I've wanted to write about Italian television for quite some time now but I keep forgetting.
I don't watch TV at my house since I don't have a digital box for the TV. It isn't an issue since I really don't like watching TV but it is nice to listen to it now and then to practice my Italian. I am fortunate though because I do in fact get the chance to watch television at Ipolita's house. Whenever I go to her house for lunch I get to watch TV. The television is an essential item for the kitchen. Every home in Italy, I think, has one. Before lunch, we watch the news, during lunch we watch the soap operas and after lunch we watch a reality dating show.
Listening to/watching the news is good way to learn about what is going on in the real world. The soap operas are soap operas. The first show we watch is the Bold and the Beautiful. I never watched it in America but somehow I've learned who everyone is and what is going on. The characters also speak Italian so next time I go to America I will be shocked when I hear them speaking English! Their voices will have all changed too! The second show we watch is Cento Vetrine. It is an Italian soap opera. Again, they are soap operas. I hate soap operas, so predictable and full of drama! I can't handle it. One day actually Ipolita's dad said that his brain is going to explode from watching those shows! :) Yet, we have to find out what is going on.
After the soap operas, we usually watch one of two programs. Either Uomini e Donne or Lassie. Uomini e Donne means Men and Women. It is a dating program. It focuses mostly on the younger generation in their twenties and thirties. It is similar to the Bachelor/Bachelorette but this show doesn't kick people off after each episode. They stay on and so the drama continues. It is very stupid and I can't stand watching it. Yet, I always listen because I want to try to understand....This show is on every day but one or two days during the week is dedicated to the older crowd. They have a dating show for the older generation. I enjoy this segment much more than the younger generation. There is still drama sometimes but most of the time it is about dancing and having a good time. There is even a woman on the show who just comes as a guest so she can have fun. Her name is Angela Favolosa Cubista. She went on the show saying that she didn't want to find a man but instead just wanted to dance. She told her life story of how she was married at a young age and a victim of abuse. After her husband died, she started to live her life. She would go dancing with her grandchildren to the clubs. Now she is famous for her dancing and actually she is really good. When I first saw her, the outfits, and her dance moves, I said to Ipolita, "That is me when I get older." :) I love dancing and can see myself dancing well into my older days. :)
Italian television is similar to American television, the only difference is that I think they pay attention to minority groups more. Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't know of any television show in America that is only about senior citizens? But, my Italian is improving. :) I am starting to understand the soap operas! AHH! :)
