Like Nothing I've Ever Watched Before
I have never seen a show with so much storyline in the first episode. I'm used to the first episode being the pilot where we are simply introduced to the main characters, and maybe towards the end, there is some easy conflict that gets resolved before the credits. In my telenovela La casa de al lado that simply wasn't the case. The episode began on a high note with there being a wedding between the main female protagonist Ignacio and the main male protagonist Gonzalo. It is later revealed that this is Ignacio's second marriage, so it is a big deal that she was able to find happiness in Gonzalo to remarry. Without giving any spoilers the episode progresses and we see an affair, a death, and sibling rivalry. To my American eyes that are used to seeing one maybe two conflicts, an episode all of this came as such a huge shock to me. At the same time, I loved that I was shocked. It was like after every commercial break I was diving deeper and deeper into the story and it has me excited to watch more of the series in my free time.
There was something else about this telenovela that was like nothing I have ever seen before but in a more negative way. This would be the way wives are depicted in the show, in particular with the character Pilar. She is the neighbor to the main family of the show and a therapist, but her whole life seems to be controlled by her husband. Since I have been to class I was aware that telenovelas are backward in the way they perpetuate these stereotypes but it causes me great dismay to see how two dimensional this character was written, I've only seen the first episode so I still have hope, but I was just disappointed in the way the writers chose to make her overly dramatic and emotional and seen as inferior to her husband. There is this scene where her husband Javier is scolding Pilar like a child because he is constantly being called from work to deal with his son being bullied at school. While he is berating her she simply is just taking it because it is clear there is no mutual respect between the two. Pilar tries to speak and defend herself by asking him to talk about the issue later, but he is continuing to up her down and tells her what will be done without even having a real conversation. Again I'm not mad at the writer necessarily because this is what sells I just hope in someway Pilar will stand up for herself or her husband will grow to respect her,
I like the point you made about the portrayal of women in your telenovela being mostly subservient, because that was the exact issue I had with my telenovela, Pasión. The main character and most other female characters within the show are basically at the whims of all of the men, as it is the 18th century with all of the men owning property and having a lot of power. I hated how all the women could do was just beg and plead for their husbands to be merciful to them whenever there is a conflict, which I think is honestly just a difference in culture growing up partly in a hispanic household. In America nowadays, the portrayal of women in novelas would most likely be frowned upon most of the time; which has me thinking about some novelas that have gotten popular in America portraying strong women like in La Reina de Sur. From the writer's perspective, I suppose that since it was also the first episode in your novela, that it might be necessary for Pilar to have a bit of a vulnerable moment so that she can have development later on, similar to the characters in my novela. I also hope that my hunch is correct and that your favorite characters are able to shine later as you watch!
ReplyDeleteI like how you included both admiration and criticism for the telenovela you are watching. It accurately depicts how media can be both enjoyed and criticized at the same time. Your particular criticism of how the wife in the story is depicted as a doormat reflects the lesson we learned in class as well. Shows and movies will often reflect the societal or political state at the time of filming. A quick search shows that the telenovela you are watching was made in 2011. This can somewhat explain the reason why the women aren't portrayed as individual human beings. Society makes steps to change common place misogyny each day--the societal climate ten years ago would've been different than what we see today.
ReplyDeleteYour shock at the plot rich pilot episode also stood out, and is something amusing to someone who has watched dramas for a long time. It makes me wonder what shows you were watching--were they the typical weekly broadcast shows with 25 minutes to an episode, or did you watch any shows where each episode lasted about an hour? I feel as though the time length of shows may be a reason for the depth in plot.