Spreading Racial Awareness in Historical Telenovelas

In Paula Andalo’s article on the relevance of subliminal messages in the presentation of telenovelas, she speaks on the power telenovelas have on the behavior of their viewers. After reading this article, one might think that since “La Esclava Blanca” is set in the 1850s, that its messages have no real relevance to today’s society, however, the show actually sheds much light on the systematic oppression of racial groups and the arbitrary segregation of race, even if it is translated over centuries. “La Esclava Blanca” gives us a white protagonist raised by African-American parents in a Palenque far from other white people, and therefore, the influence of racism. The protagonist, Victoria’s, upbringing is meant to convey the learned racism that society instills in us, and how a classed society encourages the reinforcement of that prejudice. Since Victoria is raised by black people she sees them as the humans they are, not as property as she would if she were raised by her biological parents. Her upbringing is meant to show the meaningless nature of racism, as it is totally dependent on society’s need for power. This telenovela shows racial injustice in the form of human slavery, whereas its message towards outside awareness can be translated into today’s casual racism and microaggressions, such as implied stereotypes and racially motivated police brutality. The treatment of Eugenia, a mixed-race woman, is a commentary on our society’s treatment of biracial or mixed-race people through their labeling of her as less than because she may have some “black blood” in her. This is an example of hypodescent, in which a person is sorted into the ethnic group of their minority parent or ancestor, a habit we have maintained since the Americas have been colonized. 

The government's involvement in the freeing of slaves and the main characters’ ignorance of the laws reference the present-day resistance to let go of racist tendencies. This calls up the argument that racism can’t be fixed because people don’t want to change, and don’t want to believe that what they’ve been doing is inherently wrong. The Law of the Womb in the telenovela states that every slave born after a certain year should go free after their eighteenth birthday. The resistance of slave-owners to concede to the law is a reflection of modern-day people's inability to change their racist ways. The opposition to the brutal racism presented in the story is the epic love story of Victoria and Miguel, as it represents hope for a better tomorrow.