I really enjoyed watching my telenovela, not just because it was funny and entertaining, but it was nice to be able to analyze it and spot characteristics discussed in class. I really got hooked on "Rubi" and every episode had me shook. Rubi is so conniving, and I had never seen a character be such a hater..., Bárbara Mori is such a good actor for that.
Now onto my personal opinions about the characters:
I know Rubi is the protagonist of the show and the whole concept of the telenovela was that Rubi would actually be the antagonist and whatnot, but the real villain is Hector, Rubi's "best friend's" fiancé!! Rubi constantly was set out to be the bad guy in almost every scenario, but let's be real... ***Spoiler Alerttt*** It takes two to cheat. If Hector had been so madly in love with Maribel as he made it seem, he would have never thought of Rubi in that way, and when she started acting weird towards him, he should have something to her or his fiancé. **Spoiler Over**
Next, Alejandro. At first, I felt bad for him because he was a really sweet guy and had great intentions but got the short end of the stick because he didn't have enough money to impress Rubi. However!!!, he does not need to be praised because he is manipulative and aggressive. Once again, the show tried to get the audience to feel bad for him and portray him to be some type of underdog, but when things didn't go his way, he became obsessive and ill-tempered. There were multiple occasions where he grabbed Rubi really roughly and yelled in her face. Thank goodness, Rubi would try to yell back, but despite being vile 24/7, she had a scared look on her face when Alejandro would come around.
Honestly, now thinking about it, I can name maybe two or three guys that were actually nice people in the show... Everybody else was rude and had two-faced intentions. That reminds me of one of the first couple of things that we went over in class, about the double standards in melodramas. And how men and women can do the same exact thing, but the woman will be hated for it more.
Maribel and Cristina were queens and never did anything wrong on purpose. I'm going to keep watching and see if they get the happy endings that they deserve.
And as for Rubi. Oh lord. In the beginning, I had some sympathy for Rubi because I kind of understood why she would act the way she does. Because she lost her father at a young age, she and her family had to find ways to make ends meet, which would explain why she leaches onto any male figure that supports her or makes her feel safe. But some of the things she did went too far and there are no excuses for them. However, even then, it's hard not to feel bad for her at times and try to understand where she's coming from. The producers casted and directed it perfectly, and I would totally recommend it to all of you guys.
Hope you all sanely make it through midterm season and enjoy the rest of your year. :)))Byeeee.
I definitely relate to the skepticism and dislike of the "underdog." I also feel that characters like Alejandro are kind of glorified in Latin American television. For whatever reason, men who don't get what they want are allowed to act like children/be abusive, and that is somehow okay because they're being mistreated? But when the female characters lash out similarly, over similar issues, they become "crazy" or "hysterical." I also agree with you about the physical violence thing, it's kind of scary to see that in television. I think that men getting aggressive and violent with women is really normalized in Latam, but it's also an issue around the world. Seeing it in tv makes it seem like that's just "something that happen" which further gives men excuses within society to justify their violent behavior.
ReplyDeleteHi Katherine! I'm also watching Rubi and I totally agree with your frustration about the male characters. They are such menaces! Hector and Alejandro show so much toxic masculinity and aggression when they don't get what they want, even the side characters like Saul who forces himself on Rubi and treats his "girlfriends" as worthless and Hector's godfather who talks terribly about Maribel and constantly shames his own wife for not having children. It is disheartening to see how toxic behaviors of men are portrayed as normal and okay. Also, I'm definitely rooting for Cristina and Maribel as well, they deserve the happy ending after all they had to go through.
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