Telenovela, to entertain and educate

Abstract

Increasingly, the fictional narrative of telenovelas is inserted in a concrete social reality. The representations constructed by telenovelas are associated with everyday life and the social context in which they are immersed. This article discusses the narrow boundary between fiction and reality in soap operas, and the intention to educate by addressing real and current issues. For this purpose, two telenovelas written by Manoel Carlos and produced by Red Globo, Brazil, were selected: Passionate Women (2003) and Pages of Life (2006).