Telenovela Misconceptions
When thinking of a telenovela, the most common association is to refer to them as "Spanish Soap Operas." While to some extent Soap Operas and Telenovelas have much in common, Telenovelas do not have to be in Spanish, they are just commonly associated with the language. It is common that they are in Portuguese or Turkish!
Telenovelas and Soap Operas are both dramatic and intensely emotional love stories with lots of information to keep up with. Often, this is why they are confused for one another. Both telenovelas and soap operas have been successful in the television industry, it is important to note their difference!
Most differences between telenovelas and soap operas come in the structure. Telenovelas have a certain amount of episodes, which are established before airing. Every move is planned. On the other hand, soap operas do not have a limit to their episodes, and they are typically less structured in terms of broadcasting times and more flexible with the plot. For example, a telenovela may begin with the goal of 200 episodes, while a soap opera can go in with the mindset of having roughly 200 episodes, even though Soap Operas typically go on for years, which is much more than 200 episodes.
Additionally, soap operas may be broadcasted on real time. This means, if it is Christmas in the soap opera, it is Christmas time when it is being broadcasted. Telenovelas do not associate with real time, and it may even be wintertime in the novela when it is broadcasted in summertime. Telenovelas typically do not have a connection with the real world, in reference to time and even the characters, because characters do not portray the lives of the actors.
Another dominating misconception is that telenovelas are only popular in the Latin American world. While they are extremely common in Latin America, telenovelas have global reach including the United States and many African and Asian countries. Since there are also Turkish and Korean novelas, it is common for people to assume that the language that the novela is spoken in, will be the region in which it is popular. This is not the case. These dramas are loved and translated daily throughout the world.
Before starting this class it was also a misconception for me that telenovelas were just Spanish Soap Operas. After reading your post I have learned something new however! I knew there were differences between soap operas and telenovelas but I didn't know exactly what. I had never known that soap operas, for instance, had a plan on roughly how many shows they wanted. I don't watch many soap operas, but I had just assumed they kept making them until the cast/crew decided it was time to end it. To your next point about Soap Operas being operated on real time versus telenovelas being operated on their series time, I had never considered this. With all the shows I have watched, I have always known that there would be a halloween special, or a Christmas special, etc. However, what I have learned through this class about telenovelas is that they will portray whatever season they wish to be in, in order to best display their plot. Anyways, I hope you have a great rest of your semester and that you do well on your midterms/finals!
ReplyDeleteI personally think this misconception comes from the fact that as Americans our country has a history of taking over things may it be countries, groups of people, or in this case tv genres. I think a lot of people will think of telenovelas as Spanish soap operas because it is the closest thing e can relate it to in our scope of the world. For me personally my first soap opera experience was with "General Hospital". That show had twists and turns and used music to convey the emotion of a scene in the same way telenovelas do. For a person to get out of that mindset they need to expand what they watch and go out of their ay to not try to push their pre conceived notions onto something and let it speak for itself.
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