If you haven't already read somewhere, the latest poll conducted by the Associated Press and Univision shows that young Hispanic Americans tend to identify less as Catholics (and slightly less conservative) than their older counterparts. While I could use this blog to talk about the cultural or religious identity of my peers, the more interesting issue for this blog is the meaning these findings may have in relation to television programming.
If we think about the current state of Hispanic prime time programming, such findings could significantly influence the content that becomes available in the future. While the recent trend, particularly in Telemundo's line-up, has been to push the envelope and explore contemporary themes in relatively fresh ways, the truth of the matter is that some its content is still traditional in many ways.
For example, take the Final episode of Donde Esta Elisa? which aired Aug. 10, 2010. Anyone who would have randomly stubled upon the alst episode by mistake would have assumed that this was your typical novela. After all, the last scene consists of a happy family portrait. What the viewer would have ignored is the unconventional themes that were explored in this production: a death orchestrated by family member, an extra-marital affair between a college professor and a minor (who, by the way happens to be his niece), as well as the internal turmoil of a mother dealing with a kidnapping and death of her daughter who wants to leave with her her lover but must keep her family together. In other words, the final episode represented a return to the traditional values once upheld by the predominantly conservative, Catholic audience--an audience that loves happy endings.
But the findings of the study mentioned above may bring us some hope. Catering to this new generation of (18-29 year olds) that will continue to watch Hispanic TV networks may be a something producers and network executives might do. If this is the case, then there is hope that television programing may be less conservative and a little more provocative. Unless of course, my age-peers grow up, become more conservative and the content that is now popular continues to be popular then.
What will happen, I can't predict. Until then, we'll have to do with innovative productions that settle for the happy ending.
No comments:
Post a Comment