A Little Bit of Everything
In this telenovela, we are exposed to so many elements that make a telenovela binge-worthy. From having the epic love story involving the protagonists, secrets that demonstrate how everyone is truly related, breaking stereotypes, and having a sci-fi element that includes humor and mystery all in one, is what make this telenovela so binge-worthy.
Analia, the protagonist, was a stripper at this night club. She met her "prince", Daniel, one night due to a small car incident. 4 years later they meet again, except this time Analia is not really Analia, but rather his "deceased" wife, Mariana. Since Mariana has Analia's face, she has become a total new person with the same personality. Now, what makes that fact so relevant? Well.. that's what makes their love story so epic yet ironic. Daniel has fallen in love with "another" woman when in realty it's really his wife with a different face. (Of course no one knows about this except us, the audience). The way this telenovela portrays their love makes me want to have that epic love. The same soundtrack plays, creating that love marker we talked about in class. Their love is so sensual and captivating, I love every time they get together because of course I'm team "Analia & Daniel" which actually makes it "Mariana & Daniel" so who am I really rooting for??
As a result of this new discovery in the telenovela, people become hooked. Why?
Because this is where all excitement builds up. First, we have a doctor that essentially messed up the life of Mariana because he put the wrong face to the wrong body. Then, we have this BIG secret that we are waiting for to be exposed, which of course won't happen until the end, bur regardless, I continue watching waiting for someone to realize how Mariana isn't really dead. As a result, we have this ironic element that creates mystery. At the same time, we are exposed to a character having Amnesia, which makes it even better to watch because we are waiting for her memories to come back every second that novela goes on.
Among having the elements discussed above, El Rostro de Analia introduces topics that society hasn't quite accepted. These topics include having a gay and lesbian character, and young women dating older men. The gay person isn't portrayed as flamboyant as we'd expect him to, and the lesbian girl wouldn't be thought as lesbian if it wasn't for the dialogue that demonstrates she is. Since this novela was created in 2009, these things weren't normal. So for an audience to see that makes them become hooked since they are receiving a new perspective.
From everything mentioned above, it makes me become hooked, and when I say hooked I mean it. I basically binge watch like crazy. Let's just say im on episode 100... I watch this while I do homework, eat, about to sleep, and even shower. Cant get enough if im being honest.
Your telenovela sounds really interesting! So far, my telenovela has had a lot of similar elements. The main storyline is the three brothers who have hidden their identity in order to find work on the Del Junco ranch so they can uncover the truth behind the death of their sister. Their sister, who before she died, told them of her relationship with an older man (Ignacio Del Junco, also dead). The brothers end up falling in love with the three Del Junco sisters, knowing that they'll have major issues when the sisters find out who they really are. There is also a second storyline about characters involved in arms trafficking! It's totally compelling, and I've binge-watched so much more than I'm proud of (I continue putting it before some very important homework assignments). Although I can predict the ending, because it's a classic telenovela and I know that the bad characters will be punished and the couples I love will end up together regardless of the obstacles, I can't seem to stop watching. It's the process and the storyline, more so than the result, which I suppose the producers thrive on. Although I am more interested in some of the couples than the arms trafficking, it makes for an interesting subplot. I had two of the more unaccepted societal concepts in my telenovela like you did in yours. A gay character, and a relationship between an older woman and a younger man. The relationship between the older woman and younger man was rumored to be about money, and that the man never really loved her, as the woman was a successful bank owner. She had major health problems and ended up dying shortly after they were married, which hurt the reputation of the man. Although the audience can understand that he truly loved her, we see him battle with the aftermath of people who want to believe the worst about him. As far as the gay character, he is somewhat flamboyant, and I absolutely LOVE him. He's just such a lovable character, and he has all these catch phrases, and he plays a role in the comedic relief of the show. However, his sexuality still remains hidden to some of the main characters in the show, and he hasn't had any love interests. Do either the gay or lesbian character in your telenovela have a love interest? I can't tell if they are simply attempting to normalize the idea of gay characters by including them, without including an element of a relationship for them. It's much more normalized today, and in Hollywood, a multitude of sexualities are often displayed. Do you think telenovela producers suffer more opposition?
ReplyDeleteIn my telenovela, there have been gay characters too... maybe this is not as uncommon as I thought! Teresa was in an all-women prison for a while, and the audience was exposed to several lesbian characters. She even ended up kissing one of them at some point. In my personal experience, I have found that while younger Latinx generations are a lot more accepting when it comes to gender identity and sexual orientation, lots of older generations are closed off to that idea. I assume this is in part because of the prominent role religion plays in most households, even if it just cultural. Lots of older Latina women were raised to have traditional viewpoints, and those perspectives still exist to a certain extent in many of these women. I thought that producers would be hesitant to include characters that deviate from traditional societal norms, but maybe the more successful producers of telenovelas have become more comfortable with portraying homosexual characters and, as you said, are trying to "normalize" homosexuality. Acceptance of sexual orientation has definitely become a hot topic issue in politics in the last decade or so, and maybe telenovela producers are finally hopping on the train and slowly exposing telenovela audiences to homosexual characters in a way that doesn't persecute or abuse them.
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