Blog Post #2 by Alexis Farmer

 Something that has recently stood out to me in class is the topic of education through telenovelas. Sometimes, writers add a twist such as sickness, cancer, or a death for no reason other than to add drama, while other times they add this twist in order to educate the audience. Viewers are so captivated by the characters and their stories that they become invested and care about these people as if they were actually their friend. I think it is brilliant for the writers to take advantage of the situation and educate their audience on topics that truly matter.

            The topic that specifically stuck out to me was in the telenovela, Ciudad Bendita, written by Leonardo Padrón, that showed the degenerative cognitive disease, Alzheimer’s. The character remembered an old friend but could not remember her own son, which shows how destructive and confusing the disease is for both the victim and the family members.

            This story hit me in the heart as I recently watched my grandma suffer through Alzheimer’s disease for three years. A painful moment was when she did not know if I was myself or my sister. The disease shows no mercy. It’s so hard to watch someone you love forget who you are, and the telenovela scene we watched in class demonstrated this perfectly. The character with Alzheimer’s disease got her kids' names tattooed on her arm so that she could remember them, and that reminded me of how my grandma put up a lot more pictures of her kids and grandkids around the house when she found out she had the disease in hopes that it would help her remember longer.

            The scene in Ciudad Bendita also stuck out to me because music was able to bring the mom back to her son. The song helped her to remember who he was, and this technique is often used by family members of those with dementia. Studies have shown that playing music for those with Alzheimer’s can help to reduce their stress and anxiety and potentially even help them remember. In my experience, music helped to calm my grandma’s nerves during the hard times, and I believe showing this mechanism on national television through Ciudad Bendita helped many people in similar situations who might not have known what to do.

            Not only did the show accurately educate people on ways to cope or help someone deal with Alzheimer’s disease, but it also accurately displayed the emotions that so many people go through when dealing with this disease. The scene we watched brought tears to my eyes and was painful, as I could personally identify with the son and could see my grandma in the affected character. I know I am not the only one who was incredibly moved by this scene, so the show offered both education and comfort to its audience. Those who have never known about the disease learn a lot, and those who are personally impacted by it can be grateful in knowing that they are not alone or misunderstood. I am so thankful that Ladrón took the opportunity to show the reality of Alzheimer’s disease through his telenovela. It meant a lot to me and so many others. I am excited to learn about more telenovelas, their writers, and the educational approaches they take in creating their works. The impact these writers have on their audience is humongous, so choosing to add an issue to their story to educate is so admirable.