Melodrama, Modernity and the Brazilian Television Mini-Series

Melodrama is fundamental to Latin American culture. It has been used to chart Latin American history, and it has followed technological change in popular dramatic forms, from the folhetim to the telenovela. In this article, I discuss how the Brazilian television mini-series reflects the intersections of melodrama and modernity. The mini-series traces Brazil’s story, from colony to democracy, and it brings film and literature to Brazil’s predominant medium. Yet the mini-series’ literary-filmic devices stir critical debate about whether Brazil is emulating foreign models, or whether it is creating its own dramatic innovations. At the intersection of melodrama and modernity in the mini-series, I therefore identify continuity and change in the way Brazil has conceived of its national identity. Through the perspectives of creators and critics of the mini-series, however, I also reveal contradictions in the way melodrama has facilitated and frustrated representing what modernity means for Brazil.