The adventures of millionaire Miguel and Joana, his girlfriend from the favela, broadcasted on the Rede Record Network, are the most-watched TV programs, even more than the national championship. What is the real meaning of this? Showing favelas’ violent life in order to awaken Brazilian public opinion, or producing an easy story of love and death in which new actors are launched?

Blood. The situation of Brazilian favelas, especially those in Rio de Janeiro, is always worse. In the last days, 19 people – drug traffickers, policemen and simple passers-by - got killed in just one night. What strikes us is not only how easy it is to die in these neighbourhoods, but also the widespread illegality, which is the real soul of these houses crammed together. Thanks to the initiative of two young volunteers, creators of the “riobodycount” web site, the numbers of this massacre are mercilessly reported: an average of 9 deaths per day. Given the government’s inability to intervene in an effective way, it has recently being proposed that the army should spring into action. In claustrophobic favelas violence is in the air. What if for once TV taught to lay down arms?

Love. Like in the best sitcom, beautiful (and rich) Miguel falls in love with charming (but poor) Joana. They meet accidentally because both of them share an interest in climbing. Everything would be fine, but an ex- boyfriend enters the scene: he’s a drug trafficker and he’s just spent four years in prison. The story is served: Rio as the city of millionaires and jam-packed favelas alike. In the soap opera “Vidas Opostas”, broadcasted in competition with popular soccer matches, violence is well displayed. Like in all respectable soap operas, characters disappear and are easily replaced. In this case, however, the setting is provided by the dangerous city’s neighbourhoods: scenes are partly taken inside the favelas, ravaged by the fights between drug traffickers belonging to the fictitious band called “Morro del Torto” and the rival faction, ruled by a corrupt policeman. Alexandre Avancini, Executive Director of “Vidas Opostas”, declared: “We show what really happens in Rio: favelas, drug traffickers, corrupt policemen and common people involved in all this”. Avancini adds that “we broadcast everyday life, we give an X-ray presentation of life in the favelas. Our purpose is to show, and not to manipulate”. The life of a favela brings into play many protagonists; the fight for territory’s control involves drug traffickers, policemen and paramilitaries, among whom there are several corrupt agents. This ambiguous situation is reflected in the soap opera: in one scene a police officer, after accidentally killing a passer-by, puts a gun in the hands of the victim in order to dispel all doubts. Avancini declared: “We are very careful not to show traffickers as the only bad guys”. The total number of episodes is 210, and the program will be broadcasted until the month of July: it will surely be a success.

TV ratings. Globo, the main Brazilian network, has immediately adapted itself to the circumstances. One of the network’s soap-operas shows a scene in which one of the protagonists dies in a fire on a bus. This episode has been suggested by a fact really occurred last December involving members of rival bands and in which nine passengers died. Telenovelas therefore could offer a place for a social debate. In an episode of “Vidas Opostas” the characters discuss about the possibility to liberalize drugs as a way to reduce crimes and illegality. Telenovelas are a totally Brazilian invention and they are an important moment in the life of many Brazilians, therefore they can be one of the most effective ways to convey messages, either positive or negative. In Brazil every house has got a TV, from the villa to the dump. Ignacio Cano, sociologist and expert of Brazilian violence, interviewed on the topic of telenovelas’ success, declared “I think that re-creating the reality of favelas on TV could help people developping a positive debate on violence, helping them realizing how much favelas’ inhabitants suffer”.