Disclaiming with Distinction

Points of Interest:

• This blog has been created with the express intention of fulfilling the requirements of FLCC's Spanish 102-01 Spring Semester 10 o'clock class's final project
• All sources used are listed at the bottom of the page in MLA format for the viewing of any interested.
• Any graphics used on this blog were acquired via an internet search engine unless explicitly stated other wise
• By end of class period on the 15th of May, 2015 it is unlikely that I will have any further updates for this source, but not impossible

Now that that official sounding content that I feel is required for something based in academics is finished, I can loosen the reigns so to speak.  After all, we aren't discussing some solemn topic of history or sociology, we're talking about DRAMA!

It is hardly fun to talk about Drama in any solemn sort of way.  When I planned out this project I decided on this topic because I was ignorant.  I had over course heard of the "Spanish Soap Operas" and how crazy they are, but I didn't have any actual understanding of what they are.  With the goal of acquiring further understanding in mind, I began this journey that leads to where we are now.  Is this the end of the journey? maybe, maybe not, all I know is that it has been informative so far, and my goal is to share it with you.

The Origin of the Genre

As I researched the origin of the genre I came to the conclusion that many people seem to disagree.  I will discuss some of these ideas near the end of this post, but first, I figured it would be prudent to display some of the facts that seem to be relatively universally accepted:

• Soap Operas (and I'm almost certain Telenovelas as well) originated in the 1930s as 15-minute segment radio shows sponsored by different companies (the title Soap Opera comes from the fact that many of these shows were sponsored by Proctor & Gamble a company that produced cleaning products, hence the "Soap" portion.))
• It seems wildly accepted that Soaps and Telenovelas share a common ancestor in the serial newspaper stories of France.
• With the standardization of television Soap Operas and Telenovelas breached outwards in the 1950s to include television showtimes originally in 30-minute segments and later in hour long segments.  
• The 1950s period showed Soaps and Telenovelas geared towards housewives, and existed in the daytime block which saw little other action.
• By the 1970s however, the genres saw a shift in content and show time.  The shows were pushed into prime time slots and began addressing more controversial topics like "deception, incest, murder, and adultery." 

These are all seemingly agreeable facts, but some sources provide a more interesting picture. These sources say that the genres originated from enterprises desire to reach consumers, but they state that Soaps and Telenovelas differ because of the way it was handled in the different societies. In America sponsor companies got a large amount of control over how the show would run, but in Latin America the power lay with the producers. This meant that the pieces could be much more culturally aware since the producer could choose what writing to use for each piece. These sources also state that Telenovelas placement in prime time slots is what ended up giving them their format differences from Soap Operas, thus making them a more cultural product, full of melodrama.

Let me make a brief statement on the topic of melodrama. Martin-Barbero's research into Latin American television showed that melodrama is a central reason for the appeal of telenovelas. Melodrama "makes it possible for the urban masses to appropriate modernity without abandoning their oral culture." This does not however, make it a homogeneous form. Different countries have distinct differences in the style of their melodrama. Mexican telenovelas for example are often the most dramatic, while Brazilian telenovelas use it to portray the "realism of the society instead of the individual." [Barrera & Bielby 5] The success and popularity of telenovelas in Latin America are due to the narrative format that articulates the cultural image of the people.

The Epitome of Fine Film

And here we have a wonderful example of a Telenovela (kappa).  While this is actually a "fan made piece" it is still entertaining, and provides a glance at what I believe to be a gentle mockery of the over-dramatization of events in Telenovelas.  It is also almost completely understandable with a minimal educational foray into the Spanish language.

On the Brain?

As I was reading I came across the idea, which I am almost certain is personal opinion only, and quite possibly conjecture, that Telenovelas are superior to Soap Operas due to the fact that they have much better theme songs and intros.  I thought about this and couldn't come to an informed decision either way, but I am easily able to acknowledge that Telenovelas do in fact have interesting theme songs.  This is the theme song from a Telenovela entitled "Carita de Ángel."  The original author of the idea seemed to think that these themes were far catchier than those of American Soaps, either way, this theme is quite pleasing to listen to.  Do Telenovelas have more interesting themes? and if so, do these themes cause them to stick better with us and influence their popularity and success? 

What Makes You So Special?

Telenovelas and Soap Operas are very similar in some ways, and in others, drastically different in many others.  It is almost a misnomer to even compare the two entertainment types, but since they are so often compared, going as far as calling Telenovelas the "Mexican Soap Operas," it is important to understand where that comes from.

Let us start with the similarities.  Telenovelas and Soap Operas share a common origin, but that is discussed in some manner of detail at another time.  They both are also defined by their over-dramatic style.  When we think of Soap Operas, and by extension in most cases Telenovelas, we think of extreme drama in between somewhat ridiculous characters that are easy to grow attached to.  Aside from the origin and the overall tone, the two types of entertainment are quite different.  One of the largest differences between the two is the format of the shows themselves.  American Soap Operas are notorious for having never-ending drama, the seasons ending in cliffhangers that tie over until the next season.  Examples of this exist in the form of the top three longest running soap operas "Guiding Light" (having more than 15,000 episodes aired between 1952  through 2009), "As the World Turns" (more than 13,000 episodes from 1956 to 2010), and the still running "General Hospital" (which started in 1963).  Telenovelas on the other hand have a set ending point, so, when the story-line is concluded, the series comes to an end.  You could debate as to whether or not the obvious difference in length is a major reason for the decline in Soap Opera popularity when compared to Telenovelas, but that isn't for this post.  

During my research I've concluded that the overall budget of Telenovelas vs. that of Soap Operas is a pseudo disputed topic, and I decided to take my information from one source that seemed to agree with the somewhat general consensus of my overall findings.  Now, without further unneeded blabbering, let's get to it: According to this source “American prime-time scripted dramas, ... can cost as much as $3 million an episode,” while Telenovelas can cost as little as as $30,000 per episode. [Ordoñez] While these numbers may be wrong and/or outdated, I believe that they do provide a general idea for the difference in budget that Telenovelas have when compared to Soap Operas.  It would make sense that this would effect how Telenovelas are crafted in comparison to large Prime Time Dramas.  

It should also be stated that Telenovelas are typically more diverse in content than their Soap Opera cousins.  Soap Operas are typically quite similar in content, lots of family drama in a city or small town, etc... (General Hospital being a recent deviation from this), but Telenovelas are quite different is scope.  They are addressed to all different ages groups, cover all sorts of topics from the typical workplace drama to historical seated dramas, and have a large viewing outside of their country of origin, to name just a few reasons.

Maybe it is a combination of the above mentioned facts, maybe something else entirely, but, as it stands, the difference between Telenovelas and Soap Opera viewership in the United States is increasing drastically.  According to Nielsen data, Telenovelas have “5.6 million people tuning in across the country versus 2.9 million soap opera viewers.” [PBS] A change in the tide of public opinion shows just how cultural a product Telenovelas are.

Time to Watch!

Via some trial and error, read experimentation, I have been able to find a couple of reasonably accessible websites for viewing Telenovelas.  Three of them have some form of English close captioning available, while the forth does not appear to have anything of the sort.

The first, is Hulu Latino edition!  I've enjoyed using hulu's services in the past, and the only negative I can think of is that they don't keep a large catalog of old episodes, but then again, that's what netflix is for.  From a viewing standpoint, Hulu Latino is a mixed bag.  It does have a decent selection, but the prevention from viewing the shows original episodes must be considered.  Another large thing to consider is that the close captioning leaves something to be desired.  Of the few Telenovelas I tried here I had about a 50% success rate when it came to the show actually having English close captions.  This isn't necessarily a negative thing, but if you're of little to no education in the Spanish language, or don't want to be constantly pressured to translate as you watch, then this might take a little digging to find what to watch.

viki.com has, at the time of this articles creating, 48 series that they have labeled as Telenovelas.  The selection has some diversity when it comes to country of origin (some coming from places like Turkey, Pakistan, and Thailand), but I can comfortably say that around a third of the titles are arriving out of Venezuela.  I will say that the majority of the titles have near complete English captioning, but there is an easy to access label displayed before selecting each series that shows how much has been properly captioned.  Both easy to find what is monolingual-ly accessible, and an opportunity to help the websites community by translating and helping create the needed captions, the site is interesting, a certainly one to look at.  It is also worth note that the site features a large collection of Korean Drama series that are also English captioned.

DramaFever is similar in several respects to the above mentioned viki.com, but I find that the accessibility to be much higher.  The site features several sorting options like ordering based on popularity, release date, or rating.  It is also easily apparent from the main list several pieces of information that will assist in quickly picking a series.  These would be a brief summary of the title, the community rating (in the ever common five stars system), the base language, and the captioning language (English in the cases I've seen).


The final site I'm putting here is Ver Mi Telenovela.  Ver Mi Telenovela is different than the other three here, in that it, to my knowledge, doesn't feature any sort of translation closed captions.  It does seem to feature a nice collection of pieces, and seems like it would be good if one didn't need assistance in their viewing.  This could also be useful is you wanted to watch as a test of knowledge without the crutch that captions provide.

There are many different sites to view Telenovelas and their equivalent forms of media, these are just to give you a head start.

Works

Works Cited

Barrera, Vivian, and Denise D. Bielby. "Places, Faces, And Other Familiar Things: The Cultural Experience Of Telenovela Viewing Among Latinos In The United States." Journal Of Popular Culture 34.4 (2001): 1-18.Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 14 Mar. 2015.

 

Ordonez, Jennifer. "A Turn for Telenovelas; The nets are looking to Spanish soaps for inspiration. Can they translate them for English audiences?." Newsweek 2006:Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 14 Mar. 2015.

Stavans, Ilan. Telenovelas. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood, 2010. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 14 Mar. 2015.

"The Power of the Telenovela." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.

"telenovela". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2015