Series, Telenovelas and Soaps: Tragedy in the Living Room

Abstract

The focus of this work is to establish the inherent features of the serial genres in television that emerged from literature and discuss their importance and impact on the spectatorship. The rise and development of the serial genres will be discussed along with the growing influence on the society and individuals. How much do the genres of telenovelas and series differ in the context of cultural nuances and what is the genesis of the human urgency in retelling the melodramatic and tragic narratives? Enormous popularity deriving from these stories is reflected in the prime time broadcasting by Croatian, Serbian and Bosnian TV stations since 2002. The essay will explain the ontogenesis of the popularity, reflections and influences on societies and cultures, and features of this hybrid and changing genre of telenovelas and the most recent infatuation with Turkish serials in the TV region of West Balkans.

Keywords

• serial literature and television
• telenovela
• soap opera
• Turkish series
• Bosnian
• Croatian and Serbian series broadcast
• Greek classical narrative and tragedy
• Bosnian/ Croatian/ Serbian series broadcast
• Greek classical narrative and tragedy