With telenovelas being such a popular television genre, globalization within the industry has been occurring more and more in recent years. They have been developed in many different countries, and the United States has had its fair share of telenovela remakes. ‘Jane the Virgin’ is a specific example of a US telenovela series that has been extremely successful, and it is based entirely on the telenovela ‘Juana la virgen’. ‘Jane the Virgin’ has been on the streaming site Netflix for many years, which has helped it get so many viewers and gain so much popularity.
While ‘Jane the Virgin’ is an extremely Americanized version of a telenovela and isn’t necessarily classified as actually fitting into the genre, it does fulfill many of the stereotypical telenovela requirements. For starters, the main couple, Jane and Rafael, are two very attractive individuals who are seemingly destined to be with one another from the very start. Rafael is an extremely wealthy man who is constantly intertwined with trouble. Jane is a hard-working woman, who becomes a third-generation single mother when she accidentally gets pregnant with Rafael’s child. Throughout 100 episodes of the show, their relationship experiences twists, turns, and everything in between. I, along with many others, got completely attached to the story of Jane and Rafael. The show is highly intriguing and is what made me love the concept of telenovelas.
I didn’t grow up in a household that watched telenovelas, and ‘Jane the Virgin’ had been my only experience with the genre before taking this class. To somebody who had never seen one before, 'Jane the Virgin' was certainly a good introduction to ease me in. I can confidently say that between the shows we have explored in class, ‘Jane the Virgin’, and the show “The Mafia Dolls” that I have been watching on my own time, I have gotten completely hooked on the genre. The constant confusion viewers go through while watching the series allows for the attachment, and they are such fun shows to get addicted to.
My first introduction to telenovelas was also through Jane the Virgin. As you said, it is not really a traditional telenovela, but it does do a good job of introducing American audiences to telenovelas and the world that comes with them. I think that it was a great step to produce Jane the Virgin on such a mainstream television network such as the CW. I don't think that many Americans had received any introduction to the genre prior to watching JTV. It definitely introduced many people to the broader genre of telenovelas, as it was such a beloved show by many. I think that many Americans will be exploring telenovelas as a result of JTV. I know that is a main reason I took this FYOS!
ReplyDeleteWhat I find peculiar is how most in the United States haven't become more interested in Telenovelas in general. From what I've noticed in our lectures, many countries worldwide have had a large interest in telenovelas for the past few years, even duplicating some completely. It's surprising that Jane the Virgin is the first telenovela that millions of US citizens have watched, considering how popular romance stories are. I believe that this is partially due to movies being the largest part of pop culture, causing a traditional approach to how people watch their programs. Nevertheless, I hope to see Americans in a few years begin to dive into this amazing genre because I could see many people enjoying watching them in bulk.
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