Blog Post 2

Hola Clase!

I'm at the point of my telenovela where I am at a crossroads. I really want Teresa to think about the consequences of marrying Arturo, and not being with Mariano, but I really want her to get what she wants. It's crazy to want the antagonist (Teresa) to win and get what she wants, but it makes sense because she is technically the protagonist also. Naturally, you want the protagonist to be happy, but in this case her happiness comes with unhappiness of other protagonist. Also, I see so much of myself in Teresa, which makes me want to root for her, but I also want her to understand that her happiness should not be at the cost of others. Like Teresa, I have this strong desire to be more than my background and have power over my life. "Ser o no ser, yo soy!" To be or not to be somebody, I am somebody, speaks volumes to me. For this reason, I have such a strong pull towards the main character. I am waiting for the novela to get to the point where Teresa realizes she's wrong and decides to change, but I heard that she doesn't realize it until the last two episodes. 

Last week in class we learned about telenovelas being used to make awareness. I never thought about writers working in messages into their novelas, but now when I watch them, I will definitely think about it. In Teresa, I definitely think that the message is about the importance of happiness. It's starting to be very clear to me that money is not worth happiness. I know (because I spoiled it for myself) that Teresa ends up with money and power after defeating her enemies, but she is left alone with nobody to spend it with and nobody to love her. Aside from my novela, writers putting messages in novelas has made me think about how American television can discuss important topics in a entertainment form to educate the public, similar to telenovelas. The only issue with that is that American's don't watch the same things. In Latin, Central, and South America telenovelas take over and capture the population until the finale, while in the United States people watch completely different programs. I do think that during American Idol, they could have caught the attention of many Americans. 

This week, I learned "muchisimo muchisimo" about production. I still have so many questions about it though, so if anyone wants to comment below and answer them or add their input, feel free!

1. Telenovela actors makes significantly less than hollywood actors. Why? Telenovelas have up to or sometimes even over 200 episodes and they have to film over 20 scenes a day, compared to Hollywood actors that only film around 20 (at the most) episodes. I just don't see the correlation. Maybe because the Hollywood industry is bigger, but I feel like there is more money in the telenovela industry.

2. What happens during a novela if they are in the middle of filming and the actor or actress can't make it because they are sick or if they get hurt?

3. How do these actors memorize their scripts so well if they have to film over 100 episodes in one season and around 20 scenes a day?

-Tiffany Mukundi