Advanced Writing Skills BAN 4007
Prescott-Pickup Francis Julian
08 December 2016
The genre of
telenovelas and soap operas
America as a continent has two world-wide popular
genres that keep most women glued to the screens: the soap operas of the USA
and the telenovelas of Mexico. In some dictionaries we can find the explanation
that “telenovela is a soap opera produced in Latin-America” but this is not
exactly true. (Telenovelas as a
Culture-specific Form of Soap Opera) For some people they might look the same but although there are
similarities, they differ in history, culture, themes, style and production,
too.
To begin with, telenovelas literally mean television
novels. The word has a Spanish origin; it comes from the Castilian dialect. In
other cultures, they are also known as teleromance, novella de TV, teleteatro
or teleserie. (Telenovelas as a
Culture-specific Form of Soap Opera) As their original name, telenovela implies, first they started out as
graphic novel representations based on classical literary works and later on,
they evolved into radio shows in the 1930s. (The Power of the Telenovela) They
originate from Latin America but they became popular all over the world just
like the American soap operas. The first show was produced in Brazil: Sua vida me pertence
(Your Life Belongs to Me)
in 1950, and then the next one in Mexico:
Ángeles de la calle
(Angels of the Street)
in 1951. These shows appeared on television only once or twice a week and
eventually since 1957, they started to produce telenovelas which ran every
weekday. In 1979, the first global telenovela appeared: Los ricos también lloran
(The Rich Also Cry).
It was a Mexican one and became popular in Russia, China and in the United
States, too. (Telenovelas as a
Culture-specific Form of Soap Opera)
As for the soap operas, they originate in the United
States and the first one was produced at the same time as the Latin-American
one was. The first soap opera debuted
here also in 1930 on the radio in Chicago. This show was called Painted Dreams and it was broadcasted in
daily slots from Monday to Friday. The term soap opera comes from the fact that
originally soap manufacturers sponsored these shows. They are also called soaps
or soapies in different dialects. (80 Years Ago Today)
Both telenovelas and soap operas have the same basis
in connection with their storylines: they focus on family life, love life,
relationships and heartbreaks, emotional and moral conflicts, betrayal, and of
course, a happy ending. Throughout the whole series, the constant drama and the
turning points are very important to maintain the viewers’ interests.
If we take into consideration the basic love stories,
both genres have different features. For example, in the USA, there can be realistic
love situations while in the telenovelas the love stories are too far-fetched
and are always the same: there is a rich and a poor family and the rich man
falls in love with the poor woman, causing the main conflict between the
characters. Then of course, there is always a rich woman who wants to marry the
man because “she is the perfect match for him”. There is always some
machination to make everything more complicated but eventually true love wins.
While watching a soap opera, we can have a connection with reality and these
stories can have a reference to our everyday lives but this cannot be said for
the telenovelas: they are too corny to be true.
On the other hand, telenovelas have greater historical
features than soap operas as most Latin people are Catholics. In Spanish
speaking countries, telenovelas are important because the religion is always
represented in the shows and true faith is what drives the good characters.
They are able to get their happy ending because they have their own values;
they pray to God and never lose their faiths. Watching telenovelas also keep
the family together; it counts as a common program for the evening. They still
have not lost their popularity as most American soap-operas did: telenovelas
always have a moral message that people can relate to, while the USA just keeps
producing shows because that is its main industry and these soaps are mainly just
for the entertainment of the women. (The Power of the Telenovela)
As for the production, telenovelas consists of 120-180
episodes and they are not divided into seasons. They are on air from Monday to
Friday for 8-9months and then they reach their ending with a proper conclusion.
In the United States, there is one episode per week, there are about 20-25
episodes per season and the number of the seasons depends on their popularity. If
after a weak season they decide to shut down the production, the whole show
will remain unfinished.
Just to mention some examples that some people might
be familiar with: La Usurpadora (Deceptions)
was produced in 1998 and in 2008, the Cuidado con el ángel (Don't mess with an Angel) was what kept the women in front of the
television set. In the United States, one
of the most well-known soap operas might be Melrose Place, which first aired
in 1992 and after 2004, Desperate Housewives became the prime-time soap
opera for the Americans housewives.
All in all, the two genres can be connected but also
differentiated in some aspects. They both have their own root in their cultures,
they are true to their original values and at the same time, they try to adapt
to the changes of the 21st century’s generation.
Works
cited
Jacobson,
Rebecca. “The Power of the Telenovela” PBS,
25 January 2012,
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/the-power-of-the-telenovela/.
Neri, Sandra. “Telenovelas as a Culture-specific Form of Soap Opera” Academia,
http://www.academia.edu/4768368/Telenovelas_as_a_Culture. Accessed 05 December 2016.
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