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Technological advancements of the time also helped the popularity
of “Beto Rockfeller". This telenovela production was
the first to use videotape (Lopez, 1995).
According to Fernandes (1994), this novela served as the blueprint
for future productions, not only in the format, but also in the
structure of the storyline. Because of the lack of organization
at the time, even the mishaps, which forced the cast and production
to be experts in improvisation, are used as a reference to this
day. "Beto Rockfeller" combined the many characteristics
of what was called by Straubhaar (1982) as a "Brazilianized
telenovela". The concoction of the new formula was created
by combining the use of colloquial language, the infusion of humor
and improvisation, the preoccupation with portraying the reality
of the country, and the incorporation of characters representing
the vast spectrum of society. Mattelart & Matterlart (1990)
well describe the impact of Beto Rockfeller in the terms of a national
production:
Beto Rockfeller" coincides with the period of the so-called
Brazilian miracle, which saw an average annual growth rate of 11
percent before brutally deflating toward 1973. This model of growth
benefited only a middle class minority (20 percent), but installed
the consumption patterns of this well-off group as a point of reference
for the aspirations of the whole population. "Beto" the
first novela with a self-consciously modern feel, represented the
coming together of a national genre and appealed to a mass national
audience that cut across social categories, age groups, income differences,
and professions.
Globo realized that the formula created by Gloria Magadán
was no longer working. To counteract the success of its rival network,
they implement a new vision for their production department, dropping
Magadán and hiring Janete Clair. Until her demise in 1983,
Janete Clair was essentially responsible for the success of the
8 p.m. novelas. Janete Clair was able to fuse the new tendency towards
realism and Brazilian themes with known melodramatic plots, proving
to be the "Queen of novelas" (Tavola, 1996). One of the
most memorable novelas in Clair's repertoire was "Irmãos
Coragem", aired in 1970. It was the first novela to be broadcasted
nationally (Hamburger, 1999). The story was set in Coroado, a fictitious
village in the countryside.
The action starts when the eldest brother working in a diamond mine
had his diamond stolen. The script combined western style and romantic
plots of forbidden love (Fernandes, 1994). Representing the tendency
to show the reality of the country, Clair infused the dialogues
with slang and regionalisms. She touched social and political issues
through Colonel Pedro Barros, a feared character depicted as arbitrary
and authoritarian, and the most powerful figure in Coroado (Távola,
1996). She also added a soccer player to the plot, in the height
of the soccer World Cup (Fernandes, 1994). However, the most important
claim to fame this novela can make is that of being the first to
attract the male audience. Ortiz et. al. (1991) argue that this
production can be viewed as a "masculine novela", revolving
around a diamond mine and soccer, reclaiming the style of a Hollywood
western. They added that the telenovelas considered realistic were
the ones able to attract the male audience.
The recreation of the melodramatic formula brought a modernization
of themes to the novela along with the use of Brazilian writers
coming from the theater and cinema (Lopez 1991; Straubhaar 1982;
Martin-Barbero 1992). The inclusion of well-known writers such as
Dias Gomes (Clair’s husband), Lauro César Muniz, and
Bráulio Pedroso consolidated the transformation of the telenovela
genre in Brazil. Their work was anchored in the reality of the country
and personified a more complex narrative form. They created characters
that struggled with the same obstacles faced by the audience in
everyday life. However, there was still room for a diversified narrative,
including love, humor, irony, and the use of colloquial speech and
popular expressions (Martín-Barbero, 1995). By adding the
reality of the country in the thematic scheme of the novelas, Globo
brought the discussion of current issues into Brazilian households
(La Pastina, 1999). Hoineff (1996) criticized Brazilian television
representation of reality saying that it has transformed into an
expression of reality itself, he argues that the networks have abused
their power by influencing viewers, dictating behavior and fabricating
public opinion.
In his study of the influence of telenovelas in the 1994 presidential
election, Porto (1998) affirms that telenovelas were a "key
public forum in the discussion of political and social issues."
Page (1995) talked about the enmeshment of the fiction showed in
the novelas and reality, making these two distinctive phenomenons
blur into one “fictional reality". To illustrate his
point, the author cites the case of the brutal assassination of
a young actress in December of 1992. Several hours before her murder,
the actress had filmed a scene in which her character angrily broke
up with her boyfriend. It turned out that the actor who played her
boyfriend along with his pregnant wife committed the crime. To add
to this surreal situation, the author of the novela "Corpo
e Alma" Gloria Perez was the mother of the victim. There was
a tremendous popular interest in this case in Brazil, and even the
announcement of the resignation of the country’s president
Fernando Collor at that time, appeared to pale in importance. In
talking about telenovelas and Brazilian culture, Page (1995) justifiably
named this relationship a "national obsession".
Mattelart & Mattelart (1990) cited Dias Gomes’ definition
of Brazilian telenovelas as an “open work” or an “open
genre”, to explain the uniquenesses of this genre. The telenovela
production is concurrent with the broadcast; therefore, the author
can modify the script while watching the work on the air. Many times
popular opinion determines the fate of a character, or the telenovela’s
final episode. The writers receive numerous influences directly
or indirectly, by fans, church, politics, advertisers, government,
and activist groups (Hamburger, 1999). There is also a sophisticated
system developed by Globo to evaluate public outlook, with the use
of opinion poll research, focus groups, and the analysis of the
large volume of letters that are addressed to the network and to
the author throughout the telenovela (Mattellart & Mattelart,
1990). Ismael Fernandes (1994) lists thirty-four telenovela authors
in his work compiling all Brazilian telenovelas. The production
schedule is rigorous, forcing long hours of work; therefore, it
is becoming customary to have a co-author sharing the work. The
writer also has the assistance of two apprentice scriptwriters and
one documentalist, responsible for the cohesiveness of the reality
represented in the drama (Mattellart & Mattelart, 1990).
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