O Clone

O Clone is a Brazilian telenovela. The eponymous character is Leandro, a clone of a young man (Lucas) whose twin brother, Diogo, has died. When syndicated to Spanish-speaking countries it is known as El Clon.

Directed by Jayme Monjardim and written by Gloria Perez, the director of the successful Terra Nostra, it tells the story of Jade and Lucas, starting in 1980 in Morocco and spanning to the present in Rio de Janeiro. It is the story of an impossible love between the son of a magnate, Lucas, and a Brazilian of Moroccan descent, Jade, who constantly has to fight against her family's conventions to pursue true love alongside Lucas. It also reflects the ethical problems posited by human cloning and the differences between the Islamic and western worlds.

The telenovela was widely popular not only because of the passion between the protagonists and their determination to confront obstacles, but also because the plot addresses current issues such as human cloning and drug addiction.

Major characters

• Diogo Ferraz - a pilot who died whilst flying a helicopter near the Sugar Loaf. He had a very strong character and personality, business oriented.
• Lucas Ferraz - Diogo's twin brother; softer personality, artistically oriented, guitar player.
• Augusto Albieri - genetic scientist who was the Ferraz twin brothers' Godfather and created the clone.
• Leonidas Ferraz - Father of the twin brothers; always favored Diogo more than Lucas, because of his personality.
• Jade - Brazilian Muslim, of Moroccan descent; Lucas' object of affection.
• Sidi Ali - Jade's Muslim uncle who lives in Morocco and friend of Albieri
• Said Rashid - Jade's obsessed husband
• Leandro - the clone of Lucas.

Cast

• Murilo Benício - Lucas Ferraz / Diogo Ferraz / Leandro Edvaldo
• Giovanna Antonelli - Jade
• Reginaldo Faria - Leonidas Ferraz
• Vera Fisher- Yvete
• Juca de Oliveira - Augusto Albieri
• Stenio Garcia - Ali
• Dalton Vigh - Said
• Gisele Bomentre - Belly Dancer

Major storylines

There are two major storylines. The first storyline is a love story between Lucas and Jade. They meet in Morocco in the early 80's and have a passionate affair. Years later, Jade is forced to live in Rio de Janeiro with her arab husband and his second wife. Lucas and Jade try to leave their respective spouses and get back together.

The second storyline revolves around Leandro, the unknowing clone of Lucas, growing up and trying to find the truth from his surrogate mother and Augusto about his origins. This storyline starts from the mother (Deusa) being artificially inseminated by doctor Albieri. We go on to see the clone growing up in a different environment from his "father/brother" Lucas, which makes him a totally different individual, even though they both share the same genes and even the same thoughts and interests.

The storyline revolves about Lucas (who doesn't know that he has a clone until later in the series) and Jade. The clone also falls in love with Jade. There are also notable subplots that surround the drama of this telenovela, such as drug addiction.

Plot summary

Lucas and his twin accompany doctor Albieri to Egypt and Morocco.

Syndication

O Clone is produced in Brazil by Rede Globo. The actors speak Portuguese. However, the program has been dubbed into other languages and syndicated internationally. Spanish versions can be seen in most South American countries and in the United States.

Portrayal of Muslims

While the program's attention to issues of drug addiction won its creator an award, the portrayal of Arab-Muslim cultures within the program has brought a critical response from different Arab-Muslim sources, according to a 2005 doctoral dissertation written about the program by Elizabeth Barbosa.

The part of the program dealing with Islamic customs and attitudes mixes traditions from diverse countries, rather than those of Morocco alone, and has been criticised for its inaccurate representation of these traditions, according to Barbosa. These criticisms include the portrayal of polygamy as commonly accepted in Morocco, women as rarely working outside the home or pursuing an advanced education, and women having only unimportant roles within the family. Critics making these judgments included sheik Abdelmalek Cherkaoui Ghazouani, the Moroccan ambassador to Brazil, who considered the high profile of these representations to merit his posting his criticisms directly on his embassy's website as part of a bulletin board.

In addition to sources from the print media, Barbosa presents several messages from online forums that she analyzed for her study. Messages from viewers asserting Arab-Muslim descent made such comments as, "I'm Moroccan. And i do HATE the way they portray the culture and everything sometimes ... [N]umerous people have asked me silly questions about Morocco because they believe the novela word for word ... ."

See also

• Somatic cell nuclear transfer
• Human cloning

External links

• oclone.on.neobee.net