Antonio C. La Pastina

Multiple Proximities between Television Genres and Audiences The Schism between Telenovelas’ Global Distribution and Local Consumption

How can a Mexican telenovela be more attractive to viewers in Brazil than a nationally produced telenovela? This seems to be the question posed by the increasing transnational flow of cultural products. Most of the data indicate that viewers prefer locally produced programs. Nevertheless, some of the transnational success of Latin American telenovelas abroad seems to question this truism. This article argues that audience preferences are formed within the overall trend toward cultural proximity within both national and cultural-linguistic boundaries. However, within this logic of cultural proximity, other forces also apply. It is important to understand cultural proximity working not only at the national and supranational levels but also at the subnational and regional spheres. With this in mind, the authors first examine the attraction or proximity of genres, from the virtually global attraction of melodrama, as a macro genre, to subgenres within the telenovela. Second, they discuss the sense of shared historical experience of specific groups within nations and how this particular form of proximity might operate at the reception level.

The sexual other in Brazilian television Public and institutional reception of sexual difference

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.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.

Multiple Proximities between Television Genres and Audiences

How can a Mexican telenovela be more attractive to viewers in Brazil than a nationally produced telenovela? This seems to be the question posed by the increasing transnational flow of cultural products. Most of the data indicate that viewers prefer locally produced programs. Nevertheless, some of the transnational success of Latin American telenovelas abroad seems to question this truism. This article argues that audience preferences are formed within the overall trend toward cultural proximity within both national and cultural-linguistic boundaries. However, within this logic of cultural proximity, other forces also apply. It is important to understand cultural proximity working not only at the national and supranational levels but also at the subnational and regional spheres. With this in mind, the authors first examine the attraction or proximity of genres, from the virtually global attraction of melodrama, as a macro genre, to subgenres within the telenovela. Second, they discuss the sense of shared historical experience of specific groups within nations and how this particular form of proximity might operate at the reception level.

Why Do I Feel I Don't Belong to the Brazil on TV?

Telenovelas have been considered the predominant popular genre on television, the most widely available and popular national medium, in Brazil, for more than 30 years (Straubhaar, 1982). However, we argue in this article that although telenovelas do indeed have this remarkable penetration and popularity in Brazil, their reception is mediated by audience class, geographical location, race, and issues with media content. Many in the audience feel disenfranchised from the dominant telenovela representations, particularly on the primary network, TV Globo, because of their rural, Northeastern status and identity, or their Afro-Brazilian identity. They question their sense of belonging, not because they do not feel Brazilian, but because the “Brazil” they see on TV does not include them.

Up the Amazon without a paddle: developing nations and globalization

are more economic than political. One would not be too optimistic to assume that the coming of global media will promote press freedom and media democratization in China, for their intervention with local Chinese conditions will not make the best business sense. Conversely, one would not be too pessimistic to conclude that global media are doomed to failure in the Chinese marketplace in the face of authoritarian restriction from the propaganda ‘czars’ and deep-rooted nationalism at grass-roots level, for the ongoing process of social stratification and cultural diversification has already left little room for any endeavor of conformity, let alone coercion. More significantly, the tale of ‘the taming of the shrew’ in the Chinese media sphere is not merely another embodiment of the inherent dichotomy between China and the West; it also manifests the efforts of reinventing the term ‘global’ in the context of third-world nations. Compared to their Euro-American counterparts, Chinese media appear more ‘global’ by way of alluding to such news sources as the Qatar-based TV network al-Jazeera, importing soap operas from Brazil and Venezuela, and selling pop music stars from Japan and South Korea. Meanwhile, local institutions also endeavor to make Chinese media products more ‘globalized’, as evinced by CCTV-9 (English Channel)’s integration into Viacom’s distribution system in Euro-America, and by the global success of Zhang Yimou’s recent Kungfu-cum-epic, Hero. In a Chinese perspective, what the coming of global media evokes in contemporary China is not simply another rehearsal of Hollywoodization or Disneyfication, but rather a plethora of ideological, institutional and discursive conflicts, contests and negotiations at various levels.

Multiple Proximities between Television Genres and Audiences: The Schism between Telenovelas’ Global Distribution and Local Consumption

How can a Mexican telenovela be more attractive to viewers in Brazil than a nationally produced telenovela? This seems to be the question posed by the increasing transnational flow of cultural products. Most of the data indicate that viewers prefer locally produced programs. Nevertheless, some of the transnational success of Latin American telenovelas abroad seems to question this truism. This article argues that audience preferences are formed within the overall trend toward cultural proximity within both national and cultural-linguistic boundaries. However, within this logic of cultural proximity, other forces also apply. It is important to understand cultural proximity working not only at the national and supranational levels but also at the subnational and regional spheres. With this in mind, the authors first examine the attraction or proximity of genres, from the virtually global attraction of melodrama, as a macro genre, to subgenres within the telenovela. Second, they discuss the sense of shared historical experience of specific groups within nations and how this particular form of proximity might operate at the reception level.