The bang bang of the gavel from Law and Order  was the only distinct memory I have of watching television growing up, and the closest I have ever been (but still not even close) to watching a telenovela. My family is extremely southern, and with that I was not exposed to the different cultures of the world. I have always known somewhat of the composition of a telenovela- drama, romance, and shock. I may or may not have gained this information from the American remake of Jane the Virgin, specifically from Jane’s long lost father Rogelio who was a famous telenovela actor. With my lack of premeditated knowledge of telenovela tv culture, I was shocked to learn of how much this industry impacts popular culture. Not to mention how huge and widespread the telenovela industry is. For example Televisa, one of the largest producers of telenovelas worldwide, is worth around 4 billion dollars. My preconceived notions regarding telenovelas were that they were just foreign versions of the American soap opera. Yes, there are some telenovelas that are made with a low budget, but I was delighted to learn of the complexity and time that these producers put into making these shows so enticing to their audiences. I now have fallen into the rabbit hole of binge watching these programs. 

When one thinks of a soap opera, they think of the stereotypical love stories between a man and a woman. As we talked about in class, there is usually an evil mother in law or antagonist trying to break up the couple. That same old story that drew me to immediately turn off the television every time one came on. Not to mention the poor acting. I consider myself a snob for cinema. Every year I watch all of the Academy Award nominated pictures to decide for myself which movie should win. Being in this class has taken me into a deep dive of telenovelas and I have gotten to see how they have evolved to take on serious issues like race or sexual orientation and bring those into light across Latin America. There is a telenovela out there for everyone- whether you like to stick to the corny love stories or prefer the more complex and radical. I have found my place on the telenovela spectrum, and so can you. The drama excites, and although they are vastly different from my usual picks on Netflix (Stranger Things and Ragnarok), I can safely say that these telenovelas keep me just as engaged. I am glad that I was wrong. Never judge a book by its cover.