A case of global love : telenovelas in transnational times
Abstract
This dissertation presents a case study of the current globalization
process affecting most productive activities in the world today, including the
cultural industries. Specifically, it studies how telenovelas, which constitute
the most popular television genre in Latin America, may have been affected
by their own recent success in the transnational realm. Telenovelas
successfully combine the creation of a national product that satisfies the
internal demand and is also marketable abroad. Because of their tremendous
popularity with domestic audiences, telenovelas also serve as a cultural forum
for social discourse in many countries. After an appropriate contextualization
of these programs within the regional television industry, the central issue
guiding the study emerges: given the current export orientation of Latin
American cultural producers, are the pressures to increase the global appeal
of this genre having an effect on its contents? If so, what is then likely to
happen to telenovelas in their capacity as a cultural forum for social discourse?
That is precisely what this study investigates: whether the pressures for
increasing the transnational marketability of the most popular cultural
product ever in Latin America are likely to significantly affect its contents
and, if so, in what ways. Of special interest is the question of whether the
treatment of social issues specifically relevant to the country where a
particular telenovela is being produced is likely to diminish, or whether the
local flavor of the narrative will be downplayed or watered down. The
arguments presented in the dissertation are informed by a careful
consideration of the pertinent literature, as well as by interviews with
telenovela producers, distributors, and programmers. In addition, a number of
currently produced telenovelas are reviewed in order to complement and
enrich the findings yielded by the interviews. Given that these television
programs are widely consumed throughout Latin America, it becomes
particularly relevant to learn about the consequences of their own
globalization. In doing so, I hope to contribute in a small but tangible way to
the ripening process of globalization as a social science concept.
Department
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