Brazilian Soap Operas

Yes, I'm still going on about Brazilian television programs. After yesterday's entry where I pretty much tore apart O Cassino do Chacrinha, I think now would be a good time to offer up some praise for the good stuff, which in Brazil is the soap operas. Last night I did the caffeine thing again (four liters of cherry coke -- I may never sleep again.) and watched more than ten hours of soaps. Right now my head is so full of Portuguese (and caffeine) que tô meio desorientado.

I've always found it hard to tell other Americans about how great the Brazilian soap operas are, since all they know are the American ones, which are complete garbage. A few Americans have been exposed to Mexican soap operas, but that is possibly an even less appropriate comparison. To truly get an idea of the difference, it helps to look at the history.

The Portuguese word novela, a shortening of the earlier term telenovela, reflects the literary roots of the genre. A hundred years ago, it was common for novelists to write their books in instalments in literary publications. Typically they would write and send in one chapter a week. That is how Dickens wrote most of his novels. In Brazil, but for some reason not in the US, this tradition continued with the advent of radio. Novelists began writing for radio rather than periodicals. Chapters were presented on the air by professional actors, and these works became known as radionovelas. Once television was introduced in Brazil, many of the same actors and writers went on to produce telenovelas. So there is an unbroken continuity of literary tradition in Brazil, starting with the great literary novelists and continuing on in the great soap opera writers of today (as well as in the modern Brazilian novelists). Today the word novela in Brazil nearly always refers to a soap opera.

Besides the literary background, Brazilian soap operas have a lot going for them. One of their great advantages over American soap operas is that they are not endless. They run for between six months to a year and begin with an ending already in mind. Generally, the better the ratings, the longer a story is allowed to run, but I don't think they ever run as long as a year.

Also, the acting is extremely good. In the US, most of our great actors go into film and avoid soap operas like the plague. In Brazil the reverse is true (although I hear that Brazilian cinema has improved by leaps and bounds since the 1980s, when all the movies featured Xuxa and/or the Trapalhões).

Brazilian soaps all run in prime-time. If I remember correctly, there is usually a lighter, humorous one, followed by another that is much more dramatic. They last for about 50 minutes and run six days a week. It's astounding how much actual content gets packed into every episode. In the US you can sometimes miss an entire month of a soap and get back in the swing of things in a couple of days. In Brazil, just missing one episode can leave you in the dust.

One interesting characteristic of Brazilian soaps is that they each have a soundtrack. Popular music is incorporated into each episode, and each soap opera has its own collection of songs that are exclusive to it and not played by the other soaps. Each soap has two CDs that you can buy. One contains the Brazilian hits (versão nacional), and the other is comprised of American music (versão internacional).

I'm fairly certain that Brazil makes the greatest soap operas in the world, and that comparison includes all the other countries in Latin America. I consider it a tragedy of global proportions that not a single one, to my knowledge, has ever been released on DVD. Perhaps we (the US) could launch an invasion of Brazil and call it "Operation Soap Opera Liberation". (Okay, perhaps I'm starting to suffer sleep-deprivation.)

Comments

[mg]

Hm, what's the difference between one of what you would call a "soap opera" in Brazil, and what we would call a primetime drama in the US? Just that the soap opera is on 6x a week?

Some US shows would benefit from being saved up and shown night after night for a few weeks. "West Wing" comes to mind.

[Tvindy]

Yes, I suppose the main difference is that they have six episodes a week. Some other differences are that the ending to the soap opera is planned before the first episode airs, so there is a great deal of continuity. (Babylon 5 is the only American program I can think of that really took continuity seriously.) Also, the soap operas tend to have more going on in terms of subplots and the number of regular characters. When this is done well, the subplots complement each other and enhance whatever the theme of a particular soap opera is. Also, there seems to be a general formula the soap operas follow. For example, there is always a powerful villain. The few people who know or suspect that this character is evil can't prove it. But unlike in American soap operas, there is a climax toward the end where the villain is defeated (or on rare occasions, gets away scott free). I know I didn't explain this very well. In a week or two I will post a synopsis of one of my favorite Brazilian soap operas, which might make things a little clearer.

[mg]

If you liked Babylon 5, and if you have Showtime, you should check out Jeremiah. Also from J. Michael Straczynski, like Babylon 5 it has an overall story arc, as well as a story arc within each season.

[Tvindy]

Cool!!! I had no idea Straczynski was doing anything now. Thanks for the heads up. I don't have Showtime, so I can't enjoy it yet. But I'm certainly looking forward to its eventual release on cable and/or DVD.

[Lone Wolf]

Dear Tvindy,

since You seem expert for brazilian soap operas, I would like to know the original title and translation of one older where a guy hesitates whole time between 2 women - 1 good and 1 bad (I think the good one's name was Angelica and the other was Paula)?

Thanx a lot.
Marko

[Tvindy]

Thank you, Lone Wolf, but I'm definitely no expert. I'm only familiar with Brazilian soap operas that were running when I was in Brazil. Perhaps your best bet would be this site. It lists most (perhaps all) the Globo soap operas from 1976 to the present with many synopses.

[Carina]

Glad to see someone is spreading the word through America ;-) I'm brazilian and a big fan of the soapies myself. Needing any help from down here, just ask!

[Tvindy]

Thanks. Tell Globo they need to export them to the US, so we can watch them here.

[Marion Clune]

Hello -

I was so happy to find this conversation about Brazilian soaps - Myself and three others are going to Brazil (Parana) for 5 weeks through the Rotary International. We have to travel around and give presentations about who we are, what we do for a living, where we live (we all live Los Angeles), ect. I'm in charge of the presentation (lucky me) and want to do something fun with it. Thinking of spoofing a Brazilian novela.

You know here in the US everyone know of shows like 90210, Survivor, ect? Does anyone know what the names of some of the biggy soaps are in Brazil?

Any help anyone has is GREATLY appreciated!

Marion

[Tvindy]

Well I checked on the Globo network's page. These are the soap operas that are currently running:

Chocolate com Pimenta
Da Cor do Pecado
Celebridade
Um Só Coração
And they're currently re-running Corpo Dourado

I have no idea which of these are hugely popular, but most Brazilians should be familiar with all of them.

[kate]

i would like to know more about CLOn and especially whos songs are there.
thank you
kate

[miriam martinez]

i was wondering is their anyway you can assist me in findidg a sertain brazilian soap opera that i am looking for. its called EL Clon and it came out i think aorund 2000-2002 your help would really be appreciated thankyou

[miriam martinez]

i was wondering is their anyway you can assist me in findidg a sertain brazilian soap opera that i am looking for. its called EL Clon and it came out i think aorund 2000-2002 your help would really be appreciated thankyou

[IG]

Hello,

It is not El Clon, but O Clone, probably in Spanish is El Clone.
It was a fenomenum in Brazil at 8pm.
http://redeglobo3.globo.com/oclone/frm_home.jsp here goes the site. You can buy the soundtrack through Amazon.

[karen]

Hello everyone. There is a soap Opera that was translated to Spanish that I THINK is from Brazil. The soap opera takes place in the time of Slavery. The protagnist is a Black Hispanic and she is sold by her Mothers master to work as a servant. This might be two years ago, Telemundo aired it..? HELP

[karen]

Hello everyone. There is a soap Opera that was translated to Spanish that I THINK is from Brazil. The soap opera takes place in the time of Slavery. The protagnist is a Black Hispanic and she is sold by her Mothers master to work as a servant. This might be two years ago, Telemundo aired it? HELP i DON'T Know the name its for my Thesis project.

[Gil]

I would like to buy the tapes of the famous telenovela Dona Beija the Spanish or English version. Nobody seems to know where to get it. There are thousands of people asking the same question in all the messages boards I have visited looking for it. After more than 2 years searching for it everywhere on the net, stores etc;I do not believe I will find it. Hope someone outthere can give me an idea if it is available.
Thanks, gil azulwaterlili@yahoo.com

[Kalonne Palma]

I want to find El Clon DVD collection..Please help It is the best soap opera ever!!!!!!!!!!!111

[sarah bold]

hi i am a student writing a disertation in england on brazilian body image.
it seems that media in brazil has quite alot of bearing on how people feel about their bodies. whilst i was in brazil a friend told me that the telenovela is an important representation of the ideal body image in brazil and i was hoping that perhaps someone could start a conversation on this topic so that i could use the information in my work.
thank you
sarah

[see may]

I agree that many Brazilian soaps are unique and quite interesting. Do you know how I could find a soap titled Secrets of the Sands. I watched it around 1998 or 1999, and I havent been able to forget it. The plot involved two sisters[ twins].

[see may]

Secrets of the Sands was the English subtitle. I dont know the Brazilian title, since I dont speak Spanish. The characters had voiceovers done, into English. The main characters were Raquel, and her twin sister Ruth [I think]. Raquel stole Ruth's boyfriend, but died at the end, in a car accident. That was the only way she could be stopped- she was quite evil and always got her own way.

[Tvindy]

Here's what I've been able to find out. The original name of the soap opera (in Portuguese) is "Mulheres da Areia". It originally ran in the seventies and then was remade in the nineties and ran on the Rede Globo in the 6 pm slot in 1993.

[maria wong]

I needed to find info about buying brazilian soap operas on vhs or dvd, i loved to watch them, but now i live in texas and don't have a way to do it.

thank you so much.
maria wong

[Juuchan]

Hey people, I'm from Brazil and that's great to see people talking about my country. The soap operas from Brazil are really terrific.... Not that I watch to them, but I know how they are recognized all over the world. In fact, they are only from one tv broadcasting station, "Globo TV". So, if you are interested to know more about the soap operas being broadcasted nowadays, check out more on: www.globo.com
Here are some direct links for the soap operas' pages (specially for those who doesn't speak portuguese):

http://senhoradodestino.globo.com/

http://malhacao.globo.com/

http://comoumaonda.globo.com/

I hope it helped !!

[juuchan]

How about create a bittorrent tracker for those who doesn't have the chance to watch brazilian soap operas?
I could seed some episodes.....though it's hard to rip all those episodes... I guess that some of them would be great... Am I the first brazilian posting here?