RHYTHM IN A TELENOVELA: FROM "NOTHING IS GOING ON" TO "TOO MUCH, TOO QUICKLY"

A couple of years ago, I wrote here about the difficulty of finding consensus in anything regarding telenovelas. I still feel the same way. It's almost impossible to find an aspect of a telenovela in which everyone thinks alike.

This week I've been reflecting particularly on the "rhythm" of a telenovela. That is, on the pace of events that make up the everyday life of a telenovela. This reflection came about thanks to my study of La Mujer Perfecta. I asked my study audience participants about their opinion of this telenovela's rhythm. Their answers varied so much that it was impossible for me to conclude anything! From "there are days in which nothing happens" to "too many things happen and too quickly," and every possible answer in between.

I decided then to list every "happening" or event that has been aired in each of the six main plots of La Mujer Perfecta. The list isn't short. Still, the audience's readings stand, begging for more analysis. Hence, I asked more in-depth questions to some of my participants, and arrived to the following preliminary conclusion:

It seems that each one of us has her/his own measuring stick to assess the rhythm of a telenovela. Sometimes, we're waiting for something in particular to happen, and that doesn't allow us to see the other incidents that are going on in the show. The opposite also happens: we think a lot is going on because what we want to happen is actually on the screen and/or things are happening in our favorite plot. Meanwhile, we might not realize that other plots are somewhat stagnant.

This is one of the many difficulties of writing a telenovela. For things to "happen," the dramatic knot must be constructed carefully. If not, when that knot "explodes," it won't have the force it should have had. At the same time, events and incidents must occur constantly (or write them so that the public has that perception). If not, the audience will feel that "nothing is happening" in the show.

Obviously, "rhythm" is a complex and difficult topic for writers, producers, network executives...and researchers.

IN MY TELENOVELA CLASS: CHOOSING A TELENOVELA TO ANALYZE

In my class "Telenovelas, Culture and Society," students analyze the representations and identities included in a telenovela of their choice. They also need to have access to this telenovela via TV, Internet, or because they purchased it on DVD. For this exercise, I don't mind if they analyze one of those abridged telenovelas they sell on DVD (6-20 hours long, instead of 120+). I explain to my students the pros and cons of studying a telenovela that has been edited to its minimal expression. My goal is that they practice the analytical tools I teach them in class.

The telenovelas chosen reflect the students' tastes and perceptions. (It's worth noting that most of them have never watched a telenovela before they take this class). But, their choices are also a reflection of what the telenovela market offers them here in the United States. Unfortunately, many telenovelas that are in YouTube are banned for Internet users in the U.S. As for telenovelas on DVD, Amazon and eBay are the places where one can find more variety and a decent selection of abridged telenovelas. And, even though each year I teach the class I notice that the offer has increased, it's also true that the number of producing countries and networks that market their telenovelas on DVD format doesn't increase nearly at the same pace. Therefore, it's notorious the absence of many producing countries, and of scores of telenovelas. So, this list does not mirror exactly the international market distribution of telenovelas, but it still resembles it (a majority of Mexican remakes).

Following is the complete list of telenovelas that will be analyzed in my class (the number inside the parentheses indicates when a telenovela has been chosen by more than one student):

• Rubí (2)
• Lola...erase una vez (2)
• Corazón salvaje (3)
• Verano de amor
• Destilando amor (2)
• Amores cruzados
• La Usurpadora (2)
• Sin senos no hay paraíso (2)
• Sin tetas no hay paraíso
• Amigas y rivales
• Mariana de la noche
• Heridas de amor
• Marimar
• Amarte es mi pecado
• La mentira
• Nada personal
• Dame chocolate

MIT Communication Forum

I'm still in Caracas. Soon I'll return to Athens, GA and UGA, where I'll be able to write about my experiences during the last days of telenovela La Vida Entera.

My post today is short and related to a previous experience. Back in April I participated in the MIT Communications Forum, which was also the kickoff event of the Media in Transition Conference. The forum's topic was  "Global Media" and the panelists have expertise in different and fascinating areas: Bollywood, films, media consumption in Malawi and telenovelas. Here you can read a summary of the session and some of the Q&A.

Here you can watch the video of the whole session. The format was short presentations (10-15 minutes) of each panelist, followed by Q&A. My presentation is the second and you can find it approximately on minute 14. However, I highly recommend watching the complete forum because every  presentation and question is worthy of being watched. 

BEHIND THE CAMERAS OF LA VIDA ENTERA-PART 2

In my research with the audience that watches telenovelas and in my classroom, I've found immense curiosity regarding the production of scenes that include kisses. In my recent trip to telenovela LA VIDA ENTERA, I was present during the taping of the scenes of characters Natalia (Daniela Bascopé) and Miky (Roque Valero)'s "first time." This sequence was directed by Luis Alberto Lamata. 

Here's a video I took during the production of these scenes. Turn up the volume of your computer so you can listen to the actors and technical crew. There are a few things to observe in this video:

• The use of the boom (a microphone placed at the end of a long arm, so that it can be located on top of the actors during taping).
• In the first scene we can see the simultaneous use of cameras in two "rooms" of the same set. 
• How the technical crew is dressed in winter-like clothes. TV studios usually have freezing temperatures.
• The importance of music in a telenovela. In my video, you notice the absence of music to set the tone.
• The importance of the different shots by different cameras, and the director's decisions as to the view we will get. Here, we see the scenes through the exclusive "eye" of my small camera.

I would have liked to place here the final--broadcast--version of these scenes. But, these days video sharing systems are closing the accounts of users who place any material related to TV or film, even if it's for educational use. I invite you then to find the scenes on the Web. They belong to Episode 90 which was broadcast in Venezuela on April 2.

BEHIND THE CAMERAS OF LA VIDA ENTERA-PART 1

I haven't written in my blog in too many days. The semester has entered its last month, LA VIDA ENTERA, the telenovela I'm currently studying, has entered its crucial stage, and I don't get to sleep much these days.

In March I was in Caracas studying this telenovela's production process. I do that through hours of participant observation on the set and in-depth conversations with all involved in production. These are long, complex and dense days. There isn't a second of boredom. LA VIDA ENTERA is a telenovela with a particular "look" and its production process is hard. It also boasts a cast in which talent predominates. Hence, it's a great learning experience and a privilege to talk to these actors. This time, in addition to deepening my understanding of how characters are constructed and of the decision processes of all involved, I submitted myself to the exhaustion of the shooting schedule, and to long hours in the set and locations. In the next blog posts I'll share excerpts of what I saw behind the cameras of LA VIDA ENTERA. 

This is a short video I took while they were taping a sequence of scenes in which characters Tata (Marisa Román) and Guille (Luis Gerónimo Abreu) visit an art gallery:

Here's a picture of the actors reviewing their lines before taping a scene:

And another picture of the actors rehearsing in front of producer Verónica and director Edgar Liendo:

TELENOVELA: LATIN AMERICAN SENTIMENTAL CULTURE?

From March 23 to 31, Casa de América in Madrid celebrates the discussion conference:  TELENOVELA: ¿CULTURA SENTIMENTAL LATINOAMERICANA? 

The conference will present panels, roundtable discussions, music and films related to telenovelas. Guest speakers include writers, actors, producers and academic researchers. 

I highly recommend following the conference via its  activities calendar.

IN CARACAS: INSIDE LA VIDA ENTERA

This isn't really a blog post, it's a note so you know that I haven't forgotten about my blog. I'm in Caracas inside the production of telenovela LA VIDA ENTERA. My days are long and intense. This is why I haven't written in my blog for too long.

TELENOVELAS-VISITING A LOCATION WITH THE WRITERS

I've had many experiencies while studying telenovelas. And, even though I'm equally interested in all aspects: production, consumption, regulation and the different representations we see in those daily episodes, I've learned that most people are particularly interested in production. In short, how is a telenovela produced? is the overarching question in many of the conversations I participate in, and is the most commented chapter of my book "Venezuela es una Telenovela."

Today I share with you a recent experience while studying the production of Venezuelan telenovela La Vida Entera.

The plot: In La Vida Entera, the Duque family owns a media conglomerate that includes fashion magazine Exquisita, which provides one of the main contexts for the telenovela's storylines. The male protagonist, Salvador Duque (Jorge Reyes), is part of this family, also constituted by his father, Napoleón (Gustavo Rodríguez), his stepmother, Olimpia (Beatriz Valdés) and his younger sister Carlota, "Tata" (Marisa Román). The Duque family "lives" in a beautiful house with a breathtaking view of the city of Caracas.

Following is a brief excerpt from Episode 6, where you can get a glimpse of these characters and their house.

Research experience--Visiting the location: I had the privilege of visiting the house with Leonardo Padrón and his team of writers the first time they went to this location. It was extremely interesting for me to be able to observe first hand how each of the house's rooms sparked ideas in these writers: "Here, Olimpia should...", "Maybe we could place Tata there...", "What about sitting Napoléon here and...," etc. Padrón and his writers also noticed interesting angles that the location provides for shots that will contribute to the telenovela's storytelling and its visual vocabulary. Meanwhile, two members of the production team took copious notes.

The experience was fascinating to me. I'm still figuring out its full importance to my research. For instance, I immediately started noticing the influence of the visit in the telenovela scripts. I would have never noticed this, if I hadn't been in the house with the writers.

Writing a telenovela requires much creativity and strategy. And even though telenovelas always have that mix of dream (the love story we all wish we could have) and reality, for these stories to work they must ring true. And I learned that these visits help immensely in writing a script that sounds true.

Here's a short video I prepared of our visit. Don't expect Spielberg, please. But, I think it will give you a good idea of my experience that afternoon:

FIRST SET OF PROMOTIONALS OF MY NEW OBJECT OF STUDY: LA VIDA ENTERA

Venezuelan network Venevisión uses 14 of its best known faces and talent in a set of teasers about upcoming telenovela La Vida Entera, my new case study.

Belos the demo for La Vida Entera:

AEJMC-CHICAGO-TELENOVELAS, CULTURE AND SOCIETY

-
I've been pretty occupied in conferences this past month. First, I attended IAMCR in Stockholm where I presented three papers: 1, 2, 3. And last week I presented one paper at AEJMC (Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication) in Chicago.

My paper at the Cultural and Critical Studies Division focused on the inclusion of socio-cultural issues in telenovelas. I used one of my case studies: telenovela Cosita Rica and centered on four of the diverse socio-cultural themes that were present in this telenovela: obsession with beauty, machismo, teen pregnancy and children who live in the streets. (Other topics present in Cosita Rica's storylines were: religion and faith, addictions, unemployment, crime, Venezuela's socio-economic contrasts and Venezuelans' survival strategies).




In this paper, I placed the production, representation, reception and regulation of these four topics vis a vis the Venezuelan context. As an example, here are the slides for the issue of teen pregnancy:




Knowing the author's intention and his use of specific strategies, such as the inclusion of humor, to incite reflection, I analyzed how the audience enjoyed the storylines, but often did not read the message the author intended. In the case of the obsession with beauty and machismo, these are now naturalized as "normal" commonsensical ideas. In the presentation I also highlighted how this case study illustrates the articulations between production, representation, consumption, regulation and identity, suggesting the workings and nature of the links between media, culture and society.



With this conference presentation, the conference "season" comes to an end, and the beginning of the new academic year is just around the corner.

IAMCR-Stockholm-POPULAR CULTURE

My third and final presentation at IAMCR in Stockholm was in the Popular Culture Working Group. In this presentation I focused on one of the subplots of telenovela Ciudad Bendita: Maru's story, a character that was addicted to plastic surgery. In this paper, a section of my work on Ciudad Bendita, I analyzed the writing, production and reception of this storyline in a country in which plastic surgery is naturalized as "normal."

Following are some of the slides I used in the presentation, including a short clip from Maru's story. At the end there's the video of my presentation. For those readers who have never been to an academic conference, it will be interesting to experience the perils of presenting first in a session: the comings and goings of latecomers and even the placement of extra chairs in a room that ended up being too small for the session. As presenters, we have to be immune to those distractions.

















The session also included a fascinating study of the different versions of Betty, la fea around the world:

Session 3 Appearances and Perceptions
Thursday 24th July 14.00-15.30
Chair: Milly Williamson
In the country of beautiful women: A telenovela’s critique of plastic surgery obsession
Carolina Acosta-Alzuru
Travelling style: Aesthetic difference in national adaptations of "Ugly Betty"
Lothar Mikos & Marta Perotta
Queer gazing and the popular: a study on the representational strategies of queer
representations in popular television fiction.
Sofie Van Bauwel, Frederik Dhaenens & Daniel Biltereyst
Circuits of the Real: Authenticity Work in Reality TV
Minna Aslama & Mervi Pantti

IAMCR-Stockholm-AUDIENCE

My second presentation at IAMCR this year was in the Audience section. In it, I focused on the audience's readings of the love story and physical aspect of the protagonists of Venezuelan telenovela Ciudad Bendita, written by Leonardo Padrón. At the end of this entry is the presentation's video. It doesn't have good quality, nor does it show the screen with the PowerPoint supporting slides. Therefore, following are some o those slides with a brief explanation.

In general, telenovelas have some basic codes. Among them are that protagonists follow a beauty code: they are usually beautiful women and handsome men. A second basic code is that the main love story consists of love at first (or almost-first) sight, a long sequence of misunderstandings and obstaces, and the happy end:



Ciudad Bendita's main love story was a transgression of these two codes. Handsome Juan Carlos García was the antagonist. Solid actor, but generally not considered particularly handsome, Roque Valero was the male protagonist, while female protagonist Bendita (played by Marisa Román) had a noticeable limp, the product of a childhood accident.


Thes storyline was also a transgression: Bendita is in love with the antagonist during the first 70 episodes.



In a country like Venezuela, used to telenovelas that are "within the code" and obsessed with physical beauty, how did the audience read this double code transgression?

At the beginning, they didn't like it:



The audience was certainly surprised by the choice of protagonists, and disoriented by this unusual love story. But, as the plot advanced, and Bendita and Juan finally fell in love, audience members accepted and embraced them:


And even though, the public ended up accepting Roque Valero as the protagonist:



There were many who wanted Bendita to be healed (as in a traditional telenovela) of her physical impairment:



In conclusion:



This overview is extremely superficial. Conference presentations already are horribly superficial: a 10-15 minute summary of the work that has taken years and research papers of many pages. But, sharing is my goal, and keeping the conversation going.

Following is the video of the presentation:



And the program of the session in which I presented:

14.00‐ 15.30 Room B497
Session 9: AUDIENCES AND TV GENRES
Chair: Virginia Nightingale, University of Western Sydney, Australia
ANNETTE HILL, University of Westminster, United Kingdom
Spirit Media: Ghosts, Audiences and Digital Culture
GEORGETTE WANG, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan
Glocalization Backfired: Cross‐cultural Viewing of The Weakest Link and The Apprentice
CAROLINA ACOSTA‐ALZURU, University of Georgia, USA
No Cinderella and no Prince Charming?: Audience reception when the telenovela codes are broken
MONICA HERRERO, Universidad de Navarra. Pamplona (Navarra) Spain
The relationship with the audience in family fiction series: the long‐term success and the extension to
other windows
MIAO‐JU JIAN, National Chung‐Cheng University, Taiwan
Passion for “the More Real”: The co‐constitutive relationship between audience and media
technology in the case of global reality TV reception in Taiwan
SARA PEREIRA, University of Minho, Portugal
Television for Children: the Child’s View

IAMCR-Stockholm-MEDIA PRODUCTION

The conference I'm participating in Stockholm has been very fruitful thanks to the diversity of participants, points of view, theoretical approaches and countries present. My first presentation focused on the writing and production of telenovela Cosita Rica during the historic eleven months that preceded the recall referendum of President Hugo Chávez. Following is a video of my presentation. Two warnings: the video's quality is not high, and it's 15 minutes long, which can prove unbearable to those not used to academic presentations. I share it in the spirit of keeping alive the conversation about telenovelas that I've always wanted my blog to be.



Here's the session's full program:

TUESDAY, JULY, 22nd , 17h45-19H , ROOM HÖRSAL B5
WG-MPA7 - PRODUCTION RESEARCH: DRAMA AND
ENTERTAINMENT
Convenor:
Chris Paterson, Working Group Chair
Chair:
Chris Paterson, University of Leeds, UK
Discussant:
David Hesmondhalgh, University of Leeds, UK
22. Online Game Companies as Media Institutions: A Case Study on The Legend of
Mir II
Qiaolei Jiang, Chinese University of Hong Kong
23. Imagination and censorship, fiction and reality: Producing a telenovela in a time
of political crisis
Carolina Acosta-Alzuru, University of Georgia, USA
24. Reaching New Audiences through Drama Production and New Platforms
Mats Bjorkin and Maria Edström, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
25. Production as reception? A Theoretical Approach to a Production Analysis of
Television Satire
Hanne Karina Bruun, University of Aarhus, Denmark

OFF TO STOCKHOLM

I'm almost on my way to beautiful Stockholm where I'll participate in IAMCR's 2008 Media and Global Divides Conference. Around 1,000 scholars from 85 different countries representing all continents will be present. That's what I like best about IAMCR, that it's truly global. I should also mention that it's going to be a busy conference for me: I have three papers to present, all of them about telenovelas. 

I'm hoping to be able to blog during the conference, but I don't really know what kind of Internet access I will have. So, there's a chance the blog will go silent for a week. 

Meanwhile, all the best to those who read, and a picture of the city that's waiting for me.

VACATION AND RESEARCH

My blog has been pretty quiet lately. I'm traveling. First, I spent a few days in the paradise you can see above: Margarita, a beautiful island off the coast of Venezuela. I went there with 30 of my high school girl friends. We're a very special group because we've been friends our whole lives. It's both a privilege and a blessing. Below, a couple of pictures when we went to visit the beautiful  "Ranchos de Chana".

Now I'm doing fieldwork in Caracas, trying to document the current moment in Venezuelan television as context for my new case study in which I've been working already for a couple of months. I've also taught a couple of classes as a guest at Universidad Católica Andrés Bello.

Hence, for a few more days this blog will continue to be quite quiet while I recharge my batteries and gather evidence.  Thanks for keeping me company.

TELENOVELAS: ONE YEAR IN THE BLOGOSPHERE

If you can't see it, here's the YouTube version:

TELENOVELAS: THE CENTRAL PARADOX

One of the most fascinating aspects of studying telenovelas is the amount of diversity of paradoxes that are part and parcel of this television genre. Some examples:

• Distributors believe that 120 episodes is the magic number to sell telenovelas in the international market. However, when non-Latin American cultures produce their own telenovelas, those are generally longer than 120 installments, as is the case of the many versions of Yo Soy Betty, la Fea.
  
• Telenovela actors are frequently dismissed as second class talent. However, their names are often the ones that attract audiences to theater and movie theaters. 
• Even though there's an increasing number of scholars studying telenovelas, we still have to justify sometimes our interest in one of the most watched (if not the most watched) tv genre in the world.
• Telenovela writers who come from the literary world (theater, film, narrative and poetry) spend a good time of their lives explaining why the write telenovelas. 

I believe that these and other paradoxes have their roots in which I like to call "The Central Paradox":

Telenovelas are products of mass consumption and mass disdain.

And it isn't rare to find people who both watch and scorn telenovelas. This is the source of most of the contradictions and paradoxes associated with telenovelas.

What do you think?

VENEZUELA ES UNA TELENOVELA

Today I was planning to write about the latest in a string of new Venezuelan telenovelas, Torrente (Venevisión). However, I'm going to postpone my analysis for a few days because I must note a review about my book,  Venezuela es una Telenovela that was published today in Venezuela's most read newspaper, Ultimas Noticias.  The review's author is respected literature and performing arts critic E.A. Moreno-Uribe, who's also the author of one the blogs I visit and respect most, El Espectador.

I appreciate Moreno-Uribe's words towards Venezuela es una Telenovela  (story in Ultimas Noticias, blog El Espectador). More importantly, I appreciate his depiction of my research agenda, the significance of my continuous back and forth between the U.S. and Venezuela as I get closer and farther away from my object of study, and my determination to understand better the fascinating and (generally misunderstood) television genre of telenovelas:

Her tastebuds will never forget the flavors of black beans, arepas and plantains that she ate for decades with her family, even though she cooks them in her home in the United States--Athens, Georgia, where she has lived with her husband and children for the past 14 years. She comes periodically to Caracas, where she was born 50 years ago, to recharge her batteries, test her memories and also her feelings. More importantly, her research on telenovelas also keep her eyes fixed on this city.

...

She does not want to write a telenovela or to teach how to do it. She is a researcher interested in the links between media, culture and society, which she teaches in the College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. Her book is a polished academic work in which she applies theoretical models to understand the production, representation, identity, consumption and regulation of telenovelas. She does not want to demonstrate anything, but to study the impact and social phenomenon that each telenovela is.

...

Fifteen months of fieldwork, plus two years of analysis and writing make her book, Venezuela es una telenovela. It is obligatory reading for those who want to know the truth of that fantastic entertainment genre.

BACK WITH A NEW LOOK

When this blog turned six months old, I made the resolution to change its visual look. It's taken me almost six more months to do it since it isn't easy for me to find time for such a task. Finally, it's done! (Hence my wide smile as I look at my computer's screen). And it was possible thanks to the amazing help of my friend dRAGOONS. If you can read Spanish, I recommend you visit his blog, Utópico Real, where you will get to know this bioanalysis student, who moderates the Internet message board TVVI, and who has a real talent for visual communication.

The change in the blog's look comes at the same time as I arrive back to Athens after two intense weeks of research in Caracas, where I documented the current state of the telenovela industry, ten months after the closing of RCTV and its transformation into RCTV Internacional. I still have much analysis to do, but the panorama isn't particularly sunny for actors, writers and the Venezuelan public. Both RCTV Internacional and Venevisión have shifted gears and now privilege the international market over the local one. This will probably mean more remakes of old telenovelas and more telenovelas that follow the traditional model of the telenovela rosa. It isn't a good time for creativity and talent. In addition, the work sources for actors have significantly dried up.

This trip also included several media interviews about my book Venezuela es una Telenovela. It's always both surreal and fascinating for me to talk about my book. Interviews usually center in either or both aspects of my research: telenovelas and Venezuela.

There was an element of serendipity in my visit to my birth city. Two events coincided with my stay. I've commented already about the first one: the premiere of Caramelo e Chocolate, the first telenovela broadcast by government network TVES.

The second event was the end of the production of Arroz Con Leche, a telenovela that's entering its final broadcast week. In all the years I've been studying telenovelas, I'd never been able to witness that moment in a telenovela's biography. Once again I was reminded of the importance of vantage point for the construction of our perceptions, and the immense distance that exists between what people "know" about a telenovela's production and what actually happens behind the heavy doors of every television studio and inside the network's boardrooms.


While I was in Caracas there was an episode of Arroz Con Leche that garnered 15 points of rating, a true feat...even in the current no-internal-competition environment. In this particular episode the character Tomás Chacón beats his wife Amanda. (We don't see him actually hitting her because such scenes are prohibited by the Venezuelan Ley de Contenidos). What does this peak in the ratings mean under these circumstances? Is it because there's a fascination with violence and/or drama? Or is it that Venezuelans can identify with and/or recognize this issue as one of the country's most pressing sociocultural problems? It's worth analyzing since those numbers and the content of that episode provide us with a trap door through which we can examine the social formation.

COMING AND GOING, BEING CLOSE AND FAR AWAY

These days it's difficult for me to write in my blogs. I'm in Caracas doing fieldwork, trying to document this particular moment in the Venezuelan telenovela industry. It's a job I love to do, but it requires an immense amount of time and concentration. Additionally, this trip has included several media interviews about my book.

My reflection today is about what it means for me to get physically closer and farther away from Venezuela. Coming and going, being inside and outside, isn't easy. There are difficulties related to logistics (leave the semester for a few days, never have enough days in Venezuela), transitions to go through (from a U.S. college town to a Latin American megalopolis, from being among students and professors, to hanging out with actors, writers and producers), and its pain (I'm always missing something from one of my two cultural homes). But coming and going, getting closer and farther away, is a productive moment that allows me to fine tune my perspective about my object of study and understand it much better.