Novelas (or formally telenovelas) have become one of the most iconic and classic elements of Latin American culture. Anyone who says that their mother, grandmother, or aunt did not watch a novela is simply lying.
Despite their traditional sense, soap operas have faced a unique evolution from being produced in Latin America to being imported. Why is this happening? What is the background behind this change in the consumption of moms? Here we will find out everything!
What’s changing in telenovelas?
If you’ve turned on the TV lately, you’ve undoubtedly come across countless commercials about Turkish, Arab, or simply foreign soap operas. If we ponder this, we will see that easily, on TV, there are 3 foreign soap operas for 1 Latin one. This is one of the most evident signs that everything is changing.
So we can relate that the change in the consumption of novelas by Latina moms is caused by the change in programming. That is, those who used to watch telenovelas now have to watch foreign novelas because of the changes made by the TV stations. In other words, they have no choice.
But why were Latin soap operas replaced by foreign ones?
According to different consultants, the production cost is perhaps one reason for these changes. Television companies have found it more profitable to pay for the rights of a foreign novela than to create their own. This is due to all that it entails regarding cast, locations, production, etc.
Another reason that has been found in the plots of the novelas themselves. In Latin American countries like Mexico, the plots are usually the same. A forbidden love, the rich man and the poor woman, oppression, the lost son, etc. They always fall into the same cliché, something we don’t see abroad because their stories are usually fresher.
The change in digital media is another big explanation behind moms watching foreign novelas. Now, thanks to streaming services, Latina moms have more content available to watch. If we add to this the eye-catching plots, we can now understand why this change is happening!
Lastly, the fact that TV stations always rebroadcast the same Latin or Mexican soap operas from 20 or 30 years ago also contributes to this phenomenon. People are bored of always watching the same thing, so they choose to watch new or more recent content.
The significance of this change for popular culture
We can draw several conclusions from this change in the consumption habits of Latina moms and soap operas. One of them is that it seems that TV networks have been right about these changes.
Globalization, the need for new experiences, and the rejection of rehashes are other conclusions that are on the table. Whichever conclusion you choose, it is a fact that imported novelas are here to stay.
