It is clear the positioning of the progranda in favor of so-called “gay cure” proposed by the religious party in the National Congress this year in Brazil (USA Today, 2013). Considering the high ratings of this telenovela, the idea has been inserted and it is now largely discussed in society. This approach to homosexuality issues implicated in a growth of 166.9% in total complaints about homophobic violence compared to 2011 and reported cases jumped from 1,159 to 3,084 per year (Reis, 2013).
Moreover, the telenovelas in Brazil brings up relevant topics highlighting issues that would hardly be discussed in the same level with the public. Along with these different views on the topic, social issues shown on TV create discussion in society: the theory of Agenda Setting explain how telenovelas constitutes as predominant factor to set the agenda for discussion in the day to day life of the audience. Rabanea (2013) pointed out that the telenovela is as much a mirror of society as it is a masterfully constructed fantasy that generates desire teaching the masses about social issues.
Media Framing Theory
The research on framing theory is characterized by theoretical vagueness due to the lack of a shared theoretical model which is critical to the framing research (Scheufele, 1999). The basis of framing theory is that the media focuses attention on certain events and then places them within a field of meaning. Framing has become an important topic since it can effectively influence public opinion. According to the University of Twente (University of Twente, n.d.), framing influence the audiences’ perception of the news, which is a form of agenda-setting that not only tells what to think about, but also how to think about it.
Other experts believe that writers and editors who report the news are anything but objective.
The sociologist Charlotte Ryan wrote the book Prime Time Activism where she describes framing as the construction of a subjective picture of reality, where selected and organized confusing floods of information make sense to themselves and their audiences (Ryan, 1991).
Mass Media & Public Opinion