TV's Betty goes global: from telenovela to international brand
London; New York:
Tauris
(2013), xv, 259 pp., index
ISBN 978-1-780762678
"Premiering in 2006, Ugly Betty, the award-winning US hit show about unglamorous but kind-hearted Betty Suarez (America Ferrera),is the latest incarnation of a worldwide phenomenon that started life as a Colombian telenovela,Yo soy Betty, la fea, back in 1999. The tale of the ugly duckling has since taken an extraordinary global journey and become the most successful telenovela to date. This groundbreaking book asks what the Yo soy Betty, la fea / Ugly Betty phenomenon can tell us about the international circulation of locally produced TV fictions as the Latin American telenovela is sold to, and/or re-made-officially and unofficially-for different national contexts. The contributors explore what Betty has to say about the tensions between the commercial demands of multimedia conglomerates and the regulatory forces of national broadcasters as well as the international ambitions of national TV industries and their struggle in competitive markets. They also investigate what this international trade tells us about cultural storytelling and audience experience, as well as ideologies of feminine beauty and myths of female desire and aspiration. TV's Betty Goes Global features original interviews with buyers and schedulers, writers, story editors and directors, including the creator of Yo soy Betty, la fea, Fernando Gaitan." (Publisher)
Contents
Introduction: 'Oh Betty, You Really Are Beautiful' / Janet McCabe, 1
1 The Whole World's Unlikely Heroine: Ugly Betty as Transnational Phenomenon, 26
2 Our Betty: The Legacy of Yo soy Betty, la fea's Success in Colombia / Yeidi M. Rivero, 45
3 Acquiring Ugly Betty for Channel 4: Interview with Jeff Ford / Jean Chalaby, 64
4 Interview with TV executives Involved in the German Adaptation, Verliebt in Berlin / Andrea Esser, 72
5 Betty and Lisa: Alternating Between Sameness and Uniqueness / Bianca Lippert, 83
6 Ugly Betty, Flemish Sara: Telenovela Adaptation and Generic Expectations / Alexander Dhoest and Manon Mertens, 99
7 Recreating Betty's World in Spain / Stefania Carini, 114
8 Towards a Cultural Economy of Chou Nu (Nv) Wu Di: The Yo soy Betty, la fea Franchise in the People's Republic of China / Xiaolu Ma and Albert Moran, 126
9 How Ugly Can Betty Be in India? / Divya McMillin, 143
10 Ugly Betty on Turkish Television: Updating Popular Cinema / Laurence Raw, 161
11 Esti Ha'mnechoeret: Ugly Esti as a Local and Successful Israeli Telenovela / Amit Lavie-Dinur and Yuval Karniel, 167
12 The Greek Maria i Asximi: The Never-Ending Journey of a Myth / Betty Kaklamanidou, 175
13 Czech Ugly Katka: Global Hornogenization and Local Invention / Irena Carpentier Reifova and Zdenek Sloboda, 189
14 Glamorously (Post) Soviet: Reading Yo soy Betty, la fea in Russia / Elena Prokhorova, 206
15 Travelling Narratives and Transitional Life Strategies: Yo soy Bea and Ugly Betty / Paul Julian Smith, 222
16 Our Betties, Ourselves / Dana Heller, 240
1 The Whole World's Unlikely Heroine: Ugly Betty as Transnational Phenomenon, 26
2 Our Betty: The Legacy of Yo soy Betty, la fea's Success in Colombia / Yeidi M. Rivero, 45
3 Acquiring Ugly Betty for Channel 4: Interview with Jeff Ford / Jean Chalaby, 64
4 Interview with TV executives Involved in the German Adaptation, Verliebt in Berlin / Andrea Esser, 72
5 Betty and Lisa: Alternating Between Sameness and Uniqueness / Bianca Lippert, 83
6 Ugly Betty, Flemish Sara: Telenovela Adaptation and Generic Expectations / Alexander Dhoest and Manon Mertens, 99
7 Recreating Betty's World in Spain / Stefania Carini, 114
8 Towards a Cultural Economy of Chou Nu (Nv) Wu Di: The Yo soy Betty, la fea Franchise in the People's Republic of China / Xiaolu Ma and Albert Moran, 126
9 How Ugly Can Betty Be in India? / Divya McMillin, 143
10 Ugly Betty on Turkish Television: Updating Popular Cinema / Laurence Raw, 161
11 Esti Ha'mnechoeret: Ugly Esti as a Local and Successful Israeli Telenovela / Amit Lavie-Dinur and Yuval Karniel, 167
12 The Greek Maria i Asximi: The Never-Ending Journey of a Myth / Betty Kaklamanidou, 175
13 Czech Ugly Katka: Global Hornogenization and Local Invention / Irena Carpentier Reifova and Zdenek Sloboda, 189
14 Glamorously (Post) Soviet: Reading Yo soy Betty, la fea in Russia / Elena Prokhorova, 206
15 Travelling Narratives and Transitional Life Strategies: Yo soy Bea and Ugly Betty / Paul Julian Smith, 222
16 Our Betties, Ourselves / Dana Heller, 240
