This page will headline the cultural phenomenon known as Telenovelas or Spanish soap operas. We will read the history of how the Telenovela came to be, and the current discourse on telenovelas. We will then read at the different kinds of telenovelas.

WHAT ARE TELENOVELAS? HISTORY AND DECONSTRUCTION

            The word telenovela come from the Greek word tele meaning distance and novella meaning story. In 19^th and early 20^th century Latin America, novels such as Don Quixote, and Martin Fierro were printed in the newspaper each day so many people could read them. This was done in part because books were expensive and writers hoped people would create chapters to organize their books (Stavans 16). Now, fast forward to the 20^th century and the creation of the TV, the new main medium of communication which replaced newspapers and gave viewers televised books aka Soap operas. TV corporations, like Televisa and TV Globo decided to break programs up and show them on weekdays much like how the newspaper broke up novels and printed them daily. And so, the birth of the televised novel – the telenovela – happened! Now, I chose to look at two different perspectives on telenovelas – one from the perspective of a family working in the telenovela industry – Ilan Stavans, and the other from a scientific perspective – once again, Chris Barker.

            Ilan Stavans details the history of the telenovela in his book, Telenovelas. According to Stavans, television in general is seen “as the example as both the ultimate representative and the primary purveyor of a postmodern sensibility, the site of a self-reflexive mix of ahistorial pastiche and apolitical parody” (Stavans 6). Therefore, soap operas/telenovelas are primary sources of describing current society. Next, Stavans explains telenovela theory and production. His telenovela theory is based on cultural fronts or sociocultural representations. Stavans goes on to underscore the three primary concepts for cultural fronts: “the construction of symbolic commonalities between social agents and cultures; the creation and recreation of a set of different possible worlds; the enactment of symbolic struggles to define elementary human cultural elements within those possible worlds” (Stavans 68). Stavans states that these cultural fronts are what make telenovelas so addictive and intimate to its audiences. Next, Stavans talks about telenovela production in the graph below[1].

According to the graph, Stavans believes that 5 steps must be taking in producing a relevant soap opera. First, the soap must have a proposed audience. In order to do so, professional producers must conduct ethnographic studies to identify the feasibility of a storyline for a soap opera. Next, these professional producers must identify the relationships between the audience’s ideology and the ideological story of the soap opera – this is called production control. Afterwards, professional producers must conduct research and interviews into the history and information of the plots of the soap opera. At the same time, the professional producers must conduct research into the industry of the kind of soap operas they hope to create – this step is called organizational context. The, the professional producers must investigate how popular the themes of the soap opera are in popular entertainment – or finding the soap’s cultural field of production. Finally, professional producers match their soap opera with the world market to assess popularity overseas – this being called world market of television fiction. Stavans lists these 5 concepts as the steps necessary in telenovela production. Thus, every telenovela that is created – according to Stavans’ graph – is essentially a story taken from its respective audience. This idea also supports his concept of cultural fronts, as the production of a telenovela takes its story out of the culture of its audience (Stavans 93).

            The next view of telenovelas comes from Television Studies author Chris Barker in Global Television. Barker states that telenovelas form the core of Latin American television production and consumption, and that they are “a dominant genre in a way no single genre can claim to be in the entertainment programming of the US” (Barker 85). To Barker, telenovelas are a vehicle of consumer culture for the Spanish culture. He defines telenovelas as a melodramatic story with conflict and resolution. Specifically, Barker summarizes that telenovelas, “speak about a primordial society whose metaphor continues to be the thick, censored plot of the tightly woven fabric of family relationships; focusing on primordial feelings and passions in which tragic suffering predominates” (Barker 86). Therefore, the audience watches life through a series of subliminal metaphors. This effect is what makes telenovelas so deeply connected to people – basic morals outline each character and situation, like Barker states with the 3 cultural production fronts.

            Both writers then move on to the history and differences in telenovelas globally. According to Stavans and Barker, three countries produce the most telenovelas in the Latin world – Brazil, Mexico and Colombia (Barker 87; Stavans 120-5). Both maintain the position that the Brazilian telenovela is the heaviest meaning it always includes “everyday realism and national specificity into its format whereby the particularities of class, nation, gender and age emerge more into the routines and rhythms of everyday life” (Barker 88). Stevans states the Colombian telenovela lies in a “televised imagined community of the nation through specific images of itself and the sense of living the nation through simultaneous viewing” (Stavans 125). Since Mexico and the US produce and trade many telenovelas, cultural identities amongst the countries promote “a shared sense of Latino Diaspora” (Stavans 122). Barker then states that as the years have progressed and the export/import of telenovelas between Latin America and the US increased, we see a loss of characteristics revealing of one’s nation: “The internationalization of the telenovelas through its export to Portugal, Spain, Italy, Poland, and Japan furthered a progressive neutralization of the characteristics of Latin American-ness” (Barker 88). Therefore, Brazilian and Colombian telenovelas are losing their unique Latin-American-ness but are remaining unique due to their distance from the US. Mexican and US telenovelas are losing national specificity but are keep the prime themes of immigration and identity.

UNDERSTANDING TELENOVELAS AND HISTORY CONCLUSION

            As we have read, telenovelas are televised novels which offer a unique representation of society. This presentation is made possible through the theory and production of the telenovela. Telenovelas are cultural fronts which inject morals and popular culture into their storylines based on research from the production producers of the telenovela (Stavans). Next, telenovelas are created different in various parts of the Americas. In Brazil, telenovelas focus on realism and try to include controversial topic such as class, race, gender and nation to illicit a response from its audience (Barker). In Colombia, national specificity and the life of Colombians is illustrated to underscore the unique Colombian experience. In Mexico, telenovelas are losing their uniqueness as their proximity to the US is causing a shift in the Mexican telenovela. As my research is looking primarily at telenovelas and the creation of stereotypes in the US, I knew that an overview of telenovelas was essential to understanding their impact in the US. What we find is that universally, telenovelas continue to mimic and reinforce pre-existing personalities and thereby, stereotypes.