The Wrong Kind of Soap

Soap Operas are amusing to say the least. The over-dramatic scenarios, next-to-impossible life events and the intertwined familial chaos provide quality entertainment. Spanish soaps, also known as telenovelas, are on a whole new level of drama.

I never gave much thought to soap operas; they were over dramatized shows that had on been on air for longer than I was born with actors and actresses who couldn’t catch a break. They were last on my list of shows to watch on sick days. They were aimed at an older generation. In short, they weren’t for me.

A teacher introduced me to Rosalinda, a Mexican soap opera from 1999. I was enthralled. My entire life I had been subjected to the same dreaded soap. Not anymore. All the same rules applied, but substitute English for Spanish, and prepared to be amazed.

Back in the 1950s and 1960s the first golden age of television occurred. Soap operas were created during this time for housewives. The premise of the show was to provide entertainment for the little lady at home during the day, and advertise products such as soap, hence the name. The golden age ended shortly after, but started again in the 2000s. Shows like Breaking Bad and Mad Men rapidly gained popularity, while soap operas were relegated to bottom of the barrel.

Now anyone who watches those shows will deny this, but they’re just as dramatic as soap operas if not more. Yet, soap operas continue to be underappreciated, cast in the same sexist light. I felt the same way, until I viewed soap operas as a learning tool.

As one impossible event unfolded after the other, I began to understand the appeal of soaps. There was a comfort in knowing that no matter how bad my life was going, a fictional character always had it worse. As the drama progressed so did my Spanish. Anyone who’s taken a foreign language can tell you reading books and filling out work sheets can only take you so far. Listening to the characters and watching their actions sparked a connection and broadened my understanding of the Spanish language. For instance Rosalinda called the old men in her life abuelo, not every old man was her grandpa that would be weird for any soap. Rather, it was a colloquial term of endearment.

Rosalinda improved my Spanish, encouraged me to revel in the drama, and essentially stated marrying for money is the way to go. Breaking Bad encouraged viewers to make meth. Only one of these is illegal, and marrying rich isn’t a crime.