Telenovelas reflect the morals and values of their audience members. Given that telenovelas are extremely popular in Hispanic countries, the episodes encapsulate some of the most important values of the individuals watching, family orientated values. These shows provide a real sense of comfort for those who watch, not just to escape to a love fantasy. Despite what they might have going on in their lives, telenovelas give those an escape and an ability to connect with their morals through the show. Hispanics have strong family ties and make it a priority to spend quality time with their loved ones typically every single week. The producers of telenovelas realize this and make the characters in the show display the same appeals for family. Family is essential the backbone of telenovelas so much so that the networks of a majority of the telenovelas are owned by families and have been passed down from generation to generation. While love and drama hook any audience in, the importance of family gives any telenovela audience a sense of comfort. The stigma of telenovelas is that they are a Spanish soap opera with lust consumed characters living from one dramatic scandal to the next. While this might be true, the audience connects on a more authentic and deeper level. The overall premise is love and scandal, but family values are a huge draw for telenovelas viewers.
While most telenovelas are produced in the Americas, Turkey is on the steady rise in telenovela production. Turkish telenovelas have become increasingly popular around the globe surprisingly in parts around Latin America. Even though they are based in a completely different part of the world and the actors speak a completely different language, Turkish Telenovelas have become extremely popular with Spanish speaking audiences. While this might be initially surprising, both shows based in Turkey and in Latin America utilize the importance family. Even though there is a language barrier, Spanish speakers consume Turkish telenovelas because of the universal understood language of family.
While Telenovelas are about scandal and love in numerous different time periods/ settings, a majority of productions incorporate family values for their audience members to connect with the show on a more genuine level. Scandal and love provide the initial hook for members to watch each episode however, the characters embodying similar morals give audience members a real connection with the actual show. The scandal strung throughout the episodes gives audiences and artificial escape from reality but the characters in the show displaying the same morals and values of their audiences creates a very real connection with between the show and audience. Regardless of what the time period is or what language the characters are speaking, displayed family values are what truly connects audience members with telenovelas.
Hi Kyle! I like that you brought light to the importance of family in telenovelas. I like your statement "Even though there is a language barrier, Spanish speakers consume Turkish telenovelas because of the universal understood language of family." The way I see it, love is the universal language and families are full of and display love. Families also go through a lot of painful things such as pain and grief that are also universally understood. It also made me think of Mikaela Pérez and how she understands so many telenovelas with only knowing a little bit of the language. Emotions and feelings cannot be contained by a singular language which I think is really beautiful. I also like that you reference the morals and values of the characters and how those things are shared by the audience. It is easier for a person to identify with someone they can relate to, and these connections/ core parts of characters are a big part of what makes telenovelas so successful and what keeps the audience coming back each day.
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