09/04/2018
My first experiences with telenovelas go back to when I was small. Too small to comprehend them, and so small that I didn't necessarily understand what was going on, but somehow aware of the type of broadcast — a telenovela. Growing up, being surrounded by my family talking about these novelas was a normal day-to-day experience. Talks about what the villainous mother-in-law had done to the Innocent protagonist, and predictions whether the main couple would stay together were just some of the conversations that my mother, sister and father would go on about. Though these series were so popular throughout my childhood, it wasn't until this class that I actually began to build my interest into telenovelas.
Up until this class, I had thought that every novela was the same, until I discovered that they could be one of two: either a telenovela "rosa," or a telenovela "de ruptura." A telenovela rosa, or a traditional telenovela, refers to the way that these series used to be. This includes a naive main character, as well as the main character's partner, and usually a wealthy woman who attempts to control the main character's guy as the antagonist. An example of this would be La Usurpadora, which was produced in 1998. Regarding a telenovela de ruptura, or a realist telenovela, they pertain to modern day issues and reflect that throughout the show. Examples of these modern day issues may include debatable political topics within a country, such as the United States and its stance on immigration. Specifically, this includes telenovelas such as El Pais de las Mujeres.
Considering that I was raised around a majority of traditional telenovelas, I would definitely like to venture out and discover something new that I am not used to, such as realist novelas or something closer to that spectrum. Due to that, I chose El Señor de los Cielos. Though possibly not an absolute realist telenovela, since this show is set in the narco world, I believe it lies somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.
How would you all classify a narconovela? Traditional or realist? Would it strictly depend on some classic telenovela element being present to classify it one way or the other?
Luis Contreras
Hey Luis!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading about your experience with telenovelas as a child because that is something that I did not experience growing up. It is so interesting to me to read about other people's upbringing and the culture surrounding them in adolescence. You and I most likely have very different experiences as children; however, God has brought us both here, taking this class together, and that is crazy to think about!
I also liked the point you brought up about narconovelas being closer to the realist end of the spectrum of telenovelas. I am watching "Pablo Escobar, el patrón del mal," which is also another narconovela. I think, from an outsider's perspective (as someone who has not been involved in the drug trade world) every narconovela could be classified as a traditional telenovela because some aspects will seem so absurd that they cannot possibly be real. However, maybe every aspect of a narconovela is completely true and we just have no idea because we haven't experienced it. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't know how to classify a narconovela. Great question, Luis!
- John
Luis - me gusta tu post y como tú hablas sobre su experiencia con telenovelas como un niño. Mi primera telenovela fue Marimar y no terminé porque fue una telenovela rosa y me convertí aburrida. Sin embargo, mi telenovela ahora es Pasión de Gavilanes y mientras es todavía una telenovela rosa, tiene aspectos de una telenovela de ruptura y por eso he reavivado mi amor por las telenovelas.
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