It is one thing to hear your teacher say something, but actually understanding and believing it is another. When Dr. A told us that “no one is immune to telenovelas,” I thought I knew what she meant. I assumed she was explaining how everyone likes telenovelas and they have an international reach. Now that I am a little further into watching my telenovela, “La Reina del Sur,” I understand that she meant that the grasp, the impact and the messages through the themes affect everybody; no one is immune.
One of the huge takeaways that has impacted me from the telenovela is experiencing that language barriers are extremely real. I was born in and have lived between Kentucky and Georgia, and I was raised by a completely English-speaking family. This upbringing has not involved many language barriers. When I first started watching my telenovela, I thought I would not have any trouble language wise. I speak and read Spanish well, and can hold a conversation easily. However, the task proved itself to be much harder than I anticipated.
Watching “La Reina del Sur” is not anything like watching a series that I have watched before; it requires more attention and concentration than I am used to. I started watching without English subtitles. I assumed that because I am proficient enough in Spanish, I would be able to follow. While I do think I would be able to follow the plot without knowing every word, I am too curious to not know every conversation. After I turned on subtitles I could understand everything happening, but it still was nothing like watching a show spoken in your native language. In order to understand every word spoken I had to read the subtitles, which also meant I had to pay attention to the episodes more. Normally when I watch something, I am doing homework or sending emails during it. I never realized how much different watching something in a language I am not completely fluent in would be, and I have never really experienced a language barrier like this.
I have travelled outside of the US, but have always been in areas where many speak English or have been with someone able to translate. I know this is not what life looks like for a lot of people in the US or anywhere else where their native language is not predominantly spoken. Even a small experience like this telenovela not being in English has made me realize and think about how much more difficult everyday situations can be for those with this language barrier, and how much attention even small things like a show require.
Another thing I have really taken note of while watching “La Reina del Sur” are the classic telenovela beauty standards. In class, Dr. A touched on how crazy it can feel to be rooting for Teresa Mendoza, someone who is doing highly illegal things every single episode. While I was thinking about why this could be, one explanation I could not ignore were the beauty standards she fit into. Teresa Mendoza is a classically beautiful telenovela protagonist; she is physically fit, has a pretty face and dark, long hair and sharp features. We talked in class a lot about Venezuelan beauty standards and the typical telenovela stars. In Dr. A’s article “Beauty queens, machistas and street children,” she touches on the unrealistic obsession with the perfection of physical features in Venezuela. While especially troublesome in Venezuela, this attitude is present in much of telenovelas’ audiences.
It is hard to imagine Teresa Mendoza as someone not considered beautiful by telenovela standards. If Teresa had been overweight with wrinkles and acne, I think it is impossible that she would have been so readily accepted by viewers despite her criminality. Her looks give her leeway for her actions, and, in my opinion, makes the audience like her so much more. In telenovelas like “Yo soy Betty, la fea,” the main character is not conventionally beautiful at first, but everything else about her is incredibly enticing to make the audience attached. I truly think if Teresa Mendoza was not as conventionally beautiful as she appears, the audience’s relationship with her, and therefore the entire telenovela, would be completely different.
In class we discuss how dreams are key ingredients to telenovelas; people do not want to watch their reality. In “La Reina del Sur,” Teresa Mendoza is a stereotypically beautiful and desired woman who has a life of action and thrill, something most people will never have. Honestly, I have not reached the feeling of being hooked on my telenovela yet. It is much more time and energy consuming than my usual lighthearted shows, and I have to pay much more attention. However, I do think I will begin to feel addicted to it soon because of the density of the plot and characters. Unlike other things I have watched, telenovelas are a break from reality, something that makes the language barriers unimportant. Telenovelas, for this reason, are able to go beyond borders and reach across cultures. The extra attention when watching them only furthers the break from reality that telenovela viewers crave from their time spent watching it. Just like Dr. A said, no one is immune to this. Teresa Mendoza lives a life I will never even come close to, and that is precisely what makes the series so incredibly appealing.
Hi Elizabeth!
ReplyDeleteThis post was very thoughtful and insightful. I can relate to you when you said that you usually send emails or do homework when you watch TV, but when it comes to telenovelas, you want to be able to capture every conversation. But on top of that, I really resonated with what you said about conventional beauty standards that are present in telenovelas. I've often found myself thinking during class "How would the telenovela be different if the main female protagonist or supporting character was not this beautiful?" Will there be a time when that standard is dethroned? Will there be a time when normal beautiful standards are the new norm? Maybe not anytime soon, but I think that is a cool concept to think about. Would it make the telenovela less interesting? I personally don't think so.