Honors Thesis Archive

AuthorSarah Webb
TitleOne Step Forward, Two Steps Backward: A Critique of Traditional Telenovelas
DepartmentSpanish
AdvisorsDr. Michael Mattison, Dr. Ruth Hoff, Prof. D'Arcy Fallon, and Dr. Sheree Henlon
Year2016
HonorsUniversity Honors
Full TextView Thesis (228 KB)
AbstractThis study focuses on traditional telenovelas and also how they act as cultural touchstones by looking at social issues in Latin American society. Telenovelas differ from their American counterparts, soap-operas; soap-operas are aimed towards female audiences, whereas telenovelas are produced for a family audience. Traditional telenovelas are known for their definitive happy endings and their focus on real-life problems, heterosexual relationships, and stereotypical gender roles. Though telenovelas typically focus on real-life issues, the shows use elements of escapism in order to escape other harsh realities of life. This is accomplished by filming in fancy or exotic locations or by casting appealing actors, but it opens the doors for viewers to bring up social issues in an accessible manner. Traditional telenovelas use techniques such as exaggeration in situations, character traits and appearances. Therefore, things such as high-speed chases, murder, corruption, etc. are exaggerated more than they would be in real life and things such as the amount of makeup a woman wears or the type of clothing she has, characterize where the character stands in their society. Telenovelas, such as La Reina del Sur, focus on reinforcing the traditional telenovela ideas of machismo and marianismo—mainly through stereotypical gender roles and what would be considered the societal norms (that men are dominant and women are to be nurturing and dependent on men). La Reina del Sur, uses elements from the traditional telenovelas but occasionally flips them to guide the series. La Reina del Sur, is a telenovela based on Arturo Perez-Reverte's bestseller and has been categorized as a "serialized crime drama," which focuses on the life of the main character, Teresa Mendoza. In La Reina del Sur, Teresa's willingness to not be the damsel in distress, put a twist on what traditional telenovelas represented. Throughout the telenovela, Teresa helps the drug cartel, while also starting a new relationship after the death of her two past lovers. In the end, Teresa becomes pregnant and has no man to support her, which goes against society's norms of women depending on men. This is known as telenovela de ruptura, which captures elements that the traditional telenovela wouldn't and shows a more realistic view of real life issues. Though La Reina del Sur embraces both the traditional telenovela and telenovela de ruptura, Teresa is allowed to follow the non-marianismo qualities but is forced back into the marianismo role by fulfilling her duty of becoming a mother.

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