TELENOVELA CRAZE
Murder, injustice,
romance, comedy, friendship, love and greed have been the themes of many TV
series and films. From the two and half men to the big bang theory to how I met
your mother, these series have proven to know exactly what the public crave
for. There is a shocking yet somewhat expected upsurge in the airing of
telenovelas. These television soap operas have gained a global appeal and have
been able to amass an astonishingly large audience. Gone are the days when the
watching of telenovelas was seen as a chore for the bored tired housewife. Now it
is enjoyed by everyone; men, children, teens, the old and the young. People go
to the ends of the world to watch all the episodes of their favourite
telenovela. Some literally become restless when their desire to watch an
episode is not fulfilled. They seem to be addicted to this without them having
to appreciate the fact. This is what has been called the telenovela craze.
Statistically, one
sure way of increasing the number of viewers to your TV channel is to start
airing a telenovela. In 1961 and 1963, Albert Bandura conducted a number of
experiments which was collectively named the Bobo doll experiment when he
studied children’s behaviour after watching an adult model act aggressively
towards a Bobo doll. This experiment served as an empirical demonstration of
Bandura’s social learning theory, showing that people can learn from watching
somebody being rewarded or punished. It is with bubbling enthusiasm that I
analyse the bright and the dark sides of the telenovela craze on the society,
following the path set by Albert Bandura.
THE BRIGHT SIDE
1. Wives with husbands who are big fans of
telenovelas, especially those aired in the evenings need not worry about their
husbands coming home late. This definitely has to be added to the bucket list
of “how to snare husbands in to coming home early”.
2. Telenovelas offers us the opportunity of
experiencing the beautiful lives of beautiful people from different beautiful
countries. Those with culture infused into them offer you a travel experience
at the tap of a button of a remote. No plane fares, no visa interviews, simply
a magical experience.
3. The watching of telenovelas is seen as a
way to unwind after a stressful event, day or week. It actively engages one’s
emotions with its top- notch suspense.
4. It has also greatly influenced fashion
trends. The hairstyles, clothing and accessories of the characters of the soap
operas are rigorously copied by women and men alike in their bid to be insanely
beautiful. Thus, increasing the clientele of many hairdressers and seamstresses.
5. Telenovelas have significantly impacted on
our views of tons of areas of life; politics, drug trafficking, relationships,
etc. the discussion of the actions of the characters in the episodes run on
some TV networks has enabled us to appreciate fully the lessons these soap
operas seek to cement into our lives.
6. The theme songs of most if not all
telenovelas are so catchy. People memorised the words of the songs even though
more often than not it is in a language they do not comprehend. Some used it to
dance; salsa, azonto and the like. From the theme songs of Teresa, a shelter
for love, Rebecca, woman of steel, crown of tears and what life took from me,
we realised that the production team of these telenovelas, put lots of efforts
into their work.
THE DARK SIDE
1. It wastes time. Workers during working
hours busily and nonchantly engage in the watching of telenovelas. Some are
able to combine mutually the act of watching and working but that’s not the
case for all. From keen observation, children and adults waste time gossiping
about the actions of the characters instead of indulging in productive
ventures. Students instead of learning stay glued to their seats in front of
the television. This has worsen the already bad performance displayed by some
students.
2. In the long run, it leads to unrealistic
expectations in life: love and relationship. Men are tempted to compare their
wives and girlfriends to the protagonist and the other female characters. Thus,
setting absurd standards as to how females should look. Females also wish that
their husbands and boyfriends are super romantic as the telenovelas depict.
3. This has encouraged sedentary lifestyle in
our society. People sit in front of the TV watching and eating at the same time,
contributing to the increase rate of obesity in the society. As they’re
enjoying the adventures in these telenovelas, they become oblivious as to what
is happening around them.
4. Telenovelas have influenced the behaviour
of many people in our society today. Many of whom are not able to perceive
distinctly the difference between the fiction showed and the realities on the
ground. Aggression, cheating in relationship are now viewed as normal by many
and in reality, they have turned into the characters in these soaps in their
daily living. It is quite worrying the way children are fast picking up these
behaviours, and it seems parents cannot do anything about it.
5. Can you imagine members of a congregation
pleading for their pastors to quickly end a sermon so they can go to homes to
watch the omnibus of the telenovelas showed during the week? But really, it
does happen. It isn’t bizarre that people don’t participate in social
interactions because of their insatiable desire to watch their deliciously backed
episodes of telenovelas? Some people strategically include the watching of
these telenovelas in to their daily schedule and become infuriated when that is
not fulfilled.
6. The long hours of watching these soap
operas have adverse effects on the visual faculty. I have seen people with
short-sightedness, who do not wear their glasses, yet stare closely 24/7 at
their TV screens in the name of Telenovela. The rays emitted from the
television are so powerful but this is not commonly realised.
Other
addictions some people have: addiction to heavy metals, addiction to video
games, and addiction to body modifications like piercing and tattoos, addiction
to gambling, addiction to the internet, addiction to shopping and addiction to
food.
You
might have an addiction that you have not yet discovered. It could or could not
be the telenovela craze. One thing is certain, if that ‘thing’ takes away so
much of your time without producing results, then it has to be cut completely
out of your life. Life is all about balance and addiction robs you of that
balance and your potential joy in life. Ask yourself; “is this really worth
it?” If yes, then good for you. If no, then start making drastic changes in
your life. Make that decision now, make that smart choice today.
Still smiling in the dream world...
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