El Uso de la Propaganda Pol¿¿tica en las Telenovelas de Una Venezuela en Crisis
Politics saturated Venezuelan television programming during the year prior to the 2004 recall referendum of Venezuelan President Hugo Ch¿¿vez Frias. Politics – whether in favor or opposed to President Ch¿¿vez – were evident not only in news and opinion programs, but also primetime dramatic programming, including telenovelas. Telenovelas, as the most popular programs among Venezuelans, represented an ideal conduit for political messaging. This study examines the use of political propaganda in two Venezuelan telenovelas that aired during the 2003-2004 time period. Researchers have conducted various studies of “socializing” telenovelas, including “Por Estas Calles” (On These Streets), the Venezuelan predecessor to the two programs studied in this thesis. Studies have also been conducted on the use of “entertainment-education” in M¿¿xico, Nigeria, Vietnam, Cameroon, India, Nicaragua y South Africa. However, no studies have been conducted of the use of “entertainment-education” in Venezuela. Also, while many researchers have acknowledged that politics played an important role in the plots of both “Cosita Rica” and “Amores de Barrio Adentro”, none have tried to explain how the scriptwriters used politics to promote an anti or pro-government ideology. This study sets out to answer this question by applying the entertainment-education formula to the telenovelas of a Venezuela in crisis.
Communication, Latin American Studies, Telenovelas, Soap Operas, Entertainment-Education, Propaganda, Venezuela, Hugo Chavez
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