Bandolera: Limits and Possibilities of Period Telenovelas

Abstract

López performs a close analysis of the television series Bandolera (Diagonal TV, 2011–2013) as a case study of the evolution of the telenovela genre within the global entertainment market of the twenty-first century. She identifies the ideological thrust—liberal social politics—driving the story as well as conspicuous parallels between the time represented onscreen (1882–1887) and that of the show’s broadcast (2011–2013) in terms of class conflict, gender issues, and gay rights. Lopez shows that while the setting provides a credible backdrop for the bandolero theme and generates certain storylines, Bandolera does not engage the past significantly. Rather, the past functions mostly as a scrim for the representation of traditional telenovela conflicts that draw large audiences in the present, securing marketability for the product.