Brazilian Telenovelas Research Articles

The sexual other in Brazilian television

This article explores the representation of sexual others in prime-time Brazilian telenovelas. It investigates how gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) individuals have been portrayed in those media texts. It presents an account of the few images of gay males on telenovelas, with the even fewer ones of lesbian, bisexual and transgendered characters, and attempts to discuss these images in a particular historical moment in Brazil. It also looks at the impact that official censorship, audience ratings, pressure from conservative groups, such as the Catholic Church, and advertisers have on the fate and range of those images. This article ends with two case studies of recent telenovelas that included the most progressive representations in the history of the genre in Brazil.

Product Placement in Brazilian Prime Time Television: The Case of the Reception of a Telenovela

Brazilian telenovelas-popular prime-time serial melodramas-have traditionally used product placement to help finance production costs. In the last decade, this strategy has become a central force influencing narrative choices. This paper discusses product placement in Brazilian telenovelas through an in-depth analysis of a recent show, The Cattle King. Ethnographic data on its reception focuses on the role of gender, geographic location, and cultural capital in viewers' interpretations of textual insertions.

Telenovelas and politics in the 1994 Brazilian presidential election*

Brazilian telenovelas (soap operas) have been playing a growing and important role in the discussion of political and social problems in Brazil. This specific role of melodrama in Brazilian culture imposes the necessity of exploring its influence upon the political process, avoiding the prejudice and indifference of the traditional approach to this problem on the part of political scientists. The objective of this article is to stress the importance of telenovelas for the interpretation of the Brazilian political process and to show their role as a key public forum in the discussion of political and social issues. A content analysis of three telenovelas that preceded the 1994 Brazilian presidential election is developed to identify the constitutive elements of the “scenario of representation of politics” (SR‐P) within which the electoral process took place. The identification of the SR‐P's constitutive elements is made on the basis of three telenovelas produced by TV Globo: Renascer (Revival), Fera Ferida (Wounded Beast) and Pátria Minha (My Homeland). The implications of the study for the analysis of political and electoral processes are discussed.

Review & Booknote: Serial Fiction in TV: The Latin American Telenovelas, with an Annotated Bibliography of Brazilian Telenovelas

Review & Booknote: Serial Fiction in TV: The Latin American Telenovelas, with an Annotated Bibliography of Brazilian Telenovelas

Television: The Critical View

This anthology, first published in 1976, is used in courses on television criticism, television history, media & society, and broadcasting. The 7th edition, which is comprised of virtually all new selections, features a slightly revamped organization, adding sections on History and Reception. In addition, this revision expands its international focus, with pieces on the Chinese soap opera, Brazilian telenovelas, and the role of race in Puerto Rican television, among others. Finally, this book remains current in its treatment of technology, making it the gold standard of anthologies on television.

An ethnographic approach to the reception of telenovelas: some reflections on research methods

As telenovelas brasileiras são transmitidas pelo Brasil em horário nobre, seis dias na semana. Elas atraem, diariamente, uma audiência de mais de quarenta milhões de expectadores. Elas também atraem milhões de dólares em receita de publicidade, além de promover uma gama de produtos e desejos que são disponibilizados para milhões de expectadores. Diversos estudos de recepção de telenovelas brasileiras têm considerado as reações e interpretações das tramas apresentadas. Tendo decidido pesquisar o impacto destes programas nas vidas das pessoas, eu fui confrontada com uma questão crucial: como proceder para obter informações qualitativas sobre a recepção das telenovelas? Neste artigo, eu discuto e reflito sobre algumas questões metodológicas com as quais eu tive de lidar durante o meu processo de pesquisa. Eu argumento que uma análise completa da recepção dos expectadores de telenovelas deve levar em conta a maneira como elas são integradas e implicadas dentro de outras mídias e de eventos da vida cotidiana. O campo de trabalho etnográfico torna esta perspectiva possível.