Political Controversies in Brazilian TV Fiction: Viewers’ Interpretations of the Telenovela Terra Nostra

This article discusses the Brazilian telenovela Terra Nostra, a prime-time production of TV Globo. The telenovela presented a complex picture of nineteenth-century Brazilian politics and of the saga of Italian immigrants, with a plurality of perspectives about these themes. A series of focus group discussions with viewers of different social backgrounds, concentrating on the political messages of the telenovela, reveals the complexity of audience responses. The author finds that the telenovela played an “orientation role,” providing interpretive frames that were often applied by viewers to current political issues. Even though they are frequently looked at with disdain, telenovelas have become key to understanding the dilemmas and perspectives of democratic politics in Brazil.