Dominican Drama. A reflection of Latin Television or vice versa?

kenthedentman

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Apr 10, 2012
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As i have stated before, i really love Dominican culture. The good :knockedou, the bad :mad: , and the ugly :confused: . But i have noticed that they are so dramatic. If you didn't understand what was being said around you, you might think they are arguing, strike that you you would think they are arguing. Tonight I was watching Anthony Bourdain, kind of abrasive guy for me at first but he has grown on me (i like that he cusses, what can i say?.) Tonight he was in Cuba. Definitely on my list of places to go. One of the segments was about Cuban baseball. Evidently they have these licensed fans who show up everyday and argue baseball. I noticed a striking simularity with the DR. On the show it was just baseball, but here I have noticed the exact same thing in regards to almost all subjects, and among men and women.

I have also noticed how my wife (i am somewhat assuming this is pretty normal for here) when she is mad, usually at me, she stomps and slams doors, if she is crying, again usually because of me, it is always so over the top drama. Now i understand most women are outwardly more emotional than men, but here it seems to be in magnitudes.

Then tonight i was trolling through the boards. And there was a video posted in the now closed culo thread (good job mod on both closings.) I would link to the video but honestly i am too lazy. So these two Dominicans get into a fight with machetes. But when i am watching the fight I notice that they arent trying to kill one another. They are using them more like a paddle. Again a lot of drama but nothing really happens, nothing too serious anyway.

I watch some of the novellas from time to time with miesposa, or any number of other television programming. I love Sabado Gigante. But one thing i have noticed is how bad the acting is. It is so over dramatized that i cant help but laugh out loud all the time.

So my question is what do think? Is the television mirroring the people or are the people mirroring the television? I have noticed in my prior experiences with latinos that they have a tendency to wear there emotions on their sleeve. Seems to me to be a big difference between Americans.
 
Dec 26, 2011
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So my question is what do think? Is the television mirroring the people or are the people mirroring the television? I have noticed in my prior experiences with latinos that they have a tendency to wear there emotions on their sleeve. Seems to me to be a big difference between Americans.

Great post.

?Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life.?- Oscar Wilde

Americans have been exposed to more subtlety in communication. Or maybe it's the heat that gets them going. All I know is that it definitely rubs off.
 

Aguaita29

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Jul 27, 2011
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Joel Mchale on La Madrastra.

[video=youtube;9DqnRjoI818]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DqnRjoI818[/video]
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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it's not just DR. it's everywhere. no one owns their emotions anymore. you hear the news of the death of the loved one? you slowly drop down on your knees and hide your face in your hands. you argue with a lover? there always seem to be a plate handy for throwing on the floor and it always shatters artistically. this is repeated thousand times, only more so. for every emotion there is already a handy reaction we have seen in the movies: the faces of joy, fear and despair. we have learnt a good time to cry, laugh and shake our fists at angry heavens. there is nothing genuine. i sometimes wonder about it myself. do i cry because i am sad or because when one is sad one is supposed to cry?

i avoid dominican tv. not because it's demeaning and plain dumb but because they cannot even get decent picture quality. i do better videos with my smartphone camera. it's just pathetic. food of the stupid, served by the stupid. even the newsreaders are inept.
 
Dec 26, 2011
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i avoid dominican tv. not because it's demeaning and plain dumb but because they cannot even get decent picture quality. i do better videos with my smartphone camera. it's just pathetic. food of the stupid, served by the stupid. even the newsreaders are inept.

And don't even get me started on the radio announcers.
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
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And don't even get me started on the radio announcers.

this is howling of the wolves. all national radio station employ the same people who shout "baterias viejas, baterias viejas compramos" in the worst barrios of the country.
 

bronzeallspice

Live everyday like it's your last
Mar 26, 2012
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I don't know Ken, but to me those two machete wielding maniacs looked
liked they wanted to hack each other to pieces. Seems like they are very
skilled in the DR with machetes and knives.:cross-eye
 

recycle

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Jun 28, 2012
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American television is just as bad. Have you ever watched CNN? The amount of commercial breaks is truly and frankly f*cking staggering.
e.g.
“President” *ad break* “Barack” *ad break “Obama” *ad break* “We’ll rejoin this story in just a few moments” *ad break*

Other examples of American "high level" television:

The Big Brother
The Jerry Springer Show
American Idol
Miami Ink
Celebrity Love Island
………

better turn tv off and live the life, is much more interesting
 

mofongoloco

Silver
Feb 7, 2013
3,002
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The drama thing is definitely caribe?o more than it is Latino. There is a world of difference among the Spanish speaking people of the americas. I hear this discussed by Central Americans in their perceptions of Dominicans, boricuas y cubanos. I live among Dominicans in my town. In the US our demographics have shifted, but without stereotyping one could say that New Yorkers are loud, pushy and abrasive. One could say that New Englanders are staid and reserved. California is like a whole different culture. The charming idiosyncrasies of the similarities and differences among groups. Personally, I thrive on these differences. Over the top acting is a feature of Latino drama, no doubt. I note similarities in Filipino tv shows too, where the sabado gigs te variety show thrives. No stanislowski method acting to be found.
 
Aug 6, 2006
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American soaps are also overacted. Notice that you can tell them apart from a film or a standard drama in less than 30 seconds. TV is more escapist in Latin America than in the US. In Mexican soaps, the people with Indian features are servants, in Dominican TV the morenos are the servants. And most of the viewers seem to prefer to identify with the European-looking stars than with those that most resemble themselves. Of course, the blonde women are always evil in all telenovelas.
 
Dec 26, 2011
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American soaps are also overacted. Notice that you can tell them apart from a film or a standard drama in less than 30 seconds. TV is more escapist in Latin America than in the US. In Mexican soaps, the people with Indian features are servants, in Dominican TV the morenos are the servants. And most of the viewers seem to prefer to identify with the European-looking stars than with those that most resemble themselves. Of course, the blonde women are always evil in all telenovelas.

Most telenovelas viewed in RD are Mexican, Colombian and even Brazilian(dubbed). I can't think of the last time Dominicans produced their own. Maybe never? Not sure. You're right about the lighter-skinned being the protagonists and villains with the darker-skinned playing secondary and even subservient roles.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
31,266
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european tv defends itself somewhat with regular commercial breaks. every 15 minutes. and they last enough to take a leak or get another beer. public tv has no commercials during shows, just between one and the other. but the content is just as shi**y.
 
Dec 26, 2011
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American TV came up with some good stuff in the recent past. All cable. In no particular order:

Monk
Dexter
The Sopranos
House
Oz
Psych
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Sons of Anarchy
Breaking Bad
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
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toddlers and tiaras
here comes honey boo boo
keeping up with the kuntdashians
say yes to the dress
i didn't know i was pregnant
snapped
duck dynasty
 
Dec 26, 2011
8,071
0
0
toddlers and tiaras
here comes honey boo boo
keeping up with the kuntdashians
say yes to the dress
i didn't know i was pregnant
snapped
duck dynasty

No one I know watches those shows. Maybe they're in the "135" Club.
 

pkaide1

Bronze
Aug 10, 2005
539
40
48
American television is just as bad. Have you ever watched CNN? The amount of commercial breaks is truly and frankly f*cking staggering.
e.g.
“President” *ad break* “Barack” *ad break “Obama” *ad break* “We’ll rejoin this story in just a few moments” *ad break*

Other examples of American "high level" television:

The Big Brother
The Jerry Springer Show
American Idol
Miami Ink
Celebrity Love Island
………

better turn tv off and live the life, is much more interesting

Do not forget the following soap opera widely watched in the US

The Young and the Restless 3.6
The Bold and the Beautiful 2.6
General Hospital 2.2 (50th Anniversary Season)
Days of our Lives 2.1
All My Children 2.0 (First TOLN Season; returned April 29, 2013)
One Life to Live 2.0

And one of the best show Honey Bo bo.
What about AM talk radio in the US. What a bunch of crap.
 

the gorgon

Platinum
Sep 16, 2010
33,997
83
0
it's not just DR. it's everywhere. no one owns their emotions anymore. you hear the news of the death of the loved one? you slowly drop down on your knees and hide your face in your hands. you argue with a lover? there always seem to be a plate handy for throwing on the floor and it always shatters artistically. this is repeated thousand times, only more so. for every emotion there is already a handy reaction we have seen in the movies: the faces of joy, fear and despair. we have learnt a good time to cry, laugh and shake our fists at angry heavens. there is nothing genuine. i sometimes wonder about it myself. do i cry because i am sad or because when one is sad one is supposed to cry?

i avoid dominican tv. not because it's demeaning and plain dumb but because they cannot even get decent picture quality. i do better videos with my smartphone camera. it's just pathetic. food of the stupid, served by the stupid. even the newsreaders are inept.

i avoid it because it is demeaning, and plain dumb.