Syrian Soap Opera Revolution in Latin America

Latin America has one of the largest soap opera audiences worldwide. Brazil, Mexico and Colombia are some of the countries in the region with the largest such industry. 

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This television genre, full of dramas, stereotypes, victims and villains, manages to cross borders all over the world. 

In recent years, there has been a boom in the presence of Syrian and Turkish soap operas on Latin American home screens. The audience has been fully captivated by the plots of these productions coming from distant lands. 

Turkish soap operas have been competing with the Latin American industry for several years, with high levels of acceptance and causing a furor among audiences in the region. But today we will talk about the Syrian industry, a country that for many years, just before the beginning of the war, was at the forefront of the Arab countries in the production of soap operas. This has become a reality again after the consolidation of peace in most of the Syrian national territory. 

With the recovery of national stability, the soap opera industry has experienced an upturn, reaching the top of the charts and even joining the ranks of Turkish soap operas. Syria is beginning to have a high level of audience in Latin America.  

What makes Syrian soap operas so attractive to an audience with totally different beliefs, customs and ways of life? 

Western society has undergone profound changes in the conception of certain social canons. The Arab countries have also been subject to this process to some extent, and although it is true that Syria is a secular state with great religious diversity, it is still an Arab country. There is a certain conservatism in these productions, a prominent role of the traditional family, with well-defined roles between men and women. Far from being out of sync, they end up being resounding soap operas that capture the attention of an audience that perhaps is in need of those resources that have been left behind in regional productions. Today, the region's soap operas are increasingly inclined to highlight modern trends. 

This nostalgic void has been filled by Syrian soap operas, with other codes but in tune with the Western imaginary. Although the veil and Muslim religiosity are present in the dramas, they have high levels of acceptance. It turns out that the viewer assumes the production without a hint of prejudice, away from the propagandistic scenarios of news agencies that daily raise the tone around the Arab-Muslim culture. 

Also noteworthy are the new approaches taken by Syrian production companies, which have dared to present dilemmas that until very recently were totally prejudiced in the Arab world. Thus, we can enjoy soap operas that expose highly controversial issues such as abortion, AIDS, Islamism and even political dissidence. All this, together with excellent histrionics, excellent scenery, cozy images of cities and towns and a mid-westernized atmosphere, have made the Syrian soap opera industry dispute the supremacy of the local industry.