La Reina Del Sur: Teresa Mendoza
At the beginning of the series Teresa Mendoza Just finds out that her boyfriend, Guero, was killed and she has to flee to Spain because his enemies are now going to try and kill her. Before Geuro died Teresa was basically just a pretty girlfriend who followed him wherever he went. But after his death she has to escape the country and can trust no one. This forces her to become independent and develop a newfound strength. Once she arrives in Spain teresa has to basically start over and little by little she works her way up and becomes one of the most powerful drug traffickers in Spain. This is groundbreaking because women in telenovelas rarely play such a powerful role. Furthermore, in Today’s society it is uncommon for women to be in charge of drug trafficking rings.
Although Teresa Mendoza plays a strong independent women, she is still selling drugs, which is VERY illegal. One could argue if her role is still feminist because what she is doing is against the law and women can apply themselves in ways that are not illegal. On the other hand the argument could be that Teresa is strong because she is working a business dominated by men and is also really successful. She had to literally start over and she was able to build something in Spain. I personally see both opinions. I can sympathize more with the fact that all she knew before was the drug business. Furthermore, I can respect how she escaped Mexico, moved to Spain with nothing, and created such a successful business. I also think that the show portrays drug trafficking as something very casual so it doesn’t come across as badly as it really is, so it’s easy for people to not see it as a bad thing and root for the protagonist
I wish my show had a overt feminist approach as yours does. In Pasion de Gavilanes the women wait for for marriage and only aspired to be loved. However I suspect one of the characters will leave her loveless marriage, which would be a bold decision. Concerning the drugs, yes they are illegal but I think they add the "sexy" type a drama any good show needs .
ReplyDeleteBased on your post, I would consider the show to be pro-feminist! I think the fact that she participates in illegal activities actually makes her seem tough. After all, when I try picture the leader of a drug trafficking ring, I see a tattooed man wearing all black that has killed and would not hesitate to kill again. While perhaps this depiction is cliche, it is clear that being a drug lord is not for the faint-hearted, the meek, or the weak-minded: which are definitely qualities that women on television have been portrayed with often enough! Your words about Teresa developing "independence and a newfound strength" are what I believe the rest of the audience sees as well, not just a woman breaking the law. They know the circumstances, and probably respect her for being able to survive and thrive while men are trying to kill her.
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