This document provides information about telenovelas, including their history, conventions, and examples. Telenovelas originated in Latin America and combine elements of television and novels. They typically have storylines that end within a year and address social issues. The telenovela Cañaveral de Pasiones features more women and addresses taboo topics like sex. It also focuses on strong family ties. Betty la Fea was a popular Mexican telenovela that served as the basis for the American series Ugly Betty. Telenovelas tend to have female audiences and use techniques like close-ups, music, and exaggerated plots.

1. Telenovellas
Danny Norton & Lorna Lister

2. History
 Telenovella is a dramatic programming popular in
Latin American, Portuguese and Spanish
 It combines tele short for television and also
novella a Spanish word for novel.
 All tele novellas have an ending just less than a
year
 They repeatedly show social messages () by
putting them into the storylines
 Recent telenovellas base their storylines on
themes such as urban violence, homosexuality
and racism.

3. Cañaveral de Pasiones
 Means Sugarcane field of passions
 This Telenovella features more women
than men giving ideologies of a lifestyle
that viewers can strive to achieve
 It features alot of sex, which is
considered a taboo subject in religious
Spanish culture.
 There are strong family links within this
Telenovella, again reflecting the lives of
the Spanish communities within Mexico
and American as well as Indonesia

4. Cañaveral de Pasiones
Video

5. Analysis
 Extreme close up of a womans
breasts, with the title in the
bottom left corner.
 A sound bridge allows the non-
digetic music to carry on into
an establishing shot using
panning.
 Simple jump shots are used
throughout the clip to show
different narratives.
 In this clip there is only two
narratives so it is does not
confuse the audience.
 The final few minutes are
mostly big close ups showing
the couples argument

6. Audience
 The audience statistics
show that this is a
traditional Telenovella with
a strong Latin American
audience
 The mainly female
audience is common
amongst the genre as
mostly women like to see
the sex and violence
featured in this particular
Telenovella, the
programme is also popular
with a wide range of ages
from 25-54

7. Betty La Fea (Betty the Ugly)
 Typically Mexican Telenovella
 Main character called Beatriz Aurora Pinzón
Solano or simply Betty.
 The story is the original concept of hit US Dramdy
‘Ugly Betty’ and has over 17 international
adaptations of the novella format, in countries
such as India, China, Serbia and

8. Betty La Fea Promo
Video

9. Audience
 From the clip you just
watched, the viewers
are mostly woman of
varying age groups,
these women are from
Spanish speaking
counties such as
Philippines
A map of Spanish
speaking countries

10. Analysis
 Betty La fea uses contrasting awful
strong colours,
 The transitions of the scenes is
done through moving one to the left
like movie maker (low budget)
 The sets are incredibly simple and
do not give of the glamorous edge
of its American spin off
 The music used in the telenovella
is typical Mexican, upbeat jazzy
groove soundtrack
 However despite the style of the
soap being different, conventions
such as character types
(antagonist, protagonist) and
camera angles remain, (reverse
angle edits, reaction shots and
point of view shots)

11. Las Pasiones de Betty
 Simply a clever piece of intertexuality that draws
from the roots of the popular Dramady to
populate an overexaggerated story line between
several characters of the US series.
 The scene takes the key concepts of any
traditional telenovela such as affairs, love,
shooting and an element of sex.

12. Hybridised Genre
Video

13. Analysis
 Following on from Betty la
fea this scene uses bright
colours to imitate the
telenovella format
 The action is fast paced
and over exaggerated
which is part of the
telenovella concept.
 The scene is shot uses
mainly close ups to show
emotion on actors faces
 The soundtrack in the
scene changes from a fast
past dramatic one
following the strong shifts
in emotion

14. Comparison
Betty Le Fea Ugly Betty

15. Conventions
Realism and Ideology
Telenovellas present a highly
exaggerated idea of realism, with
outlandish stories. Telenovellas
are very low budget so presenting
extravagant ideologies is near
impossible. All costumes are
normal ‘off the shelf’ clothes
which have been customised to
look bright and appealing to
audiences

16. Conventions
Settings
In native soap Betty La Fea, the
‘mode’ set is low budget and
can easily be taken down and
re installed quickly, when
shooting 3 episodes a week
there is little time to have a
intricate set.
In contrast the American version
set was permanent and they
shoot in seasons, so there is
plenty of time to consider
shape of walls, lighting and
the use of layout.