Hi everyone! I am Zihang Zhao, and I come from China. I am studying in financial planning. To tell the truth, this is the third year that I study in UGA. And also, I've been America three years ago. I am so exciting to take this class, and I never watch any Spanish telenovela before. I love watching telenovela.

Korean telenovelas are my favorite type. Actors are handsome and pretty, and plots are attractive. I am really enjoyed. My favorite Korean telenovela named While You Were Sleeping. It is a fantasitic love story. The leading lady and two heros in this telenovela can predict the future in their dream. They saved many people because of this factor. I really love the music in this telenovela. When the hero saved somebody, the music will be ring out. It can make me be immersed in the plot.


Here is a my favorite scene in this telenovela. The hero predicts the leading lady will have an car accident at night via his dream. And the lady's mother will die because of this accident. Then the hero drived his brother's car to hit the leading lady's car. He saved she. And the lady gave a hug to the hero in spite of herself. This is a very nice Korean telenovela, I prefer you guys to have a look. And I think you will love it.
Did you guys begin to watch telenovela for your final report? I am keeping watching. And I choosed Home Tempation. I hope we will have a great semester, and good luck for our final report! Have a good week!

Hello, Class!

First, I want to discuss how excited I was that this class was being offered. It was my first pick for my FYOS, but it did not fit in my schedule. During Add/Drop week, I really struggled to make this class fit and fortunately it did.
Dr. Acosta's research is truly amazing. I did not understand the structure of telenovelas before taking this class. The difference in the types of telenovelas signified to me the reason why I picked certain novelas to watch and others to skip. The novelas on the Rosa side is what I lean towards to more than the de ruptura side. There are so many novelas made recently in the past 5-10 years that are de ruptura because more people are attracted to that type of novela, drifting away from the rosa. When I watched La Reina Del Sur, which is in the middle of the two types, I got tired of the de ruptura part, but overall it made the novela more interesting. I also noticed that novelas that deal with drugs and crime have increased significantly.

My love for telenovelas began when I started learning Spanish. I've taken a Spanish class everyday since 7th grade, but I did not start watching telenovelas until I got into high school. I can't remember exactly which novela I watched first, but it could have been La Tierra De Reyes or La Reina De Corazones. After that I watched La Patrona, Corazon valiente, Rubi, El Gran Hotel, and Lo Que Vida Me Robo ; which are all very known novelas. These novelas have over 100 to 200 episodes per season. I can't imagine having to film as long as they do, and not get paid around the same amount as actors and actresses in the United States. Moreover, I have only watches novelas that are produced or owned by Univision and Telemundo. I have not discovered any other production companies, but I plan on it because I want to watch novelas that are not produced by Mexicans. In class, I noticed that there was a significant difference on a novela depending on who produced it. I would like to see a novela produced by Colombia or Venezuela. 

Currently, my favorite actor is Sebastian Rulli and Kate Del Castillo. Sebastian is by far one of the best actors that I have watched. His emotions are so raw and moving, in contrast to other actors. Kate Del is simply so talented. When she acts there is this sense of power that she emits. In real life, she exhibits feminism and the roles she chooses to play demonstrate that. De bajo la misma luna was not a telenovela, but it is an amazing movie that proves that Kate can change roles, but still maintain that aspect of a powerful woman.  Unfortunately, because of her dealings with El Chapo, it is not safe for Castillo to return to Mexico, making it extremely difficult for her to film. In Ingobernable, it was difficult for production to get around that circumstance and still film in Mexico. However,  La Reina Del Sur is filmed in Spain and North Africa (briefly in Mexico), so it is going to be interesting to see how they worked around that issue. 

Because Telenovelas are so time consuming, I have not started a new one. The last one I watched was Lo Que Vida Me Robo and I am planning to watch Amar La Muerte once the novela is completed. For some odd reason, I am stuck on Angelique Boyer and I can't stop myself from being drawn to novelas that she stars in. 

Currently, I am watching Teresa who embodies everything I want to be, but without the hatred and consequences. Angelique Boyer is also the protagonist in the novela. 

Entry #1 of my Korean drama

Hello, class!

I'm so excited for this class, as it brings so much nostalgia from my childhood. Being first-generation Mexican, and being surrounded by all sorts of telenovelas since I could remember, I greatly look forward to this class every Wednesday. Coming from a very traditional Mexican household, telenovelas and Vicente Fernandez were always in the background. Thinking back at it maybe that is how I grew to be very passionate and slightly over dramatic. 

The first tevenovela I can remember watching, Rubí, is still one of my favorite productions to date. I will always remember my mom eagerly rushing to get home in time to watch every second of each episode. Then came the remake, Teresa, which at the tender age of 10, I could actually understand just how unlikable and gravitating the characters of Rubi and Teresa were. Another one of my favorite telenovelas is Corazon salvaje, every night my sisters and I would gather around the television and immersed ourselves completely to what was on the screen. 

Surprisingly, I chose not to watch a telenovela, but a Korean drama. I've had my fair shares of Korean dramas and one thing I know for sure is that they do not keep a simple, and straightforward story line. Their production value and development is known to compare with that of a Spanish and Turkish dramas. The Korean entertainment industry is very well making itself known to all parts of the world, especially with Korean pop or k-pop. I have very well fallen victim to k-pop and have had my share of fan-girling over their boy groups and girl groups. Having visited South Korea twice, one is guaranteed to see at least 10 ads a day for several different dramas, whether it be cardboard cut out of the main character or the main couple on the plastic wrap of your water bottle. 

The Korean drama I chose to watch is called Kill Me, Heal Me. Just by the title you know it's going to be full of ups and downs for the protagonists. 

Left to Right: Oh Ri On, Oh Ri Jin, Cha Do Hyun

I'm only 5 episodes in and I'm hooked. I'll explain the main synopsis of the drama as of now. 

Cha Do Hyun, is the heir of a business that owns several other businesses, the main one being a entertainment company. Coming from an extremely wealthy family, he is surrounded by pompous people who are all trying to ruin him and his chances of eventually owning the business. Being very kind and humble, he is not interested in the money, let-alone inheriting the conglomerate. He suffers from dissociative identity disorder, which means that he has several different personalities that live within his head that can come out when least expected. He has 4 personalities that we've met so far. The main one being evil and brutal to everyone and is conspiring against Cha Do Hyun's wishes, and calls himself Shin Se Gi. 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkLlJk2hsoc (this is a link to the trailer where you can see a preview of his different personalities) 

Oh Ri Jin, is the main female protagonist and will eventually become Cha Do Hyun's love interest. She is on her first year of residency under the psychiatry unit. Upon meeting Cha Do Hyun, he is under the impression that she is a patient at the psychiatric ward, due to her loud and eccentric personality. Eventually, he figures out that she is a doctor and someone that can help him get better. She comes into contact with Cha Do Hyun when he's under the influence of Shin Se Gi, this aggressive personality falls in love with Oh Ri Jin, which in turn causes more of a mix up when she met the true Cha Do Hyun. 

Oh Ri On, is Oh Ri Jin's twin brother, and this I don't believe. There is something unclear about him, and I can't seem to figure it out. We will see as I continue watching. What we do know is that he is a writer that publishes mystery stories under the alias, Omega. He also seems to be researching on wealthy families such as Cha Do Hyun's family. I can't tell whether he is doing it under good intentions or to expose their secrets that could be hiding behind closed doors. 

Other characters include the obligatory evil family member which is Cha Do Hyun's grandma, who is currently chairwoman of the wealthy business. As well as Cha Do Hyun's first love, who will most certainly create a bridge between Do Hyun and Ri Jin. 

One thing I quickly noticed is the elitist mindset that is present in all of Cha Do Hyun's family and friends. They care a lot about how other's view them and their reputation that can be ruined by simply arriving a couple of minutes late to a meeting. The theme of the "rich heir falling in love with a regular girl' has been the theme in almost all Korean dramas I've watched before. Except, what makes this drama different is the character of Cha Do Hyun. It isn't the fact that he has multiple personality disorder but the fact that he is a kind person. Many of the time times we'll see the main protagonist be the heir to a multimillionaire conglomerate but be a total jerk and extremely rude to anyone of a lower class. It's usually the female protagonists (lover-interest) job to change them and make them better people. 

That is all I have for now, and I'm super excited to see the story unfold. 

Thank you, 
Suley Rostro 

Pamela's Telenovelas

Hi everyone! Honestly, I didn't know what to write at first because telenovelas are a strange subject in my house. From my dad's side, I have an aunt that works for Televisa and because of that there is always some novela either mentioned or on the TV at her house. I grew up always interested about her days at work and what it's like to be in the center of the action. She is actually the one who introduced me to the telenovela I am watching El Privilegio de Amar and so far I really like it, but more on that later. On my mom's side we have no real connections to telenovelas. My mom always said like she didn't really pay attention to them but I remember really well coming home from school and seeing  Cuidado Con el Angel playing on the TV, which is where I fell in love with William Levy.

When Dr. Acosta-Alzuru talked about him today I almost fell out of my seat, no joke

 My family moved to the US when I was six years old and so the telenovelas I remember are the ones that played back home on Disney Mexico. One of the first was Complices Al Rescate, and that's probably the first album I learned all the way through. I think I was too young to see it air on TV.  The next big telenovela in my life and by far the most impactful was Rebelde.

I got this album the day it came out and I carried it from Mexico to the US. The first thing I ever bought with my allowance? A pair of black boots like the ones the characters wore.

 I was maybe about four years old when it became the thing to watch. Everyone at school was talking about it and we all sang the songs on the playground. But I actually have never seen the telenovela. My parents didn't think it was appropriate for a four/six year old to watch so I own all their albums but I never actually watched the show. I know some of you are gasping right now so I will let you know that I have recently started watching it on Netflix. It's been a struggle though because I am very impatient and I know how it ends. From there, I never really watched another (kids) telenovela until my aunt introduced me to a remake called Atrévete a Soñar. It's also been important to my childhood. Other than that, I've never really watched a "grown up" telenovela. 

El Privilegio de Amar is really good so far and I'm recognizing patterns we've talked about in class already. It follows the story of Luciana, who started as a maid but then was fired when she got pregnant with the daughter of the son of the family she worked for. After having to give up her daughter, she vows to become a powerful and independent woman. So far, the novela is focusing on her life as an adult, specifically when her past comes back to haunt her. It's very much a Cinderella story with a lot of potential to explore not only class structure/elitism but also racism, beauty standards and sexism in Hispanic culture. I am truly very excited to see how the story unfolds. So that's my very long summary and I'll keep everyone updated on what happens to Luciana!

Blog Post: One

Kamusta kayo? That’s “how are you” in tagalog, one of the official languages of my home country, the Philippines. A brief history lesson… the Philippines was its own nation until the explorer Magellan found the over 7,000 islands that make up the country, claimed and colonized them in the name of Spain, and named them after the Spanish king, Philip II. For some, they may have the perception that Philippines is an “oriental” country with lanterns and dragon dances similar to the Chinese. However, the Philippines was under Spanish rule for over three hundred years and thus adopted many aspects of Latin culture, one of which is the fascination with love stories, drama and heartbreak that encompasses telenovela culture.

My background (born in the Philippines, raised in the United States) as a Filipino-American meant that my life was a mix of the two cultures; the only time I would have access to Filipino dramas were when my family went to other Filipinos’ homes and the Filipino channel was on television constantly because it was the favorite of the grandma of the home. Then when I visited my extended family in the Philippines, the dramas were what one would constantly watch as a way to bond with family and neighbors. Through this experience, I was able to expand my tagalog vocabulary whilst being entranced in captivating stories. 

Today in class, we discussed a specific definition of a “third-world country,” with Dr. A pointing out that one can find aspects of a “first-world country,” such as large and luxurious properties, within two blocks of extreme poverty and homelessness in the streets. The Philippines falls under this category; its people have lived through economic uncertainty and sudden twists of fate, and, through this experience, have heavily depended on telenovelas for “emotional relief,” creatively diverting their pain and suffering into art (Benavides article). 

In the Benavides article, the author states that the telenovela production has become economically successful because it is able to use a people’s culture to their advantage, and thus successfully reproduce these shows in other countries and even continents. There is just enough similarities and universal themes in the show that people across the world understand and emotionally react to the underlying storyline. Perhaps the same can be said of modern Filipino dramas as my chosen telenovela for this course, Bridges of Love, gained enough international traction that it was picked up by a Peruvian network and dubbed in Spanish, its title translated to Puentes de Amor. 

As of today, I am only several episodes in out of nearly one hundred total episodes, but I am excited to keep track of the storyline and compare and contrast its elements against Latin American telenovelas as we’ve discussed thus far in our course.

Introduction Of Me

Hey y'all its Eric, I know it might seem pretty weird that I'm in this class so I'll explain. Well my advising appointment was pretty late last semester and I still had not fulfilled my FYOS and most were filled up and then I saw this class and since my dad is from Honduras I have heard a little bit about Telenovelas. Well my prior thought of "Spanish Soap Operas" was quickly eliminated the first day because they aren't Soap Operas or not every Telenovela is in Spanish as Turkey has a large production along with some other countries. I actually have enjoyed learning about the process' and thought that actually goes into making a television series with as many episodes and how quickly they are made. The telenovela I am watching is called "La munecas de la mafia." This series can be found on Netflix and so far it has been about how the wife and daughter of a Colombian drug lord are effected by his life. The wife and Father often are just bickering and the daughter feels very distraught after her previous boyfriend turns up dead after a rough first meeting with her father, Braulio. I will keep you guys posted on how goes and let you know how it goes.

Telenovela- Ciara S.

Alright! Let me begin by stating I did not have a ton of knowledge about telenovelas before starting this class. Along with my lack of knowledge in telenovelas I am not a fluent Spanish speaker. I started learning Spanish from school and working with my father. It was always a competition between my father and me on who's Spanish was better. We took Spanish classes together and worked alongside Spanish speakers in his job. I never had confidence in speaking my Spanish around other people, but I always compete against my father to prove how much better my Spanish is to his.

Now on to bigger and better things. I chose to watch Celia for my telenovela option, but before starting to watch these episodes; I have never seen an authentic telenovela. The only telenovela or the closest thing to a telenovela I have seen is the americanized Jane the Virgin. Her story keeps me on my toes but after watching a real telenovela I have found the differences and similarities between the two shows. 

They both have there love triangles, heartbreak, suspenseful cliffhangers at the end of each episode, and the need to draw their viewers in with each new episode. I enjoy the fact that each character is unique in their own way and you find yourself rooting for the person you want the main character to fall for. In both of these shows, I want the main character to be with the person who may not be the best for them. The differences between the two shows are noticeable for instance Jane The Virgin is not one season long. Its recap from previous episodes is not within the episode but a recap before the episode plays. Jane The Virgin also introduces new characters that are important for the viewer to remember for future episodes. However, in Celia, we're limited to the cast already given to us. 

I have now seen about fifteen episodes of Celia and let me say that I am not the only one who is invested in this show. My study room crew is also invested with me. I keep them posted on Celia's adventures with her love triangle, her evil sister, her friends love affairs, and her success in her musical career. They are crazy for Celia and always ask me questions to catch them up to the episode I am on. Ok! Let's see where Celia will take us. 

Hey, everyone!

We have had two classes so far and I'm already really excited to be a part of it! I do not come from a cultural background that is Spanish-speaking, but my own Pakistani culture does have the modern telenovela incorporated into their televisions as well.

Growing up, my parents didn't really let us watch much television, so my experiences with any sort of telenovela began much later. I took Spanish courses back in middle school for a while, but I switched to taking Latin after seventh grade. My interest in Hispanic culture grew, however, when my friend introduced me to Grand Hotel, a Spanish telenovela that she was watching on Netflix. She would watch it during one of our classes together on mute and we would quietly just read the subtitles together. I quickly grew attached to the story line even though I wasn't listening to what was happening. It was only until much later when I revisited Grand Hotel that I truly watched the show from the beginning and listened.

Some people find it hard to watch foreign television or film due to the fact that they have to split their attention between reading subtitles if they aren't familiar with the language and listening to the audio that might not be their first language. For me, this was not as complicated because I grew up in a Pakistani household. The Bollywood films that I watched growing up were in my second language, Urdu, and while I knew it pretty well, I still struggled sometimes to understand what I was hearing. Ultimately, subtitles saved me when I didn't understand the content and I quickly grew more interested in watching television and film from other cultures.

Spanish dramas, Bollywood films, Turkish shows, and even my favorite show, a Norwegian show called "Skam", were the crux of a lot of things that I was watching. I found that there were a lot of similarities between the things that I was watching. This class has helped me understand those similarities even more because they are all a part of the modern telenovela. They all revolve around a main couple that falls in love nearly too fast and follows a dramatic story line for however long where they face so many different obstacles until they finally get the protagonists end up together happily ever after.

The most interesting thing to me is how universal the topics of telenovelas have become around the world. For instance, Spanish and Turkish dramas have even been subbed and dubbed into Urdu as well as censored for Pakistani audiences and have played in my own house. My cousins, who I thought would have very little idea about one of the shows I was watching, told me that they had watched the same show but in Urdu. And this is because the telenovela has advanced so much and spread all across the globe.

Right now, for the class, I'm watching "Kurt Seyit ve Sura", a Turkish telenovela that is set in Russia during World War One and the Russian Revolution. I'm only a few episodes in, but I'm already enjoying it so much! The concepts that we've talked about regarding telenovelas like the dramatic music during intense scenes, the immediate "fall in love" moment that happens when the main characters' eyes meet, and the several love triangles and squares have made their appearances already in the first few episodes of the telenovela and I can't wait to see how it all unfolds!

¡Hola a todos!

I am really excited to be a part of this class as I love watching telenovelas. As Dr. Acosta-Alzuru said telenovelas are something we start watching since we are little. According to my mom, the first telenovela I saw was called Carita de Angel. It was for children and it was about a boarding school, to be honest, I don't remember much about it, I was around 3 years old.  Ever since then, I kept watching telenovelas. The first telenovela I actually remember and still LOVE is Floricienta. It is an Argentinian children/teens telenovela and it is like the Latin American version of 'The Nanny'. The music is so good, that even nowadays I still play the music while I shower (and sing it to the top of my lungs).

"Que vendria a buscarla con sus flores amarillasss"

They even went on tour and she was the first concert I ever went to. The second telenovela I remember is called Patito Feo. It was an Argentinian children/teens telenovela and it was a high school version of 'Betty la fea'. It had a lot of drama, bullying, love, and amazing music. I remember that when Disney (yeah, they showed telenovelas in the Latin Disney) started advertising for this show I cried and begged my mom, like this:

So she would let me stay awake until 10 p.m because my bedtime was at 9:30 p.m and the show was from 9 p.m to 10 p.m, after Hannah Montana, which I also watched (primetime). I got away with it.

Nowadays, every time I meet a Hispanic friend I ask them if they watched telenovelas when they were little. First, I ask them for Floricienta, the majority says that they didn't watch it. Then I ask them if they watched Patito Feo, some say yes, some say no, but I still do the 'Las Divinas' dance.

"Nadie pasa de esta esquina, aqui mandan las divinas, porque somos gasolina, gasolina de verdad"

The last telenovela I ask them about is 'Rebelde' and EVERYONE has watched Rebelde. Rebelde is THE teens telenovela. I watched it when I was like 6 because my sister was 15 and I snuck into her room to watch a telenovela that probably wasn't appropriate for a 6-year-old but who cares. Rebelde is THE show of my childhood and my sister's teenage years. I am pretty sure many other teens in Latin America agree. It also has AMAZING music that I still sing to the top of my lungs, sometimes with my Mexican friends. We played it so many times last semester.

"Y soy rebelde, cuando no sigo a los demas y soy rebelde" 

They also had a tour and I also went when I was like 8 and my sister was 17. I hold this show in my heart, and I have watched it many times more since they put it on Netflix. Sooo imagine my heartbreak when Dr. Acosta-Alzuru told us that this show is a REMAKE of an Argentinian teens telenovela called Rebelde Way. I was looking at the telenovela intro like this:

Pitifully it was not the only heartbreak I've had recently. A month ago I found that while they were filming Patito Feo, something terrible happened. The actress that was the best friend of the main character was raped by the actor that was the father of the main character. She was 16 and he was an older man.  It is sad to know that while acting such a cheerful and nice person she was suffering so much, cause pitifully it happened many times. Sorry that this blog post had a sad ending.

Fun fact: She is the same actress from the first gif, she acted in OITNB too

Love & Light,
Nicole Andreina García Sanchez

 

Welcome!

In this blog, you will practice the fundamentals of critical thinking via blogging about telenovelas. Your blog entries should reflect your thought process and your learning experience as you go through the course. In other words, your posts should be a thoughtful (and creative) expression of yourself. If you wish, you can complement the entries with images or other media.

Specifically, blog entries will be of two types:

§   Open topic entries: You are free to analyze, comment and/or reflect on any of the topics and readings we will cover in class. You can also write about the telenovela(s) you are analyzing for your class assignments. Be warned that mere description won’t meet my expectations.

§   Responses/comments to entries: A good blog builds a community. In that spirit, you should comment on the entries posted by your classmates or by me, be those open topic entries or responses to others’ posts. Your comments must be substantive and add to the conversation. In other words, merely stating “I agree” or “good point” is not nearly enough.

You must write at least three open topic entries and four responses/comments before the course ends. These entries should be spread out. Therefore, I expect to find at least one new open topic entry written by each of you by:

§   January 30, 9 p.m.

§   February 13, 9 p.m.

§   February 27, 9 p.m.

There are no predetermined deadlines for responses/comments. All are due by February 27 at 9 p.m.