Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Telenovelas Rosas? The Eternal Love Story?


My consumption project team decided to focus on a very specific theme as we did our research so that we could really focus and dive deep into a telenovela. We chose to analyze La Tempestad as a model for our study of why telenovelas rosas capture the attention of the audience and draw them in so quickly within the first 15 episodes. 

 I honestly had no idea what to expect from a telenovela considering I had only seen clips of them in my childhood when my Colombian grandmother would babysit me and my cousins. At that point in life I had no idea what was happening. So honestly, I didn't know what to expect. 

I chose La Tempestad pretty randomly without even knowing was a "telenovela rosa" meant. I began watching the show and was captivated by the main protagonist Ximena Navarrete simply because she was so beautiful and I was curious how and why she would end up falling in love with the long haired, hispanic Brad Pitt, William Levy. At the beginning I was not sold on the long hair, but honestly by the 3rd episode his hair didn't even matter anymore....Captain Damian Fabre was a rockstar in my books. 

So why are people so captivated by the traditional love story? Why are these telenovelas successful every time? How do people stand watching a telenovela when they know exactly how it is going to end? 

Honestly I feel that the answer is very simple in analyzing the human heart and our need to love and be loved. Because we were created in this way, it makes perfect sense that majority of people would enjoy watching a love story when you know everything is going to work out in the end. No matter what obstacles the characters face, I don't have a shadow of a doubt that Marina and Damian will end up together in the end. 

I believe that we watch these stories because this is the hope for everyone in life. We all want love to prevail. We all want to end up with a beautiful story. We long for this love story to have adventure and obstacles that our love will always overcome. It is the typical desire of every human heart to enjoy and experience they type of love that we see in telenovelas rosas. 

So why are telenovelas rosas so popular and why will they always be successful? Simply because the human heart was created to enjoy a beautiful love story and when we see these telenovelas they can give us hope that that type of love still exists :)

4 comments:

  1. Yes, I completely agree with your reasoning. Not only does the human heart long for love, but we start this process early in our lives. Compare the telenovela rosa to the disney princess stories. Think about how popular those are among small children. This is a process that develops through our lives starting at a very young age.

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  2. Marina,
    There's so much safety in predictability. We love knowing how love stories are going to end before they start because we want to know how our love story is going to end before it starts. We all want to grow old with someone and have a love that lasts forever. Telenovelas Rosas give us hope in that because we see it happen over and over again.
    It also explains why romantic comedies are so popular. We all know how they are going to end, but we just don't know how the ending is going to happen. Also why we get giddy when we hear an engagement story. We know that she says yes because we can see the ring on her finger, but we want to know the obstacles and the excitement that leads to it.
    As humans, we love adventure, but we also love safety. I think telenovelas give that, in the fact that we don't know what circumstances will lead the two together in the end, but we always have the safety of knowing that it is indeed going to happen.

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  3. I agree with you completely, I think that people are always drawn into love stories simply because love is something we all can relate to. I also think Katherine makes a great point in her comment above that we love both adventure and safety - and telenovelas rosas give us that. I think all watchers of love stories are longing for the onscreen love to work out just as we love to hear about love stories in real life as well, but they love the heartbreak and stumbles along the way to keep things interesting.

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  4. As we discussed in class, telenovelas rosas are many times the shows that catch on internationally. That is because the theme of love and heartache is eternal and transcends all boundaries (even language). I agree with what you said about this desire being inherent -- everyone has the desire to love and be loved. We were created that way.

    BUT, I must say that I intentionally chose a telenovela to analyze that was not a traditional love story. My plotline was still predictable - I knew Pablo Escobar was going to be shot down from day one. However, the theme of love was not overbearing in my telenovela that focused on action and power politics.

    Maybe I am a cynic? But I cannot stomach a plot line that focuses so heavily on romance when it lasts for a long portion of time. You have to think, a romantic comedy that last 2 hours is very different than a telenovela which lasts 80 episodes. I just cannot understand how audiences remain entertained.

    I realize I am an anomaly. An outlier. But my preconceptions about these telenovelas rosas almost held me back from taking the class! This is part of why I am so glad I did -- so I can try to understand why the whole world appreciates a predictable love story.

    P.S. Sorry for sounding so pessimistic! I am not above a good love story!

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