Verisimilitude in Transatlantic Reconstructions of the 20th Century: A Cognitive Approach to Televised Series

Abstract

Verisimilitude in Transatlantic Reconstructions of the 20th Century identifies how transatlantic, audiovisual perspectives produced in the 21st-century attempt to reproduce a plausible version of the past by mimicking and activating the natural, long-term memory systems to create realism for the spectator. Specifically, this work as a whole showcases how seven 21st-century Argentine, Brazilian and/or Spanish television series use an array of different cinematic tools to activate these systems and thus, recreate a plausible version of the past. Dynamics of episodic memory and the associated mental time travel (MTT) enhance the veracity in the Argentine and Spanish co-production Vientos de agua (2006), directed by Juan José Campanella. Distinct from the episodic way in which memory is presented in the miniseries Vientos de agua, the four telenovelas outlined in Chapter Three present a more holistic sense of time to slowly repaint the canvas of pre-dictatorship times in Restoration Spain, as well as late 1950s and Early 1960s Brazil via the activation of perceptual memory and priming. Slapstick and humor are splattered into two Spanish biopics which depict the Spanish dictatorship of General Francisco Franco from roughly 1947 to 1960: the RTVE series Carta a Eva (2013) as well as the Movistar+ production Arde Madrid (2018). Unlike in the long-term serial nature of the telenovelas discussed in chapter three, these briefer productions fictionalize with fact, common knowledge and (in)famous celebrities of the past to actuate a natural, semantic memory response from the spectator. Verisimilitude in Transatlantic Reconstructions of the 20th Century examines how plausibility is necessary for audience engagement–to participate, relate to and create value in their own quotidian experiences. Ultimately, this dissertation offers a close examination of how engaging with the natural human experience, and particularly the processes of long-term memory, is an effective way to trigger narrative transportation and enhance verisimilitude in audiovisual productions–and perhaps in other artistic mediums of storytelling as well.