Date of Degree
2010
Document Type
dissertation
Degree Name
PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)
Department
Communication Studies
First Advisor
Joy E. Hayes
Abstract
In Race Matters: Race, Telenovela Representation, and Discourse in Contemporary Brazil I investigate the primetime telenovela Duas Caras (2008), examining how different factors such as narrative, audience reaction, as well as media criticism and commentary played a dynamic role in creating a meta-discourse about race in contemporary Brazil. In a larger sense, I examine how the social discourse about contemporary race relations and racism in that country were circulated, constructed and reconstructed during the time the program aired. Additionally, I explore the role of the media, particularly the telenovela, in debunking the idea that Brazil is a racial democracy. Secondly, the research incorporates the Brazilian notion that telenovelas are "open texts", meaning they are co-authored by a variety of industrial, creative, cultural and social actors, into a methodological approach that expands the traditional idea of textual analysis. In addition to reading the telenovela text itself, this study investigates the production process, audience responses and broader media coverage. Thus, the public discourse about the telenovelas is a key part of the text itself.
Pages
2, v, 182
Bibliography
172-182
Copyright
Copyright 2010 Samantha Nogueira Joyce
Recommended Citation
Joyce, Samantha Nogueira. "Race matters: race, telenovela representation, and discourse in contemporary Brazil." dissertation, University of Iowa, 2010.
http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/525.