Telenovela – Medios mejores que ganen más

May 1 2014 by Blanca de Lizaur, PhD, MA, BA No Comments

In reply to a reader’s letter: <em>TVyNovelas’</em> print-runs, and when to invest in media companies

In reply to a reader’s letter: TVyNovelas’ print-runs, and when to invest in media companies

I eagerly read Edgar Santoyo (a member of the FCPS: School of Social and Political Sciences, UNAM)'s article, about “Espacio 2002”, a yearly event organized by Televisa to connect with Communications students throughout Mexico, and to improve its public image [Humanidades # 232]. I agree with him that, unfortunately, the majority of professors and researchers in the field of Communications in our country, have never had the opportunity to work in media, with all the consequences this entails: Inexperience and resentment in many of them –true, ...and in many media, a “mafia-gang” style of choosing and developing new hires. I also agree that many intellectuals and researchers automatically belittle everything mainstream mass-media disseminate, as if you could exert any intellectual le

Mar 29 2014 by B. de Lizaur 4 Comments

ANGELS WITHOUT WINGS: CONTENT POLICIES IN MEXICAN TELENOVELAS, 1957-1997

Specialized, For media people, Para:

Paper presented at: Representing Mexico: Transnationalism and the politics of culture in Post-revolutionary Mexico International conference sponsored by Yale University and the Woodrow Wilson Center, at the Smithsonian Institution Tower, Washington, D.C., U.S.A., Friday 7th and Saturday 8th, November, 1997. . ANGELS WITHOUT WINGS..., CONTENT POLICIES IN MEXICAN TELENOVELAS (1957-1997) Blanca de Lizaur, U.N.A.M. . TABLE OF CONTENTS: Introduction Telenovelas, what they are The birth of Mexican telenovelas The myth of progress Literature's social function Who decides what can be shown Contents' agenda A short history of religious elements in Mexican telenovelas Religiou

Dec 20 2011 by Blanca de Lizaur, PhD, MA, BA No Comments

MARGINALIZED LITERATURE, a new vision of an everlasting cultural issue

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This article is devoted to a literary and cultural format that has existed for centuries, not as a particular or singular work, but rather as a constant perpetuation of definable narrative schemas –schemas that always adapted to the latest technology available. . In the realm of “elite” culture, it is considered acceptable to discuss, for example, the timeless nature of art or the validity of the slogan ars pro artis (art for art's sake), since, as Souto says, there is a certain “timelessness in art, that cleanly demarcates the author's interests, as they fade away in the light of the poetic reality by which the work transcends.[1] In the realm of popular culture, however, we do not talk –perhaps– about timeless works, so much as timeless schemas: There is nothing as short-lived a

Nov 21 2011 by Blanca de Lizaur, PhD, MA, BA 4 Comments

THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF THE MISSING SPECTATOR has little to do with the Digital Revolution

For everybody, Para:, Magazine

An important producer mentioned his concern that film –as in the complete experience of going to the cinema– was dying. There has been a progressive, constant and noteworthy decline in the number of spectators going to the movies over the last 30 years (not necessarily in the amount of money generated by these spectators, as box office prices have raised enormously during the same period). In part, he blamed the economic crisis; but more importantly –and along with many others in the business, he blamed “videos” for the audience decline. Who would want to go out to the movie theater when you can enjoy the film right at home, for free or for little? Of course this sounds both logical and reasonable; however it lacks appropriate contextualization. Why? If “videos” were the only culpri

Nov 14 2011 by Blanca de Lizaur, PhD, MA, BA No Comments

A test about media, YOU JUST WILL LOVE TO ANSWER!

For media people, Para:, Magazine

In “The mysterious case of the missing spectator”, I made a brief reference to popular, low-end, or low-brow literature as the one that characteristically employs a collective aesthetic. What does this really mean? To clarify the explanation, I’m going to ask you to respond to a few questions regarding various types of works and characters that most of us know and like… . Complete the following sentences, filling the empty spaces with the missing word/s: 1) In a “cops and robbers” story, the “good guy” and the “bad guy” find themselves standing face to face, and one of them yells: “Drop it, buddy, or I’ll blow ___________________!” 2) At the most exciting moment of a romantic story, one of the main characters exclaims: “I’ll never leave you, my darling; nothing and nobody will

Aug 29 2011 by Blanca de Lizaur, PhD, MA, BA 1 Comment

DOMESTIC PROFESSIONS, a brief “dictionary” for media people

For media people, Magazine

Our telenovela writers have gleefully decided to call nannies "governesses", without having the slightest idea what differentiates them. Their goal, quite laudable, is to encourage us to talk about them with more respect. To do this, in my opinion, we do not need to assault our language, but rather bear in mind they are human beings, and that we need them very much, in this world in which both the father and the mother are often forced to work out of the home. In the Judeo-Christian world, the domestic worker maintains a complex relationship with his employers, half professional, half familial. The obligations set out by Judeo-Christian religions for the employer of a domestic worker, are quite similar to those a head of family has regarding his relatives. In Spanish they were cal...