This is a class blog run by Dr. Carolina Acosta-Alzuru and her students in the course "Telenovelas, Culture and Society" at the University of Georgia during Spring 2011

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Vampires and Novelas??

Do you think vampires could ever be involved in a telenovela? Americans seem obsessed with them. Walk into any retail bookstore, and the entire teen fiction section is filled with various novels all pertaining to the same vampire theme. Ann Rice was writing such novels for adults years prior, but has anyone's mother read through the entire Twilight series like mine? If there were to be a telenovela including vampires, it would probably look much like the popular TV series Vampire Diaries on the CW.
We have the classic, beautiful female protagonist with a preexisting emotional history. Her parents have recently died, her professors have zero sympathy, and her younger brother is dealing drugs and completely separated from school and family. Add in sexy new student and the beginnings of a steamy romance. This guy (vampire) also happens to be one of a dynamic brotherly duo, one good and the other bad. Hello perfect telenovela love triangle! I'll also add that the protagonist apparently looks exactly like a girl from their past; she was a lover to them both. In addition, the protagonist's best friend is a witch who is just learning of her family's power. The drama is even more absurd than this description.
If I was to comment on this show just last month, I probably would have said that it was a waste of time. However, much like the novela I'm watching, I was completely hooked after giving it a chance. I don't know if the whole vampire theme would go over well in Latin America. Many telenovelas serve as an extension of cultural issues currently concerning the given society. Vampires don't exactly represent real-life issues. The fantasy created does; however, provide immediate escape and enjoyment. If vampires did show up in a telenovela, who knows what these characters might represent. Perhaps a certain political leader, currently sucking the life out of his country and people??

3 comments:

  1. I don't see Vampires making a move into the world of telenovelas. Despite the representation of romantic conflicts and other issues present in shows and productions featuring vampires, I feel that vampires would venture to far from the element of reality that telenovelas try to maintain. Telenovelas certainly stretch reality, with unlikely romance and miracle healings. However, Vampires, despite what all those Twilight and Trueblood fans out there may believe, are not real and would completely disregard any sense of reality a telenovela tries to instill with its viewers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree that vampire themes would not be successful in the telenovela world. Vampires completely disregard any kind of reality. Yes, Americans are crazy about anything Vampire-themed (Twilight fanatics) but we also have had exposure to other completely unrealistic movies and tv shows (Wizards of Waverly Place on Disney and Harry Potter). I think sticking to a version of reality is best for telenovelas.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I disagree! I think vampires could DEFINITELY break into telenovelas! Think about! ( THINK TWILIGHT PEOPLE!!) Traditionally te genre revolves around love,sex,lust, forbidden affairs, blood/gore, death!!! UM, hello!? definitely telenovela material..especially with this theme being so popular currently.I do definitely think if vampires are to break into telenovelas they need to do so immediately in order to ride the coattails of the twilight series haha!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.