Soap operas, memory, and politics in the lastest chapter of Vox Populi
Chapter three of #VoxPopuli.
This is one of the web series of our Science and Education Diplomacy project. Click the link to find out more about the other products included in the project (more videos, opinion columns, and events).
In this chapter, Mónika Contreras Saiz (teacher and researcher at the Institute of Latin American Studies in Berlin) and Julián Román (actor and activist) answer questions from citizens about the relationship between soap operas, memory, and the historical education that has been created in Colombia thanks to the entertainment industry. Monika and Julián answered questions such as: What is the political impact that soap operas can have on people’s daily lives? Beyond being a form of entertainment, how are they transforming the way we relate to ourselves and our national identity? What would happen on a social and cultural level if we stopped producing these soap operas in Colombia?
«In terms of the soap operas we have investigated in Colombia, Brazil, or Cuba, we have seen that for many people who do not know the past of their countries, their first point of reference is what they see on television» – Mónika Contreras
«I believe that, as an actor, you have to make people uncomfortable. And art has to disturb. It doesn’t have to give answers» – Julián Román.
