Taking this class has really opened my eyes up to the significance of telenovelas within my culture. Getting to have conversations with people about telenovelas in my culture has really given me time to think how impactful they were in my upbringing. For example, seeing bad gay representation in telenovelas really affected my view of gay people. Seeing them characterized as hyperfeminine made me believe that all gay people acted like that, however, as I got older I saw that was far from the truth. Gay people have varying characteristics that are not solely defined by what we see on screen. Moreover, telenovelas have the power to shape cultural politics and bring families closer together. Being able to see the representation of autistic people through telenovelas was an enlightening experience because it is not every day that an autistic person is the lead of a telenovela. Additionally, this changed how people see autistic people in the Hispanic community. Also, all of these valid representations present in telenovelas have opened conversations within my family that have helped me educate them. For example, when there is black representation in telenovelas my family will have an opinion about it that I do not agree with. Thus, creating powerful conversations with me and my family members. Overall, we can take what we learn from telenovelas and apply it to our livelihoods.
It is so interesting to read about your experience growing up watching telenovelas and how that has affected your worldview. I like that telenovelas have allowed you to have impactful conversations with your family about topics that may be difficult to discuss. Reading how watching telenovelas gave you a misconstrued view of gay people clarifies to me just how important the media we watch is in helping us form opinions on topics ranging from lgbtq+ identities to marriage to economic disparity.
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