Televisión Latiné | Telenovelas in Los Estados Unidos

Two hands holding US flag
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.

Telenovelas have had a profound impact on the Latiné community in the United States, and understanding that impact is important. This research analyzes the role of the telenovela and the role of U.S. television programming focused on Latiné characters within the United States by comparing an episode from a telenovela, Juana La Virgen with an episode from its United States counterpart, Jane The Virgin.

JANE THE VIRGIN, JUANA LA VIRGEN, AND GENTEFIED

Chalk art of flags around the world
Photo by Darya Sannikova on Pexels.

The two are compared to understand the purpose they serve for their intended audiences. My analysis suggests that though these two series told similar stories, they reveal key cultural differences. This makes sense since each show takes place in two different countries and therefore, reflects different cultures. 

This analysis examines the first episodes of each show. Furthermore, this analysis includes an episode from a U.S. Latiné television show, Gentefied, to get an understanding of what it does differently than both the telenovela and its counterpart and how it represents the Latin American community. The storyline and cultural references of Gentefied were completely different from that of Juana La Virgen and Jane The Virgin.

A mural
Photo by Anderson Guerra on Pexels.
Pride parade of Latiné community members
"Latino GLBT History Project," GPA Photo Archive (US Department of State) on Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0.

Analyzing the three shows, provides an understanding of what kind of television depicts a good representation of the Latiné community.