Abstract
The social phenomenon of televised melodramas called telenovelas in Spanish can be taken as a perfect example of a complex symbolic form in contemporary societies. There are a number of differences and nuances between Latin telenovelas and their electronic ‘cousin’, the soap opera. Nevertheless, the two genres are closely related. In this brief paper, I will stress some traits of a major theoretical and methodological framework of cultural fronts to analyse and bring into partial scientific visibility this global and local phenomenon. My aim is to set up a general framework to facilitate a necessary deeper reflection, and hopefully initiate some international comparative research, given the ‘intriguing’ global appeal of this symbolic form.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.