Ugly Betty on Red Square:
Global Formats and Russian Television
Elena Prokhorova
Associate Professor of Russian Studies
College of William and Mary
THURSDAY, Mar. 27, 2014, 5 PM
MONROE 122
In the past several decades, television in Russia underwent radical transformation: from a
Soviet propaganda vehicle behind the “Iron Curtain” to an active participant in the global
television market. This change coincided with the process of media globalization. Media
products, from news to sitcoms, are no longer tied to national borders. Instead, they
circulate and are consumed cross-culturally; often the original show format is adapted to
the national television environment. One of the most successful global projects is the
Colombian hit telenovela "Yo Soy Betty la fea." The American version, Ugly Betty and
the Russian one, Be Not Born Beautiful, are only two of several dozen national
adaptations of the original series. What made the story of Betty, a hardworking and
smart “ugly” girl who is trying to make it in the glamorous and shallow fashion world, so
appealing to cultures all around the globe? The talk will discuss how Russian conflicts,
meanings, values, and life strategies are grafted onto the original format, and the way in
which the series negotiates issues of gender and body image, class and ethnicity, and in
case of Russia, the integration of the traditional (Soviet) cultural elements with new
capitalist and individualist values.
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