Open Response 1

Even though telenovelas have evolved from strictly following the “Cinderella” structure, they still manage to keep these underlying roots through certain characteristics and situations that the main character has to go through. I find it very interesting how there are so many different ways to vary the “Cinderella” type without completely exhausting the base structure of a poor, beautiful, good, and naïve main character who encounters a geographic or socioeconomic journey. We discussed several different types of telenovelas that mix up this type of storyline in their own ways—some have no socioeconomic ascent, some completely shut down the Cinderella stereotype, and Dear Micaela even focuses on a main character with Asperger’s Syndrome. I also never realized that productions like telenovelas also face representation and identity issues with things like ethnicity and sexual orientation. I did not expect to discuss societal topics in this class, but I am glad to be learning about these kinds of issues that are also prominent in other societies across the world.