thenovelafeud

[thenovelafeud]

Who runs the world? - Telenovelas

Telenovelas come in all shapes and forms. 

After having seen novelas from all around the world here are a few elements we can note:

•Broadcasters:  Broadcasters that produce novelas are mostly private channels that are specialised in entertainment content, some being specialised in novelas specifically. The only country in the presented panel that had its novela broadcasted on national television is Brazil. Many novelas get the opportunity to end-up on platforms it was the case for three novelas of this panel that were available on Netflix. We’ve seen that some are produced entirely for a digital environment which shows that it’s still a genre that evolves. 

•Format: Formats of telenovelas aren’t really standardized. The most common one being the 20 minute episode developped in Hispanic Latin America on Canal Estrellas mostly. This format being cheaper of course, and easier to industrialize. But with time and success some novelas are produced to be longer as we have seen with Al Hayba, Avenida Brasil, Gonul or Khirurgiya. Other formats are appearing as “An African City”, a short format that doesn’t exist in a channel’s program grid but gets to be produced for Youtube. 

•Themes:  They usually are depictions of their respective societies and are condensed narrations of these societies’ inherent problematics. They portray a given population letting us discover what specificities it may have. All that in an extremely dramatized narration that captivates its audience.

•The audience: This case study helped me understand that novela’s audiences are well targeted by their productions. Their process of writing includes as many ages as it can. The mexican novela that aimed at children was quite a funny one to see because it kept the same amount of drama and accumulation of events as an adult content. The japanese teenage one was quite interesting as well in what it used to attract youngsters. Even the adult novelas are usually watched by younger audiences that enjoy sharing an interest with their mom/ aunt/ best friend. As it’s suspens based it works with all types of ages. 

•The genre: Novelas aren’t only dramatic contents. They are highly dramatized contents that  create excitement out of the simplest situations. Some use cheap tools to do so as we’ve seen with the japanese novela - others use  high-end storytelling. Still, novelas can be comedies as Morangos com açucar. They can also be romcoms as An African City. 

In the end what makes a novela, a novela is the intensity of the script and the way the content is distributed: what broadcaster? what hour in the grid? what communication around it? and also how the audience reacts to it.

Urban dictionnary should definitely review its definition!  

[thenovelafeud]

An African City : The Ghanaian Sex and the City

Theme: Identity, women, Africa,

Duration: 14 minutes.

Audience: Adults.

Country: Ghana.

Year of release: 2019.

Genre: RomCom.

Original channel: Youtube Channel - An African City

Language I saw it in: English.

Characters: Nana Yaa a young woman that returns to her home country after having lived in the US most of her life. Her group of well educated friends that used to study and work in the US as well (Zainab, Makena, Ngozi and Sadé).

What’s interesting in this novela: Its concept and diffusion. This webseries was highly inspired by Issy Rae’s 2011 Youtube series “Awkward Black Girl”. Its influence is recognizable by the choice of format - 14 minute episodes, a narration based on its voiceover - one main character that’s a misfit.

Resume of the pilot: Nana Yaa lands in Accra, Ghana - the land where she was born, after having been long established in New York. Her family returned there shortly before her, after her father was designated as the next energy minister there. She doesn’t quite fit-in, and can feel that she’s going to have a hard time adapting to that country. Right after landing in Accra, she meets with her girlfriends at a restaurant and gets to exchange with them about their experience in adapting to Ghanaian society. They worry her, more than they comfort her, and question the reasons why she chose to come back. It could be that Nana Yaa’s ex-boyfriend returned to Ghana as well, but he is now engaged to another woman. She also wanted to find new job opportunities there, having her father being part of the government. The episode ends after her disclaiming having returned to get back with her ex. She then sees him at the restaurant with his fiancée and bursts out of the restaurant in tears.  

My thoughts: •The sequences are poorly chosen The episode tells us about this girl that moves to Africa and feels out of place. We don’t get to see Ghana. The four sets chosen are solely interior shots of private spaces apart from the airport. The action in that first episode presents the protagonist, but nothing around her is defined apart from that conversation she has with her group of friends (that depicts a very negative portrait of Ghana right from the beginning). We don’t feel like anything evolves at all in that pilot. Nana Yaa doesn’t seem to have a goal - her girlfriends are very flat characters that enunciate stereotypes on ghanaian society.

•The protagonist isn’t a well-written character I don’t think the script leaves enough space to the audience to relate to the main character. We either listen to her thoughts or listen to her talking with other characters. It reduces our identification to her by giving her speech more importance in her characterisation than her acts.

•It’s a new type of representation of African societies Even though it’s poorly written, the concept is good in that it represents a new face of Africa - its high society. The main track of the plot actually reflects the attraction the continent has,  to that well educated wealthy young generation. It could use better storytelling but is still interesting in that sense.

It’s a slap! 

[thenovelafeud]

Khirurgiya. Territoriya lyubvi: Love in the operating block

Theme: Medical fields, love triangle, family.

Duration: 44 minutes.

Audience: Adults.

Country: Russian.

Year of release: 2016.

Genre: Drama.

Original channel: Star Media.

Language I saw it in: Russian subbed in english.

Characters: Alina a young surgeon, her husband Sergei a surgeon in the same service as her, their son, and her step-daughter. Yegor her ex, a surgeon and new director of the surgery department at their hospital, Alina’s former professor. Tanya Yegor’s wife a gynecologist that can’t have children and that’s rich. The staff of the hospital. 

What’s interesting in this novela: It’s the first series I ever watch that’s Russian and it’s pretty similar to how Turkish novelas are directed from what I’ve seen. 

Resume of the pilot: Alina is in a happy place, she lives with her caring husband and their son, she loves her work and its environment - everything is just perfect from her perspective. When her birthday arrives an odd present comes in her life - her ex Yegor is promoted chief of the surgery department in her hospital. After avoiding him and  pretending not to have feelings for him anymore he imposes himself to her until she finally falls back for him. In the meantime her relationship with Sergei shatters partly because his daughter from another relationship comes to live with them. Also Sergei has been bullied by their new chief eversince he’s arrived and has been suspicious about his wife's relationship with Yegor. The episode ends with her kissing him. 

My thoughts: •The rhythm is really good The episode is well constructed. It starts with young Alina as a med student, we then go through her current life in a 10 minute part until her past comes disrupting her current situation. We get to understand where she comes from and how she gets in this love conondrum with ease. All the elements that disturb are well introduced from the beginning and everything runs smoothly.

•Not a shot to waste Every shot in the episode has a purpose and everything is really well dramatized. From the beginning we understand what it’s gonna be about and we’re hooked. (The actors are pretty good too!) 

•The image is pretty neat The series is technically irreproachable. It’s actually one of the striking ressemblance with Turkish novelas, the technicians have done such a great job on this novela. They keep it very simple and realistic from the set, to the light, to the frame. 

It’s a clap!

[thenovelafeud]

Al Hayba: A widow welcomed into her late husband’s past.

Theme: Thriller, drug traffic, violence, family values, traditions.

Duration: 40 minutes.

Audience: Adults.

Country: Lebanon.

Year of release: 2017.

Genre: Drama-thriller.

Original channel: MBC.

Language I saw it in: Arabic.

Characters: Alia a recent widow, her husband’s friend who travelled with her to Lebanon for the funerals, her in-laws whom she’s never met before and are numerous (Jabal and Sakher her two brothers-in-law, Mona her husband’s sister, their mom, Chahine her husband’s cousin,...) 

What’s interesting in this novela: The show aired in Ramadhan 2 years ago on MBC in the Middle East and in North Africa. Ramadhan shows are HUGE in arabic countries, they gather the entire arabic world in front of their TV after Iftar (time to eat after fasting). Al-Hayba was part of a scandal in Lebanon: the Baalbek region (where the story’s set) has filed a lawsuit against the show, saying it depicted the region negatively (violence, drugs, murders). The main actress dropped the 2nd season, stating that the show puts most female characters in the shadow of male ones including hers. 

Resume of the pilot:  Alia and her son Joe, are travelling to Lebanon to burry the man of their lives. They came all the way from Canada with a friend of their family to give him the funerals he wanted: in Baalbek, on the grounds of his family. Alia has never met with her in-laws. Her husband never talked about them, neither did he speak to them. As they arrive in Beirut, she starts to understand that his secrets were actually bigger than she thought. Two shady men come to pick her up at the airport his cousin and an assigned driver. As she had only spoken to Jabal her brother-in-law, to organize the funerals, she panics and asks to talk to him before getting in the car with anyone. They tell her he can’t be reached. In the meantime Jabal is actually beating up a man that committed treason to their clan. We little by little understand that the family lives secluded in mountain tops in Baalbek, in a very dangerous environment, because they have ennemies in every corner. Alia doesn’t know it yet but their traditions are going to win over her will. 

My thoughts:  •It’s very well shot + everyone’s HOT in this series Really impressive how good is the quality of the filming. They use a LOT of music, for non-apparent reasons though. It just emphasizes the feelings of the characters whenever something happens, which can get annoying. The actors are REALLY good looking. All of them, just a bunch of lebanese hotties (see below the two main characters). 

•The narrative is very clear Nothing is complicated about the storyline. It’s not absurd in any way, there’s actually some realism, that may have caused the filed lawsuit. It has a lot of sense when you know how divided Lebanon can be, and how power is really in the hands of the ones that fight for the honor of their community there. 

•There’s too much violence and the plot is indeed very testosterony It’s a lot of guns and males that tell women what to do. Except for the matriarch ain’t nobody is stopping these fellows from committing their crimes and shooting their guns in the air. 

It’s not really my cup of tea but it gets intriguing to know how Alia and Joe will evolve after this encounter. I’m giving it a clap.

[thenovelafeud]

Hatırla Gönül - A fairytale gone wrong

Theme: Amnesia, thriller, mariage, suspens, social differences. 

Duration: 44 minutes.

Audience: Adults - women mainly.

Country: Turkey.

Year of release: 2015.

Genre: Drama.

Original channel: StarTV.

Language I saw it in: Turkish subbed in english.

Characters: Gönül the protagonnist a nurse that suffers from amnesia that’s an orphan, Tekin her fiancé, a surgeon that works at the same hospital as her. The hospital belongs to Tekin’s father.  His rich family (Nese his sister, his mother, his father). Hanice an employee of Gönül’s orphanage that she considers as family.  Finen Tekin’s mistress, a prostitute he treats poorly. Ilknur Tekin’s ex. Aylin Gönül’s best friend. M. Kurçat a rich man that just learns he has a daughter somewhere in Istanbul, who’s Gönül. One other character appears but don’t know his name. 

What’s interesting in this novela: Turkish dramas are a worldwide phenomenon. In arabic countries they are the all time favorite series to be watched for their quality but also for the fact that they portray the perfect mix between Western society and muslim society. Hatırla Gönül is a very successul turkish novela that aired all accross the globe in Kosovo, Israel, South America, UAE and the US. 

Resume of the pilot: At the beginning of the episode we hear a voice-over explaining that the entire story may be a flashback. The protagonnist explains that she is married and suffers from amnesia and right after it, the explanation of her past starts. 

Gönül, is living her best life. She has a job for herself, she has friends, and has definetly split with her past in the orphanage where she grew up. Coming from a poor background, she would have never thought that she’d end up marrying a rich surgeon who’s a celebrity thanks to his rich family. Tekin, appears to be mad in love with her. He takes her out, he wants to spend time with her, he stands for her when his family despise her. 

But sometimes, he acts out of character. He loses his temper and brings her down. Moments when Gönül just doesn’t know about the future of their relationship and wants to step out. But Tekin always finds a way to win her back. As the wedding approaches, their relationship gets public. Someday as she is picking her dress for her wedding day a woman, Iknil, comes in the fitting room and tells her that she should keep away from Tekin for she has suffered his anger and violence as she dated him in the past. When Tekin walks in on them exchanging she walks out and he denies knowing her. Shortly after, Gönül sees him chasing the lady up in the street and beating her. By the end of the episode Tekin nearly gets forgiven when Iknil strikes again and sends Gönül photos of her past with him. At the end of the episode she decides to go and get more informations from this lady but finds out she committed suicide.

On the side of the main story, we also find out Gönül has a rich father somewhere in Istanbul looking for her. And we see a man coming out of prison looking for his son who’s story we don’t quite understand in the pilot. 

My thoughts: •It’s very well shot  The quality of the image is quite impressive. They seem to have a very strict way of narrating through image in Turkey. It’s very fluent you don’t need to do much thinking to understand where they are taking you. Everything is very clear and well edited. 

•It’s a lot of narrative tracks to follow I truly could not understand who some of the characters were until the end of the pilot. There are 3 storylines and a lot of characters that are just here to help charactarizing the main ones. It was a bit hard to follow for some parts. But the pilot still stated very clearly the main story and what to expect from it.

•The flashback at the beginning is quite unclear Everything was clear except for that flashback at the beginning that didn’t use the traditionnal effects to bring a flashback narration. It was very confusing because we would see Gönül from the past on the image and hear Gönül from the present that states her amnesia. But since you know nothing about the character at that point, in the course of the episode you’re still wondering if she is amesic or not at that time. 

I’m giving it a clap.

[thenovelafeud]

Minami-kun no Koibito: mini woman seeks the love of her childhood sweetheart.

Theme: Childhood love, teenage drama, family, myths.

Duration: 44 minutes.

Audience: Teenagers.

Country: Japan.

Year of release: 2015.

Genre: RomCom.

Original channel: Fuji Television Network. (on Netflix now)

Language I saw it in: Japanese subbed in english.

Characters: Chiyomi the main character. Shunichi a popular young man and Chiyomi’s ex best-friend. Chiyomi’s family (her dad, mom and younger sister). Ami and Riku her two high school best-friends. Sayori the popular girl of their class. 

What’s interesting in this novela: It’s a drama that was adapted from a manga. The manga is actually a reinterpretation of the japanese myth of Kaguya-Hime, a popular japanese myth that was adapted by the great Isao Takahata from Ghibli’s studio.  

Resume of the pilot: In a small town in Japan, a young girl named Chiyomi is about to go back to school for her final year. She’s a very lively young woman that writes online novels and dances in her off time. However, she deep down is bothered of having lost sight with her childhood sweetheart who is her neighbour. Shunichi lives right next door from Chiyomi but avoids her. He’s a young man with an attitude, who’s very focused on his will to get to med school. One day, after her best-friend Riku admits his love to her and asks her out, Chiyomi gets to understand she still has feelings for Shunichi, whom had been getting closer to Sayori a girl in their class that gets every boys attention. After arguing with her parents over college talk, Chiyomi runs away and gets some time for herself to think about her love conundrum. After running into her beloved neighbour she runs away and gets stuck outside under a rainstorm. The next morning she wakes up being a few centimeters tall, as the princess of the popular tale Shunichi’s grandma used to tell them growing up. As her family thinks she has run away for good, her neighbour finds her and keeps it a secret as she doesn’t want to worry her close ones with this odd situation of hers. 

My thoughts: •Post-production is REALLY not on point. All through the episode and even though I was watching this drama on Netflix, the callibration and the sound would be glitching. It made the whole image and sound seem poorly manufactured which got me wondering: how can an industry that produce animated art pieces can let this light be so bright in their images when they work on live-action. The calibration does not color the full track of the clips. It seems like the guy in charge of the color editing didn’t double check his work, AT ALL. The sound editing as well got me cringing. On some clips there is just NO sound at all. Why would you sabottage your own work by not making sure you drag the effects until the end of each clip?  

•I’m not mad at the story. It’s a teenage love story that makes sense, even though it’s pretty basic. The characters are pretty cute and the acting is very “manga-like”; a little overdone but really sweet in how they express emotions and feelings.  When you know what myth it relates to, you understand the whole her getting really tiny thing. I’m not mad at it. 

•The character of Shunichi is a good narrative tool. He’s quite unpredictable, since we see the story from Chiyomi’s viewpoint in the pilot. The suspens effect really relies on him and it gets you want to know how his behaviour with her will evolve. 

It’s alright...  I’ll give it a little Snap.

[thenovelafeud]

El abuelo y yo: Street smart boy builds an unexpected friendship with a rich girl.

Theme: Social differences, human ties, friendship, finding family.

Duration: 22 minutes.

Audience: Children.

Country: Mexico.

Year of release: 1992.

Genre: Drama. 

Original channel: Canal de las estrellas.

Language I saw it in: Spanish. 

Characters: Daniel the little boy that’s on his own. His dog Anselmo. Don Joaquin the grumpy old man. Sofia the maid. Alejandra the rich young girl. 

What’s interesting in this novela: First off, Baby Gael Garcia Bernal <3 human incarnation of charm (see for yourself below)! Also it’s part of a very latin american genre the juvenile novela, which I find very curious and appealing, at least it makes me wonder how novelas are perceived there. 

Resume of the pilot: Daniel is a young boy that was abandoned by his parents. He has lived ever since on his own in the shantytown where they had a little house, nearby Mexico. 

One day, as he’s preparing to find some food for himself and his dog at a market, promoters enter the illegal property to throw everybody out. All his neighbours move, except for one old man Don Joaquin, an old musician,  whom was the actual owner of his house. Daniel is left out on his own, and refuses to leave, in case his parents would come back to pick him up. He’s forced to live on the streets and cries himself to sleep. 

The next day he goes out to find himself a job in a rich neighborhood as a gardener.  He meets Sofia the family maid. She gives him some food, hiding him from her bosses. Alejandra the daughter of the family, who loves her maid, gets to see Daniel hidden below a table and acts friendly towards him. 

It’s the beginning of a great friendship... 

My thoughts: •A common topic. It’s a story that we all know about: the peasant and the rich beauty. It’s funny to see this conventionnal story applied to kids. The characters are portrayed quite like sitcom characters, they really fit in the box of their social rank and interract with others based on that. Basically the whole storyline is predictable and there isn’t much intensity in the way they act their emotions (which is quite disappointing for a novela). 

•The cast looks good. It’s impressive how each and every comedian on this show looks incredibly good. From the old man to the hot rich mom, everybody looks fantastically good which totally decredibilizes the series. I mean... in real life people look good, but here everyone’s suspisciously good looking. 

•This novela leaves me indefferent.  I do not quite get where the story is leading us except showing us that - social differences do not ultimately divide society. It’s funny how the “abuelo”, Don Joaquin, the musician, has an outsider viewpoint that shows the role of culture in society, that quite brings people together. It’s well thought but I don’t find it strikingly good nor relevant. 

… Slap!

[thenovelafeud]

Morangos Com Açucar: Cheesy teenage love triangle by the sea.

Theme: Love, school, family, fun, friends.

Duration: 39 minutes.

Audience: Teenagers.

Country: Portugal.

Year of release: 2003.

Genre: Comedy.

Original channel: TVI.

Language I saw it in: Portuguese.

Characters: Pipo a teenage boy and his younger siblings. Joana a teenage girl her family and her friends at school. Ricardo her ex-boyfriend. 

What’s interesting in this novela: Many of Portugal’s famous tv actors/ hosts come from this show (Filomena Cautela, Filipa Areosa, Carolina Loureiro). It’s an iconic early 2000s show that has had a phenomenal local success. It was even reason of a national scandal, as the show was quite liberal and was first to display sex and drugs to youngsters on portuguese tv. 

Resume of the pilot: Cascais, a city by the sea, close to Lisbon where the  sun shines and rich people live with their families. 

It’s Joana’s birthday, she’s 17, she’s cute, she’s blonde and in love. Her parents bore her, her father is an idiot that flirts with her girlfriends... As her family and friends celebrate her, Joana only has one thing in her mind finding her boyfriend Ricardo whom she hasn’t seen eversince the party started. She decides to go and look for him, only to find him kissing another girl on her parent’s property. 

Desperate and overreacting Joana, leaves her own birthday party and attempts to drown herself in the ocean. Thankfully, Pipo - a sexy young guy that was skinny dipping in the ocean (in the middle of the afternoon) saw her getting in the water and saved her. They fall for each other but Pipo has to run away (butt-naked) as Ricardo interrupts them.  Cut to -  It’s the first day of school and Pipo is a new student in Cascais’ high school (his parents died in Porto and left him and his siblings orphan which led them to move to Cascais). He meets Ricardo who turns out to be an old friend of a friend, the two bond. Later that day he sees Joana and they both exchange on their romantic first encounter. 

The episode ends on them having spent the night together at the beach after class. 

My thoughts:  •An outdated series. From the storytelling to the filming technique and the editing everything in this series is SO outdated. It’s truly hard not to take into account all the “modern effects” that were used to aim at the young audience. Even the typo of the title looks old and cheap. 

•Very basic characters that are just vaguely put in the context of their environment. The storyline doesn’t really present the characters in depth. We sort of understand Pipo’s story in a very artificial conversation he has with his siblings. We don’t quite understand who is Joana, or her friends and family. It all seems like a caricature of spoiled kids that go to classes on their cool scooters, and that spend their afternoons at the beach. Pipo and a new math teacher are the outsiders that integrate this high school way of life. 

•So bad it’s good.   I truly had a good laugh seeing scenes as the one I screen-shotted above. The series lasted 9 seasons. Each season had a new generation of characters. I know it hooked many young portuguese teens/ pre-teens, so i’m guessing if I were an adolescent I could perhaps get the charm of this love triangle (other than Pipo’s buttcheeks on screen). 

Funny, but I’m just not that into it... Slap! 

[thenovelafeud]

Avenida Brasil : Keep your family close, and your enemies closer.

Theme: Family, revenge, success, money. 

Duration: 48 minutes.

Audience: Family.

Country: Brazil.

Year of release: 2012.

Genre: Drama.

Original channel: Rede Globo.

Language I saw it in: Spanish. 

Characters: Rita a young girl. Her evil step-mom Carminha. Her gullible father Génésio . A reknown soccer player Tufão and his girlfriend. Cadinho a millionaire, two of his wives and his assistant. 

What’s interesting in this novela: Avenida Brasil was a huge international hit. From M6 to MBC (UAE television) everywhere in the world the young Nina aka Rita has conquered the audience’s hearts. 

Resume of the pilot: Rio de Janeiro, in a residential neighborhood that borders one of the most eminent artery of the country -  Avenida Brasil - which helped urbanizing many areas of Brazil’s outback and links various populations to the city center. 

Rita, a 9 year old girl, lives there with her father. He is a middle class worker, whom has found himself a new woman that is mean to his daughter and plots to steal all his money. Problem is, Rita has a personnality of her own and Carminha (her step-mom) can’t get her way around this young girl. Their tensions end-up messing Rita’s relationship with Génésio, until she reveals to him the true colors of Carmen... a little too late.

In another part of the city Tufão a popular soccer player is preparing to win one of the most decisive match of his career.  He belongs to one of the poorest neighborhood of Rio, where his girlfriend (to whom he proposes in the episode) is a hairdresser. 

In the meantime Cadinho a business man and womanizer that has three families in three parts of the country becomes a millionnaire.

My thoughts: •A tragedy that multi-portrays the city of Rio.  The pilot of the series clearly is a starting point of a very elaborate story that crosses characters from different social ranks. The characters do not sum-up to their social positions, though them belonging to a certain spot in the city accordingly to the avenue gives them a purpose in the dynamic of the city that harmonizes their differences. 

•An exhilarating plot. Every situation takes an unexpected turn that shifts the story to a whole other scheme between the beginning and the end of the episode. All the characters change dramatically: Génésio dies, Rita is on her own, Carmen’s evil plot is revealed, but glory is yet to shine right back at her window after Génésio’s death. Tufão killed Génésio unexpectedly as he was driving himself back home from the match. That poor Génésio can only articulate one word before dying: the name of Carmen whom he had just broken up with after he saw her plotting against him. Cadinho becomes a millionnaire and almost reveals his affairs to his wife. 

•A complex storyline that may get confusing. Even if I did enjoy the pilot I doubt the evolution of the storyline will stay coherent, according to how fast things move in that first episode. I still think it’s really entertaining how emotions are shown with such intensity in that novela. 

Avenida Brasil is a promising first novela to review. It’s totally worth a snap ! 

[thenovelafeud]

Rating system

Slap: Could use some creativity.

Snap: It’s getting me hooked with its dense and intense plot. 

Clap: Love it so much Imma drop my chips and clap for it.