Cultural Imperialism in Mexico: Telenovelas

How has the concept of cultural imperialism impacted Mexico? To be more specific,  media-wise it is imperative to point out that there is, in a sense, an uniformed standard of beauty that pretty much overrides regional expectations.

What do I mean by this? Simply by examining, for instance, the types of “beauty” stars one sees on tv. In the popular telenovelas, very rarely do you see a dark-skinned actress! In most of these soaps one is usually graciously greeted by fair-skinned, very thin and often-times light-eyed individuals.

Take a well known actress, for instance: Veronica Castro

Browsing the Univision website (major Spanish-speaking television channel that shows Mexican novelas) under their soap directory will pretty much confirm this trend....check it out yourself by clicking here.

Moreover, male actors are not far behind...I remember that not too long ago, both my grandma was really hooked on a novela called "Cuidado con el Angel" . However, coincidentally, expanding on this idea of the 'standard' for beauty, I also had to agree with my grandmother in that the main actor was very good-looking...but is he really a representation of the cultural diversity that makes up the Mexican country as a whole?