My Journey through Telenovelas

I just want to preface this post by saying: I have been waiting to take this class since my sophomore year. When I first found out about the course I was so excited to have the opportunity to take it (and consequently very disappointed when I found out it was only taught every two years) and when Victoria told me it was going to be offered this semester, I was extremely excited. That being said, after two years of anticipation, this class was so very worth the wait.

Coming into this class, I thought I knew a lot about telenovelas by virtue of being Mexican and having grown up with them in my house since I could remember. However, this class opened my eyes to worlds that I was entirely unaware of previously.

For example, I knew that in Mexico, telenovelas were a big deal and I'd heard about Televisa and the media giant that it was but I was completely unaware of giants like Globo in Brazil. I had no idea the level of production that goes into a Brazilian telenovela compared to a Mexican telenovela compared to a Turkish drama.

I didn't even think about the influence that stories from halfway around the world (in Turkey) could have on telenovelas back in Mexico or the United States or Columbia or Brazil. My favorite part of this class was learning about all the different types of serialized dramatic content we have available as consumers -- from Turkish dramas to Brazilian telenovelas to narconovelas to superseries -- this class has opened my eyes to worlds of content.

This class has also given me a way to think critically about each telenovela I encounter. By learning about things like telenovela production and the tensions that can exist between writers and producers and actors and the like I am able to watch things like the cliffhangers for Amar a Muerte and see where the tensions could exist.

Learning about consumption gave me an outlet for me to analyze how telenovela audiences breakdown and what they latch on most to in a telenovela -- in some it is the love story, in others it is the historical significance, and in others it is the star power of its protagonist. It is also really interesting to see how different audiences receive the same information.

Overall, this class has given me a multitude of tools that I can use as I continue to binge on telenovelas but also use as I move into the "real world" and use things the things I've learned about  how people consume television or how to use emotion effectively to connect with people in any campaigns I implement or any job I may have.