Telenovelas: The Cultural Power of Melodrama

In this episode, we explore the origins and impact of the telenovela. We first look at how these shows were inspired by workers in Cuban cigar factories reading stories out loud to one another, before spreading throughout Latin America following Cuba’s 1959 Revolution. We then dive into the Brazilian telenovelas industry with Taina Silva, who shares her research on how telenovelas have incorporated social issues of the day into their scripts and how stirring subjects like abortion, sex, and cloning have been received by viewers. From there, we look at the popularity of telenovelas beyond Latin America. We explore how they made their way to Eastern Europe and beyond, dominating screens and becoming part and parcel of people’s lives across the world. Now, countries in Latin America are not just exporting their shows, they are themselves importing shows from around the globe as production companies outside the region take the unique storytelling of telenovelas and adapt them to their own, local stories.

 

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