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Abstract:
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Chicana literature is often discussed in relation to broad literary or theoretical movements (post -modernism , magic realism , or feminism ) but these approaches often fail to account for or even consider other culturally derived sources of critical interrogation . For example , Chicana authors , through direct references or allusions , demonstrate that Spanish -language soap operas , known as telenovelas , have a cultural currency that can bridge people across generations , nationalities , and class differences . Telenovelas also have theoretical value , for these productions often feature stories that address issues of race , class , gender , nationality , language , and violence . Reading contemporary Chicana literature through the lens of the telenovela , including its history and status as a cultural form , reveals the ways in which Chicana authors not only rely on but also revise the form . They disrupt the rigid Manichean world view present in telenovelas by challenging heteronormative romance and traditional gender roles to allow for alternate stories , where endings are not always tidy or happy . Drawing on recent ethnographic research in communication studies , I examine the history of Spanish -language television within the U .S . to substantiate the cultural currency of and show how the telenovela permeates and informs Mexican -American identity . Relying on the work of Jesús Martín -Barbero , I trace the development of the melodrama and romance genres out of which telenovelas emerge , evolving from newspaper serials , radionovelas , fotonovelas , to comic strip novels or libros semanales . I focus on the literary roots of the telenovela genre (with its origins in 19th century European serialized fiction ) in relation to early Mexican -American historical romance narratives (María Amparo Ruiz de Burton , Jovita González , and Eve Raleigh ) . Based on Gustavo Aprea and Rolando C . Martínez Mendoza's definition of the telenovela genre , I examine how contemporary Chicana fiction (Denise Chávez , Ana Castillo , Sandra Cisneros , and Nina Marie Martínez ) both conforms to and deviates from the generic conventions . I provide a culturally based critical strategy for offering alternate readings of Chicana literature to show how these authors use the popularity of the telenovela form to reach a specific audience and lend new insight into how viewers , familiar with the genre conventions , are comparable to literary critics . |