#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: