COLUMN: The growing presence of Telenovelas
Brazilian scholar Antonio La Pastina will visit USU Friday to give a talk on Brazilian telenovelas (soap operas). The talk is hosted by the department of languages, philosophy, and speech communication and the Latin American studies minor program. La Pastina is an associate professor at Texas A&M.
Titled “Watching telenovelas in Brazil: What we know so far,” La Pastina’s talk represents a unique opportunity for those interested in Brazil to reflect on the central presence of the telenovela in Brazilian culture and society. In this regard, the scholar Maria Immacolata Lopes contends that “nowadays, to speak of culture in Brazil is to speak necessarily about the ‘Brazilian telenovela.'”
It is no surprise that telenovelas are an integral part of the national culture given that Brazilians (this author included) have been born with telenovelas as part of their everyday life. The scholar Thomas Tufte goes as far to say that in Brazil, telenovelas have “a popularity, a presence and an influence on everyday life, that must be difficult to find likewise any other place in the world.” Truth is, the telenovela is one of the most popular television genres in the world. In 2002, the global telenovela industry was estimated to be worth more than $2.5 billion. This industry is largely centered in Latin America, especially in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and Argentina.
But what is a telenovela?
La Pastina gives this definition: “The telenovela is a form of melodramatic serialized fiction produced and aired in most Latin American countries. These programs have traditionally been compared to English language soap operas and even though the two genres share some characteristics and similar roots, the telenovela in the last three decades has evolved into a genre with its own unique characteristics. For example, telenovelas in most Latin American countries are aired in prime-time six days a week, attract a broad audience across age and gender lines, and command the highest advertising rates. They last about six months and come to a climactic close.”
Of course, not all telenovelas are created equal. Distinct variations exist from country to country. Brazilian telenovelas, considered to be among the finest in Latin America, are more realistic as well as aesthetically and politically sophisticated. They make pointed references to current political events, have complex story lines, use luxurious settings and location shootings, and are notorious for the display of nudity.
By comparison, Mexican telenovelas are reputedly more “weepy” and old-fashioned than are their Brazilian counterparts. The Argentine, Venezuelan, Peruvian, and Colombian telenovelas lie between these two extremes. The variations are open-ended, both within and across countries.
Scholar Ana M. López notes, however, that while still visible, these national styles began to blur in the late 1980s. This is particularly true for telenovelas co-produced by two or more Latin American countries, which tend to minimize elements of local color, particularly local accents and expressions. They do so by making no direct references to a particular country (or, for that matter, a specific city), and by using multinational casts. The latter strategy has become the norm in Spanish-language telenovelas produced in the U.S. by both Univisión and Telemundo, which are the two main Spanish-language television networks in the country.
Although primarily produced for the domestic market, Latin American telenovelas have been exported to Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the U.S. since at least the late 1970s. Their worldwide success suggests that they are no longer only a Latin American phenomena, but rather a major global commercial force with extraordinary social and cultural importance.
Scholars who study the consumption of Spanish-language telenovelas in the U.S. suggest that these telenovelas preserve Latin American cultures for those who lived in them and also disseminate those cultures to second- and third-generation Latinos and Latinas in the U.S. Be they recién llegados or core bilingual “born again” U.S. Latinos and Latinas, they experience telenovelas as the source of many of their collective memories and shared experiences.
Latin American telenovelas can be viewed on several Spanish-language cable and satellite networks. Due to language differences, Brazilian telenovelas – except for those broadcast directly via satellite by Globo TV International – are dubbed into Spanish before they air in the U.S.
In concluding, one may say that since its inception 50 years ago, the telenovela has traveled around the globe, crossed geographical and political borders as well as socioeconomic classes, endured economic crises, and even suffered reversals of fortune (such as in Cuba, Puerto Rico and Ecuador) while showing no signs of imminent death or extinction as a worldwide popular genre. Latin American continues to produce and distribute the greatest number of telenovelas, although telenovela production is no longer limited to that region. As a matter of fact, telenovelas made in the U.S. have also enjoyed enormous success in Latin America.
It is widely believed that if telenovela production in the U.S. continues at the current pace, the flow of distribution of telenovelas, which has traditionally been from South to North, might begin to shift the other way. Maybe. Maybe not. Only time will tell. Meanwhile, you are invited to learn more about Brazilian telenovelas at La Pastina’s talk Sept. 17 at 2:30 p.m. at the Business Building, room 319.
Cacilda Rego is an associate professor of Portuguese