As an Indian American kid, I grew up watching so many Bollywood movies. These movies were dramatic love stories often with over the top song sequences after big plot points. I developed a love for exaggerated stories with plot twists and stereotypical character archetypes. My sister took Spanish in high school and would always talk to me about telenovelas and told me to watch Jane the Virgin. The crazy story with plot twists and an exaggerated love triangle made me love the show and honestly it's my favorite show even now. I know Jane the Virgin isn't a traditional telenovela but when I saw this class I knew I wanted to take it. I loved Spanish media in general and as basic as it sounds love shows and movies like Money Heist, The Platform, Invisible Guest, etc.
In the past few classes, we've started to delve into the cultural significance of telenovelas as well as story and character types. I've found it really interesting so far. I think analyzing media where people often overlook the deeper meaning is dope. As we've discussed actual novelas and the way they comment on society (Patria Mia), I've realized that this widespread form of television is so crucial to criticizing/analyzing societal events. Specifically, I thought it was interesting how Brazil novelas introduced different sexual orientations even using the stereotype to break it. I also related to our conversation on colorism within that society. India suffers a lot from colorism, casting only lighter skinned actresses, marketing products to make you fairer and generally perpetuating this idea that fair skin equals beauty. I think using media to break this standard is important and seeing a telenovela with a darker skinned lead was really cool (Gledys Ibarra). Majority of Hispanic audiences watch telenovelas and presenting social issues via entertainment can be really impactful.
I haven't watched a real telenovela before so my knowledge of these stories is pretty surface level to what we've discussed or trailers we've watched. However, I'm excited to watch one and experience such a pivotal form of media.
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