Telenovelas:
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| (the one on the left btw...) |
An exploratory experience
by: Kayla Matthews
To be quite honest, I have always been the type of person who likes a wide variety of media when it comes to entertainment. Typically I do not care what language it is in or how long it is if I really enjoy the subject! I had previously believed Telenovelas to just be one genre, one plot line and one type of ending almost like that of a Hallmark movie (no offense though seriously!) But as of a few days ago I realize how blind I've been to not have seen this wide variety of shows! Telenovelas are so soooo diverse and I am very excited to learn more about the many intricacies and cultural phenomenons surrounding their production and subsequent creation!
So after learning about the ocean of variety of these telenovelas, I decided to consult a new friend of mine who has watched telenovelas her whole life and I asked her to give me some much needed recommendations and this is what she had to offer................
and luckily her suggestions are mostly all the ones we went over in class!!
"Okay so I have some pretty solid recommendations thus far, but what genre would I most appreciate?"
That's the question I keep coming back to and asking myself in order to make this an enjoyable experience.
But before I just dove in head first, I decided to take a step back at all my favorite shows, movies and books to see which genre we discussed fits my personal niche. To gain this insight I basically just went to my notes app where I write down all the shows I've watched throughout the years and garnered a pretty solid answer to the previously stated question.
and the answer is --drum roll please--
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
A-pretty-solid-mix-of-romance-crime-and-fantasy!!!!
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Yes, admittedly this is very baseline and there are thousands of telenovelas that could fall into any one of these categories but looking back and analyzing all the other typologies that were mentioned in our class discussion like *insert compiled list here↓*
Age Group: For Kids and For Teens/Young Adults
Time of Story Setting: Contemporary and Period Piece
Tone: Humorous, Suspense, Thriller etc.
Subgenres: narconovelas, bionovelas/biomusicals etc
I remember during our in-class conversation, the topic of De Ruptura/Realist style telenovelas didn't really peak my interest with their framework typically being hard-hitting realistic fiction in which the storyline has some sort of nonfictional human/societal/political issue that creeps it's way into the spotlight of actual fiction. To me this type of work is good for using media platforms to raise awareness for certain issues whilst still be able to maintain that aura of fiction, but for me I'd rather watch a show that brings me joy rather than one that makes me feel depressed about life.
Although from our discussions, I learned that not all traditional telenovelas fit in their general descriptions either, which in itself is quite intriguing. Quite frankly the idea that writers of these series can sometimes utilize the "overused" tropes that are common in traditional telenovelas like the "Romeo&Juliet" scenario and combine them with others like "Switched at Birth" and then add in some dramatic plot twists leaving you with a sort of franken-genre telenovela, is amazing. I would actually love to try and see if they are any of these type of mixed-trope telenovelas out there!
Overall my first introduction into the world of telenovelas was very exciting! I learned a lot about all the styles and genres and how dynamic they can be. Thanks for coming to my TED talk I guess!
Let me know some of your guy's favorites so that I can work on finding........
--cue final dramatic drumroll--
........................................ THE PERFECT TELENOVELA SERIES TO POSSIBLY REWATCH FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE >:0
TPTSTPRFTROML for short...
later haters
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