My Childhood, Telenovela and Media Content

Despite of some unlucky crap things happened in the past I try to forget, I will never forget all the happiest, funniest and silliest memory. Inspired by a friend’s blog post, I think of posting my own. Since what I have done for these recent days is watching telenovela! I turned back to the time where I still did not really know about anything but Paulina’s great hairstyle, kind personality and sweet face. And I have just realized after 11 years that Gabriela Spanic was very great on the telenovela where she could play two roles and they were totally different. And what’s the most silly? I have just known that the episodes were about 102 but I never left watching it, yes I had ever been bored but I never really left the telenovela. I love every part of the telenovela and by watching it again now, I even can relate my experience to what I have learned about media in university.

Cinta Paulina, salah satu tontonan masa kecil gu

I still think that children shouldn’t be provided by any adult contents on media. But when you don’t understand about something and you just see that thing for once, you won’t even remember it. Because after watching the novela again these recent days, what I can only remember clearly is the opening title of the novela, the front part of Bracho’s family house and the face of some main characters without what they did in the novela. I started to remember of some other things like what happened to the characters, the chronological plot, the dialogues (since I recently watched the novela in its original language and I was watching the novela in Indonesian on my childhood time, I can only remember a bit) and the clothes the characters wear in the novela when I watched some parts of the novela again. And believe it or not, when I saw any romantic scene right now, I did not even remember I have seen it before, an argument can defeat me since there was censorship system in Indonesian Television Broadcast, but even the process to go to romantic scene was not even stayed in my head.

So, can I say that we won’t remember anything we haven’t understood until we really understand what it is? So then, which one is better, to make children understand sex since they were kids or to let them not understand it but make a guarantee to keep them safe? I still think present the reality is the best way, because the world has already been so selfish and a guarantee is unworthy. But the way to present and make children understand is by telling the truth and continuing to deeper understanding by analogy and generalization first. Children won’t understand about pregnancy and life’s expenses by having baby in such young age. Children won’t also care about health and dignity and morality and sin related to sex. But give them example to things close to their daily life. So they won’t think what we tell them about is just an adult thingy and we shouldn’t understand about it for now, but they will really take it seriously because they think it is as important as their daily life experience.

Then why these recent days more children are experiencing sexual harassment or physical abuse? That is according to my own thought and opinion is because there are no more balance in media content where every TV station, which has grown a lot than in my childhood time, wants the highest rate and the highest income. And to get that, they provide what people want to see and according to the richest television station, this station often provides content where sexual harassment and physical abuse are explicitly shown. Even more, the time is no longer limited and any television will just air any content based on the quantity of viewers at that time (prime time). This causes easier and more often access to those we called adult scenes, so nowadays children cannot be easily protected from such contents and the counterattack.

But, anyway I still love La Usurpadora, the original title of Cinta Paulina. LOL