Essay.

Two Opposites Characters from Colombian Soap Operas.

The soap opera is an audiovisual format with a lot of audience. The directors create
their characters with a specific purpose: to captivate the viewer and sensitize through
personality aspects. However, Can the viewer be influenced in real life by the character
or sympathize with the personality and important events? Betty La Fea is one of the
most characters known in the whole world, and its performance influenced more than
180 countries. Some performances have a different context in real life and could be
appreciated or perceived in another way; such as Pablo Escobar's soap opera.
According to BBC News Escobar was the Medellin leader cartel and had the 80%
cocaine trade in the whole world. And he was responsible for many crimes and attacks
in Colombia as well. Therefore, had many reactions when the soap opera aired, as;
rejected but well received at the same time. The performance generated harmful
behaviors even for the actor, Andrés Parra, said that he had real psychological and
personality problems. The viewer enjoyed the performance and the plot without doesn't
distinguish between reality and fiction. Unconsciously, they make Pablo's acts look
normal empathizing with the character even knowing that he was the antagonist. As a
result, Colombians have been stigmatized and associated with drug trafficking and
violence.
In the case of Betty La Fea's performance, it gathers some important aspects, such as;
empathy, emotions, feelings, identification, social changes, and behavior models
through this sitcom. This is a criticism and reflection of a possible prejudiced and
superficial community. The audience could experience the catharsis from the character
in specific facts like when she got the job in Colombia Moda, when she began to feel
something for her boss, or even when she had the opportunity to change her physical
appearance completely. It was a boom and many people began to adopt a stance pro
Betty's facts. From my point of view, I began to enjoy the best moments of the
character, and feel upset at her worst or unjust moments at the same time.
In conclusion, communication is a power to influence humanity, where facts or histories
have different connotations in society through a character's performance. It's not wrong
to talk about social issues, but yes when it’s normalized like nothing happens, even,
when someone adopts harmful behaviors. That's the reason why Betty's performance
influenced many personalities empathizing with her character and broke with many
social stereotypes. The opposite of Escobar's performance who caused pain for family
victims in real life, or influenced the perspective of Colombian people.