THE SOAP OPERA

THE SOAP OPERA

Last week we looked, in general terms, at the concept of 'Genre'. In the next four weeks, beginning this week with the example of the Soap Opera, I want to consider specific examples of individual genres. To start us off, I'd like you to make a list of at least twenty 'Soaps' of your choice, including Radio or other media if you wish. You might also think of examples such as period romances or historical dramas (The House of Elliot, Upstairs Downstairs) or even series such as Heartbeat, Only Fools and Horses, or Casualty. In other words, what constitutes the "soapiness" of the 'Soap'

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS (My Notes)

Open-ended narratives, episodic, serial (not a series) and formless in general terms, but with structure based on juxtaposed scenes, peaks/troughs, and with the 'cliffhanger' ending. Focus on relationships - 'Soaps' have been called "epics of relationship" - their rising and falling, and changes over time. Emphasis on family lives and also the community within which relationships occur. This might enable us to pin down the examples above and to isolate those which are soaps and those which are not.

THE APPEAL OF THE SOAP (PLEASURES AND EXPECTATIONS)

Why are soaps so popular? I want you to think about the reasons, bearing in mind the following general comments:

Do they appeal to certain types of audiences, or is their appeal universal?
Is their appeal based on voyeuristic curiosity?
How important is an audience's psychological involvement and identification with the characters (the pleasures of empathic 'relating')?
Can they be regarded as offering a means of learning or education, (in that they allow a safe means of 'testing' solutions to practical moral issues)?
Is their appeal based on (i) escapism; (ii) wishfulfillment; or (iii) because 'Soaps' provide a surrogate community within the 'Global Village'.

CONVENTIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SOAP. (Do you agree, and can you think of exceptions?)

(i) "Soap Opera" - the label connotes both the birth of the genre in America in the 1940s, devised and sponsored by soap manufacturers to sell their products. It also connotes a domestic setting, and the contrast with the epic and melodramatic forms of high cultural 'products', Opera. Is the name "Soap Opera" significant in any way?

(ii) Setting. Characteristic of setting include the domestic, anti-romantic, empirical and secular contemporary world, frequently set in middle, lower-middle and working class settings, urban or suburban, and with an emphasis on leisure activities rather than work settings. Does this general description fit? Could you produce a 'soap' about the Aristocracy?

(iii) Plot and narrative setting. Generally episodic and shapeless, reflective of the 'contingent shape' of life itself, but bound by rigid patterns of causality and psychological motivation. Individual episodes tend to be shaped to achieve a blend and variety of moods and atmospheres. Reliance on juxtaposed scenes, frequently involving either comparisons or commentaries on events or affairs. Importance of the cliffhanger ending, but note the absence of 'closure' and the provisional resolutions of problems or relationships. How, in other words, is a soap shaped, and how do you end one? [Think of Crossroads or El Dorado, if you want]

(iv) Characterisation. Note the emphasis on psychological realism, and on the domestic, social and sexual aspects of life, and particularly the 'emotional life', with its patterns of desire/motivation and reaction. Importance of treatment of the 'private' lives of individuals in relation to the 'public' community.' {this, as we will see next week, is one link to a parallel genre, the "Situation comedy"). Note also the tension between typification and individuation in the presentation of characters (e.g. Matriarch, Victim, Gossip, Trickster), and the related question of stereotyping which this raises (e.g. all single parents and homosexuals live deeply miserable and unhappy lives; the majority of husbands are congenitally unfaithful, dangerous or stupid!)

(v) Themes and Issues. Various themes and issues are dealt with in 'Soaps', including: social class and mobility; gender relationships; desire and transgression (what you'd like to do, what you try to get away with, and what you get punished for); practical morality and codes of action and behaviour; public and private - the self in relation to the community, and the 'education' of the individual into the values and life of the community. With this come related issues of 'normality' and the taming of individuals into acceptance or rebellion. 'Soaps' may consciously foreground contentious issues such as AIDS, homelessness, adoption, bereavement, domestic violence, etc. What do you think is, or might be significant about the way that 'soaps' deal with these issues?

(vii) Signs of the Soap. Importance of the face-on close up, and of the intimacy achieved by domestic camera. Also note the importance of 'cuts' between shots/close-ups. Are there any other "signs" which often lead us to know that we are watching a "soap", rather than a different kind of programme. What, for example, is significant about the use of music in certain soaps? And how relevant is it that 'soaps' are often made on a limited and strictly controlled budget?

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