On TV, she wears Madeleine’s blonde hair, in the soap opera Pantanal. But in conversation with universe Actress Karine Teles appeared via video call with brown hair she has already recorded the action and Madeleine’s end should be aired soon. The new look is just one of the features that set Karine apart from the character.
While Jove’s mother is a digital influencer, Karine is trying to distance herself more and more from the virtual world. With the increasing audience of “Pantanal”, the number of followers of the actress’ profile on Instagram, which is more connected to cinema and theater, has doubled today it has 80,000 followers. And that didn’t just come with positive consequences.
“I don’t read private messages from people I don’t know anymore because I run the risk of having some kind of violence in the comments,” he says. “I received some very unpleasant things. Aggressive singing, harassment, very disgusting things.”
With a twodecade acting career, Karine has acted in more than 30 theater shows and starred in films such as Que hora ela volta?. (2014), Talk to Me (2016) and Bacurau (2019). She has already been voted Best Actress at the Gramado and Rio Festivals and has received several awards, including two from the APCA (Paulista Association of Art Critics).
Now she is focused on the recording of the HBO Max series “Segundas Intenções” the first in Brazil with a larger format, 50 episodes and awaits the release of the second season of Amazon Prime’s “Manhãs de Setembro”, in which he costars Singers perform Liniker and Linn da Quebrada.
UNIVERSA In the new version of Pantanal, Madeleine is a digital influencer. Why put that in the story?
Karine telephoto I see that the soap opera has brought new reflections that didn’t exist 30 years ago. Including the size that our virtual life takes on in our everyday life, or how virtuality risks becoming a parallel universe that prevents us from having real contact with people. There’s a lot of cool stuff on the internet, but there’s also empty, dangerous, and depressing content that tempts us to make unrealistic and unfair comparisons, like all that filter craze, treated photos. And I think that’s where Madeleine finds herself in this criticism.
Madeleine (Karine Teles) in the Pantanal
Image: Globo/João Miguel Júnior
What is your relationship with social networks?
The only network I have is Instagram. I’ve had Facebook for a while, but I was beginning to realize that it was taking up a lot of space in my routine. People comment on everything, even things they don’t understand or don’t know. I play that I am analogue. I am 44 years old and there was no internet in my youth or early adulthood. So I get a little tired when I use the internet too much and I feel like some things are hitting me in an unnecessary way.
What is the downside of social media?
The soap opera has increased my number of followers on Instagram, more than doubled. I used to be able to talk to people who came to talk about my work, who had seen something I had worked on. Now I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t read messages from people I don’t know anymore because I’ve received some very uncomfortable things.
What kind of Things?
Aggressive singing, harassment, really gross things like making violent comments about the character or my work. Then I would look and it was a closed profile or an unfollowing person. But that’s just a minority of what comes to me, most people are very kind, generous, caring and loving with my work. But since I’m an analogue person, I can’t maintain this filter. I feel attacked. When people talk about the character, it doesn’t bother me, I understand that. The problem is when business goes to the people.
I do the opposite of Madeleine: the more she pumps, the more I’m offline. Karine Teles, actress
You have already said in an interview that Madeleine is seductive, unlike you. Don’t you think you’re seductive?
Not like Madeleine is. She uses her presence to attract and manipulate others. She uses beauty to convince others that she has the right to be who she is and can do whatever she wants. In my way of being in the world, I would say that my seduction is much more intellectual. I like getting attention for my ideas, for the things I think, I like to talk. The character builds a shell, an image, both in her personal and social life and on the internet, and she uses that image to relate to the world. I’m not. My armor is my language, my words, not my looks.
She has also been labeled as selfish and criticized by the public, when in reality she was depressed and isolated. Have you gained weight because you are a woman?
Yes. Madeleine is a privileged white woman. Even though she is depressed, abandoned, isolated, people lack empathy. I’m not saying I agree with all of their attitudes, because I don’t. Which doesn’t mean you don’t get it.
Mental health is still a taboo subject and very prejudiced. If someone catches a virus or has a stomach problem and calls work and says they are sick, no one will question anything. If the person now has a mental health problem, they will be harassed. I still see great difficulties in understanding, especially among women.
The character has a conflicted relationship with her son. You are a mother of twins. How is your relationship with motherhood?
It’s a gigantic piece of my life. Getting pregnant was a revolution because twins were coming, which we don’t plan. So it’s a place of devotion, but not abdication. It’s a place that stimulates me and teaches me a lot. My children are already 11 years old and I learn something new in every phase that they go through. We are companions and friends. It was a very intense transformation. When a woman becomes a mother, our society reduces her to that role. She ceases to exist as an individual.
Did you feel like you were “stopping” as a woman when you became a mother?
I feel to this day. Discussions move forward, but the world does not move forward together. For example, today, in mid2022, I still feel that the mother is being asked to take on responsibilities that are not being asked of the father. Even I, living in a bubble of privilege among artists, hear comments when I come to a party like, “And who are the boys with?”. That’s the kind of question you don’t ask a man. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
You have played many “shrews”, as in the films “Bacurau” and “Que Horas Ela Volta?”. Do you see a stereotype about your physical appearance?
Brazil is a racist country and I am a middleaged white woman. Of course, they’re not going to cast me as a romantic comedy heroine. But depending on the project, I’m happy to accept it because I’m interested in taking part in the discussion. “When is she coming back?” It’s a brilliant film, very important. I worked really hard to get this role. When I read the script for “Bacurau,” I said I would play every character.
The audiovisual industry is beginning to confront stereotypes and make efforts to change them. We’re an extremely biased country, so I still fit into characters that represent that country’s biased elite. As much as my background has nothing to do with it, as an actress I am very happy to be able to serve the work and its discussions.
You are an artist who repositions himself politically and repeatedly. Why does it matter?
While I’m not a longrange artist, it’s a part of me and the type of art I believe challenges the world. That’s why I’m an artist, because I’m convinced that a work of art changes a person. Therefore, I feel obliged to take a stand and ask questions.
Are you afraid of losing your job because of politics?
Not. That would be a novelty in my life. I have always positioned myself. Anyone who calls me about a job knows that.