Telenovelas, Culture & Society - Fall 2022

 A component of telenovela production I find fascinating is the aspect of the location. I will admit that I figured it out later than I probably should've how out-of-order things are actually filmed — that episodes aren't finished before future ones are started if they're in the right location. Geography is a huge consideration that I didn't necessarily take into account but that producers, directors, and crews have to think of first. Being an out-of-state student from a completely different region of the United States means that there's a lot about the state of Georgia that I don't necessarily know or have learned since coming here. Through my roommate Demi who is an EMST major I have learned a lot about the vibrancy of the film industry in Atlanta. Huge movies like some of the Avengers, Red Notice, Baby Driver, and Ride Along were filmed in Atlanta along with television shows like Cobra Kai, Stranger Things, and Ozark. That's not to say that they are set i...

When you think of telenovelas, you think of the drama, the protagonists, the stars, and the behind the scenes drama. But we never truly think of behind the scenes. We do not give credit to the teams that made the Telenovela possible in the first place. The production behind a single Telenovela seems quite large. You have to directors, producers, the writing Tim, floor manager, and so on. It can take up to two hours to get the perfect shot that would be used for the Telenovela. Learning about what truly happens behind the scenes to have a telenovela aired on television was an eye opener. I have grown-up watching telenovelas and had never taken into account the writing teams that have to make a script in advance and must be able to adjust the plot to fit the new drama between the actors or the audience's demands. It is an extensive process. Telenovela seasons can reach to be sixty episodes. The writing team must be able to keep the storyline going and continue to have cliffhangers at...

It’s impossible to talk about production in Maria La Del Barrio without mentioning the music that compliments its plot at every turn. Starting with the opening theme, Maria’s class difference and feminist attitudes are reflected as she is featured expressing that it is a great honor to be Maria La Del Barrio. She is depicted in the music video through her journey of rags to riches, while still maintaining her upbeat attitude and strong sense of self. The people from her home town are also shown throughout the opening theme, again highlighting Maria’s origin story, even after she is transformed in the video into the Cinderella beauty. The song is also used throughout the entire episode, implemented whenever a scene cuts to commercials or ends in a cliffhanger, as well as at the end of each episode. I found this especially effective in the episodes after Maria had her transformation, because 50 episodes in, it can be hard to remember what Maria even used to sound, look, or act like befo...

Cuando uno piense de las telenovelas, solo piensa en los personajes, la trama, el romance, etc, pero nunca piensa de la producción. Las telenovelas son una producción industrial como la mayoría de las cosas en este mundo, pero este proceso puede cambiar. Las telenovelas toman mucho tiempo para escribir, planar, filmar, y editar. También hay mucha gente involucrados en la producción. Lo que uno ve en la television  Para mí, cuando pienso en las telenovelas y otras series, no le doy importancia al proceso de producción porque siento que me va desilusionar. Muchos nos gustan pensar que los personajes y los actores son uno y él mismo porque nosotros, como público, queremos engañarnos. Queremos pensar que lo que vemos y lo que sentimos por los personajes en la novela son real. Pasarnos de los que vemos en la televisión es ver lo que no queremos saber. Los vídeos detrás de escena son muy comunes pero pueden contribuir al desilusión del público. Uno quiere oír que las actores se enamoraro...

 Learning about production in telenovelas was a very interesting experience. I feel like it is often downplayed by tv viewers, as people define telenovelas/soap operas as having lower quality production than tv shows. If anything, I believe this lesson actually taught me that production is almost more utilized in telenovelas than classic shows. An example is with the actor situation we discussed, a Hollywood set is much more likely to be manipulated by a lead actresses' wants than the telenovela was. They are more dependent and overall Hollywood actors have way more power in their area. Telenovelas are also very dependent on daily ratings and must have the ability to rapidly adjust if necessary, versus Hollywood shows that release weekly and usually have slow change, if any to their content regardless of ratings. Telenovela writers very much have to be writers for the people/fans, being aware of what others want, while also respecting their personal work enough to know when to stan...

Para empezar, una de las mayores luchas con la producción es mantener a los espectadores leales después de cambios drásticos. Parece que el paso del tiempo es un tema común en las telenovelas. Lo interesante es que El Clon es solo una season, aunque tiene 221 episodios. Sin embargo, salta dos décadas después cuando el clon de Lucas ya es adulto, y Lucas y Jade son mayores y están casados ​​y tienen hijos. Muchas otras telenovelas cambian sus actores por otros mayores si se mudan al futuro. Creo que mantener a los mismos miembros del elenco ayudó a mantener altas nivelas de audiencia porque la gente se apega mucho e invierte mucho en estos personajes. Deshacerse de los miembros del elenco y presentar dramáticamente a miembros mayores del elenco para interpretar a los personajes en el futuro probablemente habría causado una disminución en la audiencia porque, en cierto modo, es como comenzar una nueva telenovela con un nuevo elenco. Los espectadores quieren que las telenovelas sean cons...

Learning about telenovela production in class has been interesting, because, personally, I have never really known how any sort of television is produced. Seeing how many people are involved and the steps it takes to create just a single episode makes it shocking that traditional telenovelas end up consisting of over 100 episodes.   My biggest interest throughout learning about production is how seamlessly edited these series are by the time of airing. For example, the behind the scenes of Kara Para Aşk looked very underwhelming, but upon seeing the finished product, it looked incredible. The magic of editing is something that people seriously undermine.  Also, it’s crazy to me that episodes are filmed out of order. I always kind of knew that movies and shows weren’t filmed chronologically, but it is very impressive that actors and directors don’t get confused while filming different parts of the show out of order. I can’t even fault them for messing up sometimes (like differ...

Con nuestro discusión en clase sobre la producción de telenovelas, sentí más curiosidad por saber cuánto necesita realmente para producir continuamente muchos episodios de una telenovela. Telemundo es uno de las compañías de producción de telenovela más grandes del mundo, y mi investigación muestra que necesita un ejército literal de escritores, productores, directores, miembros de la tripulación, y actores para producir episodios a un ritmo tan rápido. La industria de la producción de telenovelas no es para aquellos que son fácilmente abrumados. El tipo de person que trabaja en la producción de telenovela es rápido, bueno bajo estrés, y capaz de realizar múltiples tareas. Especialmente para un escritor, que tiene que ser esta manera cuando se espera que genere 4-5 guiones en una semana.  Además, creo que es tan interesante cómo las telenovelas se producen tan rápidamente, con Telemundo completando alrededor de tres episodios en un día y teniendo 3 o 4 telenovelas en producción al ...

El fantasma de Elena ’s musical score is interesting because often, there are no actual lyrics. The instruments and the sound of the music itself is used to create mystery and suspense throughout the telenovela, as well as highlight romantic scenes that take place between the two main characters: Elena and Eduardo. Regarding the romantic relationship between Eduardo and Elena, it is interesting to note that many times, the telenovela’s romantic theme, which is played whenever Eduardo and Elena share a passionate kiss or other romantic scenes, is also played between scene transitions. Sometimes, it is used even if the scene prior to it had nothing to do with the two main characters. Subconsciously, this crossover between the main theme music and the romance scenes between the two main characters, keeps that romance at the main forefront of the show. Picking apart the music choice itself, Eduardo and Elena’s romantic theme music is very dramatic and intense. It has several parts during...

         A Favorita was João Emanuel Carneiro’s third project for Rede Globo and his first telenovela to air in the primetime slot. It was a creative, bold effort, in which viewers are introduced to two main characters who tell two competing accounts of the same murder. The audience is led to believe that either could be telling the truth, until the turning point – halfway through the story – in which we learn the truth via flashbacks.           Carneiro’s writing process began years before the telenovela was greenlit by Rede Globo. His original idea was to write an innovative piece without the classic telenovela female protagonist. In his early talks with the studio, the telenovela was renamed twice. Originally, the author intended to call it Karma or Final Judgment. However, the Rede Globo directors decided for A Favorita , which they believed would strengthen the idea of people siding with one of the main characters. Righ...

       In class last week we looked at a lot of behind-the-scenes pictures and videos of telenovela production. We got to see that in reality, a 30 second scene can take hours, and countless takes, to capture. The behind-the-scenes footage I remember from class the most was a scene being filmed of a man and woman in the bedroom where they're kissing and she's taking off her clothes. This footage resonated with me the most because the whole time I kept thinking, "how are they doing this, over and over, without catching real feelings for each other?"       In something like a narconovela or bionovela, I can understand how costars work together and keep things professional. When fake romance isn't involved, I could see actors filming their scenes cordially and then spending time on set as friends.      In the case of a telenovela with an epic love story or a very ~spicy~ plot line, I have a hard time understanding how th...

Since this blog has to be about production and I’m watching two versions of the same telenovela, I’m going to compare the production of the original Rubí and to the production of the new Rubí.  For some background: the original Rubí is from 2004 and has 114 episodes while the new one finished in 2020 and has 26 episodes. Both plots follow the life of the protagonist villain Rubí, keep many of the same characters, and maintain a very similar plotline. However, the differences in production start here.  I think the biggest difference in production is that the original Rubí casted an objectively more attractive cast. This is not just my option, but the option of many critics out there. Not only that, but the actors have more talent than the actors in the new version. Because of the attractiveness of the cast and their better acting, the original Rubí is more captivating than the newer one. However, since the original came out in 2004, there are some big differences in qualit...

Un aspecto de las telenovelas que he encontrado muy interesante desde el comienzo del semestre y que ha sido más elaborado a través de nuestra exploración del consumo, es la idea de diferentes calificaciones personales representativas de cómo nuestra experiencia de ver se ve impactada por nuestras propias experiencias de vida. La gente siente diferentes maneras sobre cada telenovela basadas en lo que han pasado en sus propias vidas. Consumimos telenovelas con nuestras emociones. Soy alguien que ha visto y experimentado mucho en mi vida con solo 22 años. Similar a las telenovelas a las que nos han presentado en clase, he estado en un triángulo amoroso, agredido sexualmente, atravesado por un largo despecho, experimentado incontables emociones a través de diversos encuentros románticos, tenido una crisis de identidad entonces gran transformación, han visto el mundo del narcotráfico, y en este punto, sentir como si hubiera vivido 10 vidas diferentes. Una cosa; sin embargo, eso realmente m...