This article struck me, as I had not yet made a connection between favela tourism and ‘soap operas’ and the effects that media have had on these poorer, marginalized neighbourhoods in Brazil. As someone who isn’t an avid ‘watcher’ of telenovelas themselves, It fascinated me how favelas- specifically in the last decade or so- have become the filming locations for such consumer-oriented and profit-driven television programs. There is quite a problematic trend of ‘exoticism’ and ‘glamorization’ of the livelihoods of the residents of these communities, as favelas such as Complexo do Alemão in Rio de Janeiro, and Paraisópolis in São Paulo have become popular, though transient, tourist attractions. As such, an uncomfortable sense of appropriation and commodification of livelihoods that are “shunned” and ignored by their own governing and political bodies emerges, as they have simultaneously become temporarily “hailed” by media and tourism industries.

The temporality of the tourism these telenovelas create is critical to the central argument of this article, as it identifies the damagingly “ephemeral” quality of the “telenovela effect” on Brazilian favelas. Not only is the genre of telenovelas transient in nature, but these communities further face both security and governmental challenges that influence the sustainability of tourism in these areas. As filming locations, the viewing of favelas through the lens of television screens seems to paint their existence, or global image, as one of temporary interest and entertainment, and disregards the more permanent reality they present to the, quite literally, millions of their residents.

I was quite intrigued by a point brought up in this paper on how, through media forms such as telenovelas, slums have “become among the most iconic images of the country” and are “considered the birthplace of typically Brazilian cultural expressions”(1536, 38). There exists quite a paradox here, as I somewhat touched on earlier, within the notion that politically and socially excluded areas of society can be transformed as externally, globally-recognized symbols for the very country that internally rejects their existence. I know this is something we have touched on in various classes throughout this course, but the power of television and media in the production of cultural identities and ‘icons’ is astounding. The “telenovela effect” is an excellent example of how quickly and efficiently that power can both contribute to and dispossess a community’s cultural identity. The relationship between telenovelas and favela tourism is compelling, and it presents such an interesting and relevant topic of exploration within the study of Latin American popular culture. 

I am quite curious, does anyone else happen to know anything about telenovela-generated tourism? To what extent does it impact local communities elsewhere?

Reference:

Póvoa, D., Reijnders, S., & Martens, E. (2019). The telenovela effect: Challenges of location filming and telenovela tourism in the brazilian favelas. Journal of Popular Culture, 52(6), 1536-1556. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpcu.12861