Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The international telenovela debate and the contra-flow argument: a reappraisal

2000; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 22; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1177/016344300022004002

1460-3675

Daniël Biltereyst, Philippe Meers,

Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy

Latin American telenovelas are often considered an interesting case in international communication theory and research, illustrating the potential of Third World cultural industries for resistance, alternatives and even contra-flow. In this article we first shed some light on the main theoretical frameworks and empirical arguments in the international telenovela debate. In the second part we focus on the contra-flow argument in relation to the worldwide exports of telenovelas. In the case study we concentrate on the telenovela flow to Europe. Both theory and case study stress the weakness of the contra-flow argument.