of the Spanish channels. It definitely wasn't Univision, but I can't recall which one it was. My mom loved it. She was extremely fascinated with their culture and beauty. At the time, I shrugged it off wondering how she could enjoy it without understanding it (silly girl.) As Dra. A has said and director Bong Joon-ho once eloquently put, "Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing [medias]." Has anyone else seen other media in a language different than yours that you thoroughly enjoyed?

My Newfound Obsession with Telenovelas

     Before I started my telenovela and societies class, my knowledge of telenovelas went as far as La Reina del Sur, and it stopped there. Now, I have watched multiple episodes of several telenovelas like el Clone, Falsa Identidad, and my personal favorite at the moment, Pasión de gavilanes. This world of telenovelas hasn't ceased to amaze me yet. The fact of there's a whole continent devouring these programs not only from their country and native language but from others like Turkish dramas (Drizis) and Brazilian telenovelas while some countries are entering this world more recently like Korean dramas and Syria.
     I have learned that telenovelas weren't made for just one set of people like most shows in the U.S. are made. They span throughout social classes and countries and languages unlike any media I've ever witnessed. In a documentary over telenovelas, some people value these episodes so much they sell (what we deem as) necessary household items just to buy a television set to watch these telenovelas. Both severely impoverished and extremely rich people love these actors and the storylines showing just how engaging and diverse these shows are yet still being categorized the same.
   

First Posting - La Reina del Sur

Episode 1 Impressions and Analysis:

My first time watching La Reina del Sur was honestly more invigorating than speeding around a race track. I wrote down in my notes while watching: "They are able to dictate your heart rate with just music and acting, they don't even need words!" Which is only on of the many factors that sets telenovelas apart from anything else. I also wrote down at minute seven: "Professor, I am hooked for good." What really stood out to me though was the acting skills that the main characters display. Their acting has a strong impact on you that forces you to emote so much more than most other things you watch on TV. Yes, it can be corny and maybe over done sometimes, but I still am impressed with the talent of Kate del Castillo and others.

In terms of the production quality, I noticed how many different angles they show of the same scene, which adds important context. You can tell the production budget is rather high. In fact, according to wikipedia, Telemundo had a $10 million budget that is second to only El Señor de los Cielos.

The first episode was so captivating because of all of the flashbacks that felt so real. Multiple times I forgot about the actual situation at hand – that being Teresa running for her life – because each flashback scene was so good. I also took note of the first mini cliff hanger, that we talked about in class, a little after the midpoint of the episode. Finally, as expected, the episode ended on a major cliff hanger and if it weren't already 2 a.m. by that point, I would've for sure watched episode two.

Blog #1 - Exploring my First Telenovela

As someone who has never seen or invested in a Telenovela before I was genuinely surprised with the results that came from watching my very first one. While watching Pasión de Gavilanes I was able to explore the ups and downs of an hour-long introductory episode where each character immediately introduces their own strong personality. But with the strong personalities there’s also very strong cultural norms and expectations for characters to follow. There’s a strong sense of patriarchal power within the first episode between Libia and her brothers when they found out she has a lover. They were ultimately concerned with her virtue and the fact that she will soon become the latest gossip of the town. However, the brothers may flirt, hookup with, and even in rare cases be paid to date and sleep with rich women while simultaneously have no concern for their image. The brothers show different examples of male rage and power expectations within the household; however, Juan is the most Abusive and controlling of the three.

And even with my knowledge of Telenovela’s always packing every inch of an episode with exciting and dramatic new developments, I found the series’ plot actually moving extremely slow. One of the main characters, Libia, dies in order for the main plot of brotherly revenge to occur. However, Libia hasn’t died two episodes in, and the true plot hasn’t officially begun. I’m excited that they didn’t use Libia as a quick character to die and further the brothers plot and she is instead a character that the audience gets to connect with and love before she passes.

I found myself genuinely surprised at how easy it was for me to become hooked on this show. Are there over dramatic moments that are easily laughable? Yes. Am I still enjoying every moment? Yes. As someone who sometimes takes the shows and movies they view a little too seriously, it’s nice to just have something to consume without thinking about the overarching meaning. I found myself unable to look away from the TV while watching it, and it’s so easy to understand why a nation goes quiet during the later hours of the day to tune into their favorite telenovela. What I have learned from the very start of this semester long project is that I should never have let a language barrier stop me from viewing content.

Binge-watching La Reina del Sur 1 and 2

     One of the biggest aspects of my identity is that I am Venezuelan. I talk about my country probably everyday, which is why learning about telenovelas makes me feel closer to home as it is part of my culture. I remember how my nanny watched her telenovelas every night, you could not talk to her if she was watching her telenovela. I also remember the day that RCTV closed, I was little so I wasn't really aware of the seriousness of what was going on, but my mom and my sister were crying. All of the people of RCTV were on set and at midnight there was a black screen and then the national anthem started playing and a new network came on. The main Venezuelan networks broadcasted their telenovelas every night, and you could watch it everyday like my nanny, or you could binge like my parents.

     Venezuela is not big on copyright– or at least the Venezuela I was born into. There has always been this street in my city, Maracaibo, were people have small stands and sell DVDs of all the movies, tv shows, and telenovelas that were popular at the time. It is definitely not legal, but the police went to buy DVDs too.  My dad, for example, used to buy the DVDs of all of the episodes of the week of La Reina del Sur. We sat all together and binged those episodes during the weekend. I was 11, probably shouldn't have watched La Reina del Sur so young, but it is still one of the best telenovelas I have seen, and 9 years later I am watching season 2.  My dad bought DVDs for all the other super series that came out before Netflix was available in Venezuela, now he can binge without buying DVDs. I don't know how this issue affected broadcasting companies in Venezuela, but it would be very interesting to find out.

SPOILER ALERT:

     I remember the main plots of La Reina del Sur, but I can promise you I don't remember all the details since I watched it around 9 years ago. However, La Reina del Sur 2 touched on topics than I am almost certain they did not talk about in the first season. They have a plot about abortion, and gave the subtle message of it being a personal choice, not another's person's choice. They have a gay couple, in season 1 they have Patricia who is gay, but this couple is different and they show why the couple stays in the closet due to how society might react. They touch on many things that made it so much more than just something about narcotraffic. I binged season 2 on Netflix, just like I binged season 1 with my parent with DVDs.

Also, encontre este meme en facebook y me parecio comico, especialmente ahora que Univision esta pasando una dizi:

Mis primeras impresiones sobre "El señor de los cielos"

Primero me gustaría decir que nunca he visto ninguna telenovela. Probablemente solo he visto dos series enteras en mi vida, gracias a mi compañero de cuarto de este año escolar, quien le gusta mucho mirar muchas series diferentes. Sin embargo, ahora miro una variedad de series considerando que antes solo miraba los deportes. Después de clase el martes pasado, en busca de una telenovela interesante, empecé a mirar “El señor de los cielos,” e inmediatamente fui capturado por las conexiones intrincados entre los personajes. En los dos primeros episodios de la serie es obvio que existe una estructura triangular, o mejor varias, que conecta Aurelio Casillas con los otros personajes principales: su esposa Ximena, sus amantes anteriores Matilde y Mónica, y su hermano Víctor. Puedo sentir la creciente tensión cuando se revela más información sobre Aurelio. Por ejemplo, en el segundo episodio, el público descubre que Aurelio todavía podría ser desleal a su esposa, pero Matilde no revela nada específica a Ximena sobre esto. Esta escena es probablemente una de las más entretenidas del planteamiento inicial porque muestra el misterio que rodea a Aurelio. Es decir, si la esposa no sabe tanto como ella piensa sobre su marido, como en este caso, realmente nadie lo conoce. Tanto las conexiones complejas entre los personajes como el misterio del Aurelio real me dan muchas ganas de seguir viendo más.

Blog #1- Resurrecting the Telenovela

Is the telenovela dying?

Regardless of age or culture or gender, all media professionals are dealing with the same problem: how do we keep audiences engaged as technology advances? In the last couple of years, one of the larger changes in technology is how broadcasting is shifting to content production with streaming services.

The telenovela is no exception to this engagement obstacle. We see this even in Dr. A’s story about asking the panel about engagement and all the panel speakers agreeing with how important this idea has become to the success of their telenovelas. Streaming platforms like Netflix are causing audiences to crave more crime-related, more realistic dramas according to the article “The Telenovela Is on Its Deathbed, Felled by Netflix”.

So how do we resurrect the telenovela?

Based on the article, we see the answer is research! As Grady College students we all know the importance of research; research is now what is breathing life back into the telenovela for new and old audiences alike. Based on research mentioned in this article we see that moving the time slot even thirty minutes earlier helped increase audience engagement. We also see that once the audience watched three full episodes, they were hooked. This evidence caused producers to prioritize the first three episodes and keep the telenovela’s audience engaged. As technology advances, the audience changes and so research is the only way to keep media adapting to the medium they are shown through like Netflix and Amazon Prime and other streaming services.

When deciding which telenovela to do my semester analysis on, I was surprised by the lack of telenovelas on Netflix. However, I expect more telenovelas to be added as Netflix produces more and more original content. In the future, I would expect Netflix to partner with telenovela writers to have authors write stories available exclusively on Netflix.

While I don’t think Netflix original telenovelas are a bad idea, I am curious to see how writers have to overcome the new obstacle presented by streaming services: binge watching. One of the greatest appeals, and distinguishing traits of a telenovela is the cliffhanger at the end of each episode. If the audience can simply watch the next episode instantly, the show loses some of the generated excitement if they had to wait in between episodes. 

I think releasing content seasons at a time (the popular method of releasing Netflix originals) is just another technological adaptation that telenovela writers will have to adapt too. My suggestion to keep audience engaged is to use social media to generate fan theories and general excitement about the show until it is known in pop culture. I think with Instagram stories there could be polls about the next twist and turn or even just voting who the audience supports in a love triangle to see who is the “fan favorite”. Social media platforms like Instagram also have instant translating options that would be help for global shows like telenovelas so that new audiences are engaged without losing the old audience.

So is the telenovela dying? No, I think it is adapting. But only time will tell how telenovelas once again creatively prevail through media as technology and culture change around it.

Blog #1

     About a week and a half ago, I started watching "La Reina del Sur" and I quickly noticed all of the common trends that you see when watching telenovels. Those being your typical "Cinderella," the handsome, rich man, the cliffhangers at the end of every episode, etc. Something that hasn't been mentioned in class is that the "Cinderella" is usually naturally pretty and is the only character in telenovelas that will be seen without makeup more than once. 

     Right now, I am on episode 22 and I can definitely say that this telenovela is much different than others that I have already seen. The main character, Teresa Mendoza, is very strong physically and mentally. She has the mentality of a woman that knows that she doesn't need a prince charming to come and save the day. Mendoza saves herself. 

     There is no denying that this telenovela is dramatic because it very much is. There is always someone who cries in every episode and I have lost track of the number of people that have died. I mean, I have also cried a couple of times because of the two big deaths Mendoza had to face so early on in the show. 

     To add, Kate Del Castillo was made for the role of Teresa Mendoza. The main character of "La Reina del Sur" is supposed to have a strong but charismatic look. Castilla has that and more. I can't wait to watch more, this telenovela is so good. 

Reconociendo la estructura de la telenovela en "la reina del sur "

Comencé a ver la programma la reina del sur y imediamente hay elementos obvio que aprendimos en clase. Hay una cuenta de amor imediamente. Es interesante para ver la diferencia entre este programa y la programa "la casa de papel" y como La reina del sur is más una telenovela que el otro programma. No se todos las diferencias pero una diferencia es la importancia de amor. Amor es importante en la casa de papel entre los personajes rio y tokyo, pero no es un factor tan grande como el robo. La programma de la reina del sur ( ahora donde yo estoy en la programma) revolva sobre las relaciones de teresa. Hay otros argumentos pero el amor es el argumento más grande. No se si soy correcta, pero creo que una novela necesita tener amor como una tema central. Creo que la casa de papel tiene muchas obstaculos pero los obstaculos tienen más importancia que el amor de rio y tokyo (aunque en el parte segundo creo que amor es más fuerte una tema en la casa de papel). Pero es muy claro que la reina del sur is más una telenovela tradicional, hay una triangula entre teresa y un otro hombre que no es Santiago (aunque este fue muy corto), y creo que hay es una triangula por el futuro pero no se por ahora. Creo que en el parte temprano de la reina que los escritores no saben si los quieren teresa en una triangula, el muere de el otro hombre fue muy rapido que mi expectativa. Es posible que los escritores estaban probando la reacción del público al otro interés amoroso? Y el publico no le gustan el por teresa? No se!

Blog Entry #1

Exploring for a telenovela to devote time into this class was interesting. Prior to the class, I had the stigma of telenovelas plot solely focusing on love or two lovers. While in class, the professor provided a wide range of telenovelas for us students to view during class. This class time opened my mind to telenovelas and what they have to offer. Reflecting on myself, I do not watch tv shows and movies much in my spare time. However, the presentation of narco-novelas caught my interest and that was the area I explored when searching for a telenovela for class. I have begun viewing 'Pablo Escobar El Patron de Mal.' My parents watch 'Nacros' and I was curious of the 'Mexican version' of the life of Pablo Escobar. There were moments that did grab me and anticipate what would happen next.

I was wondering if anyone else gained a sense of anticipation with their selected telenovelas. I did not think I would have been invested myself and curious how others react to their telenovela.

Blog Entry 1

I started watching "The Queen of Flow" tonight on Netflix and instantly noticed the Cinderella theme - a girl who comes from nothing and falls for a celebrity kind of guy who doesn't know she exists. There is a heavy foreshadowing of her rise to fame and love, but we are unsure of how she will get there. I am excited and eager to see what happens and to discover how Yeimi ended up in prison, and what she will do to seek revenge on the man who framed her and stole her self-written music.

I am wondering - has anyone else noticed similar themes in their telenovelas so far? The theme of a cinderella girl, crime, sensuality, and revenge have been consistent throughout the beginning of mine.

Entrada #1 - Aprender sobre telenovelas

¿Qué es una telenovela?

Antes de llegué a la clase para el primero tiempo, no sabía nada sobre las telenovelas. Durante la clase, aprendé la importancia de las telenovelas a la cultura de América Latina y en la vida de cada persona que los ven. Es más interesante que en América Latina, despecho es un proceso. No sabía que la expresión de las emociones era tan pública. Cuando estoy triste, molesto, o despechado, no expresa en público. En lugar de eso, yo trato oldivar sobre el problema. Trato de ocuparme con actividades como pasar el tiempo con los amigos, los deportes, o el trabajo para la escuela. No hablo sobre las emociones. 

La música 

Un similitud entre los metodos que las personas en los Estados Unidos y las personas en América Latina atenden a la despecho es con música. Los ejemplos de música melodramática que nosotros vinieron en la clase eran interesante. Mi canción favorita era “La Copa Rota” de Jose Feliciano porque es muy dramática. Las canciones más populares en los Estados Unidos son sobre el despacho. Por ejemplo, las canciones “Slide Away” de Miley Cyrus, “All of Me” de John Legend, y “It Ain’t Me” de Kygo y Selena Gomez son sobre el despecho y reproducen con frecuencia en la radio. 

Este es la lista de reproducción sobre el despecho!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1A9HhBvdvReinBSyO4BJWU?si=3oJFdVdJQ2OJGRqvjtvgAg

"Falsa Identidad"

Después de aprender sobre la estructura de las telenovelas, empecé a buscar para la telenovela que quería ver para esta clase. Seleccioné “Falsa Identidad”. Leí el resumen en Netflix y la telenovela parece muy interesante. Seleccioné “Falsa Identidad” porque el primero episodio es más dramático y contiene las temas de las drogas, el amor, la familia, el despecho, la violencia y otros. Estoy emocionado a ver todos episodios de “Falsa Identidad” pero estoy nervioso porque hay 91 episodios. Utilizando la información en el primer episodio y la información del resumen, pienso que la telenovela es similar a la película “We Are the Millers” excepto más seria y dramática.