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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Part I-Telenovelas
Overview
In this section a historical context of the telenovelas is presented.
The origin of the telenovelas is traced back to European newspaper
novels, followed by radionovelas, to the American soap opera, and
finally to the formation of a distinctive television genre named
telenovela. The regional differences within the Latin American novelas
are presented along with an outline of telenovela commercialization
in the Global market. Special consideration is given to the Brazilian
telenovelas, from its inception to the redefinition of the concept
that gave telenovelas a distinct style. The importance of Rede Globo
(Globo Television Network) in the development of the genre is also
discussed.
Definition and Historical Perspective
Telenovelas (soap-operas) or simply novelas as they are called in
Brazil are traced back to nineteenth–century European feuilletons
(fascicles), which were newspaper novels printed in installments
(Rogers & Antola, 1985; Martín-Barbero, 1988; Marquez
de Melo 1988; Mattelart & Mattelart, 1990). Around 1830 newspapers
in England and France started publishing serialized novels that
became popular with subscribers (Rowe & Schelling, 1991). Newspapers
subscriptions increased dramatically due to the readers’ attraction
to the adventurous nature of the novels. The formula was simple:
storylines were created with a “to be continued” cliffhanger
keeping up the interest and curiosity of the readers (Museum of
Television and Radio, 1997).
The publishers, attempting to secure the success of this enterprise,
hired the most famous novelists of the time. In 1836, publishers
Chapman and Hall offered Charles Dickens the opportunity to write
a story in monthly installments, to accompany the illustrations
of then popular cartoonist Robert Seymor. That was the first time
a serial novel was published in installments that did not have an
ending in sight (Museum of Television and Radio, 1997). At the same
time, French publishers courted and hired Honoré de Balzac
to write serial narrative stories. However, Eugène Sue, a
French writer, was the first to demonstrate the viability of the
serial narratives through mass consumption. Sue's serial “Le
juif errant” (The Wandering Jew” (1842) helped to increase
the newspaper's circulation from 3,600 subscribers to the neighborhood
of 23,000. Much of his success was attributed to his concoction
of sensational plots including suicides, murders, conspiracies,
and to his mastery of the serialized narrative. Sue left readers
in suspense when he ended his narrative stories at a point of unsolved
tension. His followers were people from different backgrounds, from
businessmen and lawyers to cooks and day laborers (Hagerdorn, 1995).
Ortiz et al. (1991), on the other hand, thinks that at this time
Sue's work may not really be considered popular. Initially newspapers
were obtained through subscription, which restricted its access
to the middle class. He argues that it was only after the second
imperial period, around 1863, that the masses had access to newspapers,
when they started to be sold on the streets. By this time, the popularity
of the feuilleton exploded with the urban population and the people
of the rural provinces.
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