In Brazil, some specific things are capable of uniting the people in massive ways, and that’s what happens when it comes to soap opera culture! Once one of these productions is popular on TV, it becomes also a popular commotion, bringing catching stories that arouse interest of many different people. So, just like that, Brazilian dramaturgy through the soap operas represents a social construction for the population in many ways: It brings a sense of culture, brings lessons and influences for life and a sense of nation, and not only that, it also reflects on society views and diversity.
The story of soap operas in Brazil
Back in 1952, “Sua Vida Me Pertence” was the very first soap opera to be exhibited and produced in Brazil. The production had many great names involved, like Lima Duarte, for example. The soap opera was exhibited on TV Tupi, and tells the story of a man that was in love with a woman who didn’t care about him, but he wouldn’t give up until it was mutual and until he had her fully. But the exhibition was not daily: It was twice a week and live, because at that time the use of videotapes was not a reality yet. The production had 15 episodes of 20 minutes each. It was kind of a simple production considering the audiovisual possibilities of the time, but a great mark in Brazil culture and the history of the soap operas for the country.
And then, the first daily exhibition of a soap opera in Brazil was, actually, an argentine production called “2-5499 Ocupado”, that started and ended by 1963. Years later, in 1999, the soap opera gained a remake called “Louca Paixão”, exhibited on RecordTV. There are not many registers of the original production, but it tells the story of an inmate called Emily that works as a telephone operator at the jail. A certain day, Emily calls the office of a man named Larry by a mistake, but both end up falling in love with their voices. Larry is a lawyer, and doesn’t know about Emily’s condition as an inmate. The soap opera also had great names with a big importance for the country’s dramaturgy working on that, such as Lolita Rodrigues and Glória Menezes.
Moving on, we could and still can watch the rise of different eras of soap operas in Brazil, starting with the fantasy phase that lasted until 1968, with productions like “Sangue e Areia” and “A Moreninha”. In the following years, and until 1990, there was a rise of what we called “National-Popular” or Realist era, counting with big and known productions like “Escrava Isaura”, “Gabriela” and “Vale Tudo”. Then the naturalist era, one of the most popular eras for productions, when we had productions like “Éramos Seis”, “O Rei do Gado” and “Sinhá Moça”. And, coming to the last years, we entered a “neo fantasy” phase with our most recent productions.
After that, many productions gained success and captivated the public, which made the dramaturgy for television become such a big and important object of native culture. With the popularization of soap operas, the ways of production gained more attention and evoluted, becoming the formats we know nowadays: Very well produced pieces with a big cast, production and direction, making the works last even years!
Why and how soap operas became so popular?
The Brazilian people are so passionate about the catching stories that they watch daily on TV, and as already mentioned, it is something that brings union to all the Brazilian societies, but, have we as viewers ever questioned why we enjoy it so much? It is a valid and very much important reflection, and maybe the reasons include the fact that these productions show us stories that are close to our reality and daily life: love stories, union, drama, secrets, human relations and feelings portrayed in a relatable way, all that could make the public see themselves as a part of that story in kind of an immersive way, even watching the portrait of so many different lives and scenes, even making us celebrate and vibrate for some characters and dislike others.
Beyond that, each episode brings a theme for debate and space sharing new opinions and views on the world and its peoples and societies. The soap operas also have the power of questioning the ways of living of the current society and contribute to overcoming certain stigmas.
Overall, and the most important point, the magic in these productions rests on the fact that they tell stories in a fictional way that unites real stories and real people beyond the screens, by sharing thoughts on the soap opera with friends or even reuniting the family for a binge-watch.
The social and cultural importance of the productions.
The soap operas in Brazil are definitely a mark of our culture as a country and also as a recognition of us as a part of Latin America, since it is a phenomenon around all the Latin countries. A researcher, teacher, playwright and screenwriter called Lucas Martins Néia wrote a piece of work about the soap operas in Brazil, called Como a ficção televisiva moldou um país: uma história cultural da telenovela brasileira (1963 a 2020). In his research, Martins explores the striking expression of the national identity that these productions bring to the people, and his research reveals that the soap operas are here as a kind of communication in mass and social expression of the society that influences the national narrative during the years.
In the same work still, Martins studies how the social melodrama and national memory talk to each other on the screen, matching communication with historical social studies, and for this, the researcher selected many productions for analysis of its representations and cultural impacts in Brazil, and he says: “The idea was thinking about the construction of the ‘feeling of national identity’ starting from the occupied spaces”, which, in simpler words, means explore how the spaces represented on soap operas makes people feel closer to that universe.
Proving the point that the soap operas bring a catching feeling, Martins reveals his motivations for his research: The memory of the crucial role of television in his life and for his family. Martins says that the TV was his “first window to the real world”.
The greatest soap operas in Brazil.
Brazil counts with many exceptional productions that are a big mark on the country’s culture, but some got a big love from the audience, so, if you are a great enjoyer of soap operas or even if you wish to get to know more about these productions, here are a list of some of the best national soap operas!
Vale Tudo (1988)
The soap opera talks about the scenery of corruption and lack of etic in national scale during the 80s, by telling the story of Raquel (Regina Duarte), a woman that works hard to live a decent life, while her daughter Maria de Fátima (Glória Pires), is an ambitious person with no scruples, who tries to get rich no matter how and who she could be hurting. This context makes us reflect on the worth of being honest in a country of corruption among society.
O Clone (2001)
Tells the story of Jade, a young muslim that finds herself divided between love and her culture’s traditions. After the loss of her lover, Lucas, his uncle managed to create a clone of him, called Léo.
Avenida Brasil (2012)
Probably the greatest name among all the soap operas in Brazil, the drama tells the story of Rita (or Nina), a girl that is abandoned by her stepmother Carminha, after her dad passed away. Years after the abandonment, when Rita is already a woman, she comes back with a new identity and pursues revenge, getting closer to Carminha’s life by working in her house.
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The article above was edited by Victória Abreu.
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