Representation and Disjunction: Made-up Maids in Mexican<i>Telenovelas</i>

Abstract

Telenovelas, located in the margins of Film and Television Studies, are often dismissed as lacking cultural value. These televised melodramas, however, should not be overlooked as they offer an opportunity to understand the social representations and dynamics of a country. This paper focuses on one of the most common plot devices in Mexican telenovelas: centring the story on a domestic worker, or muchacha (maid). Stories of poor, beautiful maids attract large audiences within Mexico, however the actresses portraying these characters do not convey a believably indigenous or rural background. The ‘made-up maids’ of Mexican telenovelas simultaneously make audiences look at and overlook this sector’s experience. Telenovelas offer a fitting entry point into the plight of domestic workers as both exist in the socio-cultural periphery. Racial misrepresentation in telenovelas marginalizes the struggles of real-life domestic workers in Mexico, a country where race is not at the forefront of the social consciousness.