Tv's Betty Goes Global

<p>Premiering in 2006 Ugly Betty the award-winning US hit show about unglamorous but kind-hearted Betty Suarez (America Ferrera) is the latest incarnation of a worldwide phenomenon that started life as a Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty la fea back in 1999. The tale of the ugly duckling has since taken an extraordinary global journey and become the most successful telenovela to date. This groundbreaking book asks what the Yo soy Betty la fea/Ugly Betty phenomenon can tell us about the international circulation of locally produced TV fictions as the Latin American telenovela is sold to and/or re-made-officially and unofficially-for different national contexts. The contributors explore what Betty has to say about the tensions between the commercial demands of multimedia conglomerates and the regulatory forces of national broadcasters as well as the international ambitions of national TV industries and their struggle in competitive markets. They also investigate what this international trade tells us about cultural storytelling and audience experience as well as ideologies of feminine beauty and myths of female desire and aspiration.<br>TV's Betty Goes Global features original interviews with buyers and schedulers writers story editors and directors including the creator of Yo soy Betty la fea Fernando Gaitan</p>