Finally; the World Cup

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    The timing is perfect for this final blogpost and my telenovela coinciding with real life events. As the World Cup group stage nears its end, we have witnessed passion for peoples' nations that can only truly be experienced at the World Cup. The Olympics don't even instill this much nationalism anymore, yet the World Cup brings everyone together from all over the world to connect more than ever. This is ironic especially this year as the World Cup has unified many countries to speak out against the host, Qatar. 

    The main connection to my telenovela I've witnessed, however, is the true intense passion that the game brings to players for the country. In my telenovela, the main players constantly emphasize their need to play for the Colombian international team. They care about playing soccer, but more than anything they strive for the chance to represent their country; the greatest honor there is.

Who will win World Cup 2022? Updated odds for country to finish top in Qatar | Sporting News

    My telenovela is defined as a bionovela; telling the stories of real people, however those are not the only real world story depicted. We also see the story of the worlds' soccer players pushing through various trials and tasks to merely obtain the honor of getting to play the sport for their nation. 

    We learned how telenovelas can teach more than appears, and this one really showed what kind of greatness comes from loving ones country, not ignorant of its faults, but acknowledging those faults, whilst still being a proud citizen of it.

    I've also noticed musical similarities as the World Cup plays riffs in between games that represent a form of music in Qatar, much as my telenovela plays riffs that are inspired by Colombian music. Watching my telenovela and its games and drama has been like a World Cup of its own, and vice versa. 

    Both telenovelas and the World Cup are filled with representation, they are defined by the diversity and spread of people involved in them. The two are massively consumed, jointly battling for people's time. Especially this World Cup has experienced harsher regulations than usual and censorship has existed in telenovelas around the world as well. It is intriguing just how much the two truly resemble each other. 

    Overall, I've felt the fear and emotion and passion watching the World Cup that telenovelas bring. The power of the two is shown in La Selección, and it utilizes peoples' mutual passion for telenovelas and soccer to bring out intense emotions from them. Much as I desperately need Mexico to succeed in the World Cup, I really found myself needing the telenovela's characters to succeed in their careers working toward the Colombian selección.

Comments

  1. Marillyn HeiglNovember 29, 2022 at 10:05 PM

    I absolutely love that the World Cup is overlapping with your telenovela, that must be so cool to watch reality connect with the fiction you've been watching. Your comment about this being more than just soccer and being the chance to represent their country is very true. But that's not always a positive thing. I was instantly reminded of the clip of the Iranian reporter's question to the captain of the US men's soccer team about representing a country as a black man that has been oppressive (and continues to be) toward black people. I was shocked to hear such a blunt question asked to him and connects to what you mentioned.

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  2. Alexa ConnollyNovember 29, 2022 at 10:40 PM

    This was such a cool blog post to read. I would have never noticed the similarities between the World Cup and telenovelas without reading this post. Despite the fact that your telenovela was also about soccer, you made strong and valid points for similarities between the World Cup and telenovelas as a whole, which was really cool to realize. I agree with Marillyn that it must be so exciting to watch this years World Cup connect to your telenovela from the semester. When you find a way to make something you're watching more personal, it's so much more enjoyable. And most importantly, I hope Mexico wins, too!

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  3. Daniella BustosNovember 30, 2022 at 11:58 AM

    Caleb, it is so cool that everything has coincided to culminate perfectly with the World Cup. I grew up hearing stories about El Pibe and watching this series and it’s cool to see his legacy even transcend today, when he is still being featured in World Cup ads and commercials. It is amazing to see that over 20 years later, the same magic and unity that is encapsulated in your novela is more alive than ever in the soccer scene. Futbol really does bring the whole world together!

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