THE SEMIOTICS OF NARRATIVE IN TELEDRAMATURGY: THE NARRATIVE LEVEL IN <i>A FAVORITA</i>

Abstract

There have been few researches which have dealt with the semiotics of the narrative for the study of  teledramaturgy. Thus, this theme was chosen for the present research. In a soap opera, the characters have important roles which contribute to the development of the narrative, move the actions and build a process of signification required to understand the story. The semiotics of narrative contributes to understanding this process of signification. The semiotics of narrative consists of the following levels: fundamental, narrative and discursive which are responsible for the generative route of meaning in narration. Thus, based on the narrative levels of the semiotics of  narrative, described by Algirdas Julien Greimas, the aim of this study  is to show the structures  of the meanings produced by the characters Flora and Donatela in the soap opera A Favorita (The Favorite), broadcasted by Globo Television Network in 2008. The bibliographic and descriptive studies show that the meanings produced by the character Flora made the viewers to believe that she was telling the truth and was the heroine of the story, a fact that is reversed after the revelation of the true killer.