Evolución Histórica De Las Telenovelas En Argen- Tina Historical Evolution of Argentine Soap Operas
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° www. comunicacionymedios.uchile.cl 184 Comunicación y Medios N 37 (2018) Evolución histórica de las telenovelas en Argen- tina Historical evolution of Argentine soap operas Ornela Carboni Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Bernal, Argentina [email protected] Abstract Resumen The soap opera represent a Latin American gen- La telenovela representa uno de los géneros reon its own. Its role is central for the values and propios de América Latina. Su rol es central por ideas it transmits and for reinforcing the region’s los valores e ideas que transmite y por reforzar identity. In addition, these audiovisual contents la identidad de la región. Además, estos conte- are economically significant both to the produc- nidos audiovisuales son significativos económi- tion industry and for export purposes. This ar- camente por su producción industrial y por la ticle aims to account for the evolution of soap exportación. El presente artículo da cuenta de la operas in Argentina. In order to do so, this pa- evolución de las telenovelas en Argentina. Para per addresses the genesis of soap operas from ello, se reconstruirá su génesis desde la primera the first television broadcast of the century to emisión televisiva hasta la producción de piezas the production of pieces specifically for the específicas para la web. En total se identifican web. A total of five stages are identified, andex- cinco etapas y se explican los principales ejes planations of the main technological axes and tecnológicos y los factores político-económicos. political-economic factors are provided. Palabras clave Keywords Industria televisiva; telenovelas; ficción; Argen- Television industry; soap operas; fiction; Argen- tina. tina. Received: 20-02-2018/ Accepted: 13-06-2018 / Published: 30-06-2018 DOI: 10.5354/0719-1529.2018.49136 Evolución histórica de las telenovelas en Argentina 1. Introduction If we put emphasis on the production of the185 fictions it is necessary to observe what is pro- Television is one of the nodal medias to enter- duced and why, consider the phases of the pro- tain and inform. It is characterized for produ- ductive process and the workers involved. cing, distributing and putting into circulation audiovisual content of high symbolic and eco- Production means have changed with the nomic value. The soap opera is a cultural good arrival of technological advances. At first pro- that is well-established in the television indus- grams were broadcast live. In the 1960s, the try and is part of fictional audiovisual produc- videotape appeared and over time, technical tion. advances implied more sophisticated equip- ment for the filming, processing and editing Soap operas are the most popular Latin Ame- of images. rican genre, a cultural product that reinforces regional identity and integration via a common On the other hand, if focus is placed on distribu- language and the circulation of artists (Mar- tion, we must analyze who produces the fiction tín-Barbero, 1992; Mato, 1999). At the same and who hold the rights for its commercializa- time, they became one of the most successful tion. Soap operas are exported regionally and exports in terms of TV material in countries like globally, via the sale of prerecorded shows and/ Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Ve- or formats. nezuela, where the sale of prerecorded shows and/or formats soared into the millions. Nevertheless, if we look at soap operas from the consumption standpoint we must identi- The origins of soap operas date back, on one fy the end consumers. At the beginning, the hand, to the 19th century novels linked to sa- soap opera was aimed at female audiences. gas aimed at a recently literate population of Over time, this tendency changed given that viewers. On the other hand, radio soap operas productions were focused on attracting large were promoted by the invention of the radio audiences. broadcast in 1920. Its development paralleled the insertion of TV into the Latin American Moreover, using the consumption standpoint region starting in the 1950s. The new media favors the semiotic analyses that allow for the passed through a process of consolidation, consideration of the kinds of circulation of me- from an experimental and artisanal type of anings that soap operas promote, and evaluate production to its conversion into a TV indus- the conditions in which the messages are recei- try. This transformation affected the develop- ved. ment of the genres that came to comprise the program listings, among them was the soap This being said, the present work is focused opera. on identifying the evolutionary phases of soap operas in Argentina, with an emphasis on the In addition, the soap operas–similar to the rest of 21st century. In this sense, we make a series the fictional audiovisual productions– have an eco- of considerations for a thorough understan- nomic dimension, promoted by the search of eco- ding of the proposed approach. Firstly, gra- nomic profitability. At the same time, they symbo- dually during the 21st century, a shift began in lically impact society and offer a cultural field for the way television is watched, from collective the insertion of habits and values (Martín-Barbero, to individual, a trend that was encouraged by 1987). the increasing number of receiving devices. Se- condly, the study focuses on an approach from We understand that the study of soap operas the production standpoint. We believe that the can be addressed from production, distribu- changes that took place in the production and tion, consumption and analysis of texts. airing of fictions were not caused, exclusively, by the incorporation of technology, but rather ° Comunicación y Medios N 37 /2018 e-ISSN 0719-1529 O. Carboni 186derive from the combination of political, eco- include but are not limited to soap operas. nomic, business and regulatory factors of the In this sense, we understand that the concept TV industry, which interact with each other and of fiction refers to a variety of audiovisual pro- with the various parts that make up the pro- ductions, in this case, made for television that ductive chain. Thirdly, the productions of this imply the telling of a fictitious event and/or si- century are identified and analyzed contextua- tuation, whose characters are not real althou- lly. Nevertheless, we believe it is necessary to gh they could exist by coincidence in reality. show the historic evolution of soap operas in Thus, the televised fictions include soap ope- Argentina from the country`s first television ras, single productions, series, mini-series and broadcast in October 1951, since recognition sitcoms, among others. Their basic function is of these stages enables one put into context entertainment, and they come in the form of and understand the productive dynamic of the episodes (daily or weekly) and their econo- industry. mic formula provides that upon increasing the number of episodes produced, the average The methodological approach is qualitative cost per episode is reduced. and develops the descriptive and interpretati- ve levels in order to understand the evolution Once explained the use of the term “fictions”, soap operas in Argentina. This way, the analy- we believe it is necessary to concisely review sis is based on the bibliographic and documen- the approaches in the study of soap operas tal review, and the systematization of data for in Latin America and Argentina. Although the analysis, among them the titles produced and research surpasses by far what is mentioned aired in Argentina during the 21st century. In here, we have selected those that contribute regards to the development of these produc- to this work, without ignoring the vast biblio- tions in this century, the research is exploratory graphy that exists on the cited material. given that there are few works on the produc- tive oscillations of soap operas. Evaluating the On the national scene, we highlight the re- evolution of soap operas gives us the chance to search done by Mirta Varela (2005) who stu- consider a wide variety of final reflections as to died the acquisition and adaptation of the the development of productions in Argentina, country´s TV system. Upon describing the TV their international perspectives, the relations industry during its first 20 years of existence, between international companies and their in- we are able to discuss the development of the teraction with the emerging consumption pla- first fictions. tforms. The work of Nora Mazziotti and Oscar Steim- bergson are mentioned because both carry out a classification of Argentine soap operas. 2. Studies on Soap Operas in Latin Mazziotti (1996) analyzed the soap operas from the production standpoint (creation, sale and America and Argentina cir- culation of these products). The researcher defines the production of soap operas in 4 sta- The history of soap operas is linked to the de- ges: velopment of television. Rincón (2006) states that purpose of television is to make money, First: involves the first decade of TV history tell stories and entertain. In Argentina, came to with the existence of a sole channel. be and developed adopting a mainly commer- cial model based on profit and the entertain- Artisanal: occurring in the 1960s and 1970s, ment dynamic. Entertainment involves a wide characterized by the use of videotapes to variety of genres talk shows, general interest solve the inconveniences of live and in di- shows, reality shows, series and soap operas. rect. In the artisanal stage, screenplays of At certain points in the text we use the term the fictions were sold in order to make local “fiction” to refer to a number of proposals that versions. Evolución histórica de las telenovelas en Argentina tant narrative features and observed that these187 Industrial: included the 1970s and 1980s brands relate with public opinion and the au- with more consolidated and standardized dience´s expectations in relation to content.