Soap Operas and Morality - Clacton County High School · soap operas can offer us… I used to hate soap operas. As far as I was concerned, they were for people who preferred to spend

CCHS Home StudyPersonal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Soap Operas and Morality

Soap Operas and MoralityIs the soap opera a good place to discuss moral issues?

What is morality?

In short, morality is about right and wrong

Moral decisions have the power to greatly hurt or greatly benefit others, whether it is one person or many.

Morality covers the way we treat each other, animals and the environment; these are moral issues

Every difficult decision of whether to lie, gossip or steal is a moral dilemma, amongst many others

Which of our PROUD values do you predict will be relevant to this lesson?

What is ethics?

• Ethics is the formal study of issues of morality, and how to make the correct moral decisions

• Different philosophers, scientists and writers have come up with different approaches, or theories, about how to decide what is the right or wrong thing to do in individual situations

• These theories are known as ethical theories

So what have soap operas got to do with it?

• Soap operas on British TV today are the most watched programmes on TV, attracting audiences of 17 million.

• They are broadcast at peak viewing times and have huge appeal to all ages, sexes and religions.

So what?

• Arguments about the purpose and quality of soap operas on British and American television have divided people for many years

• Some argue that soaps are mindless nonsense that kill conversation.

• Others argue that soap operas tackle difficult moral issues and bring a sense of involvement in the lives of characters who we can relate to

Task: Consider what you think. Discuss with someone at home whether soaps tackle difficult issues or not

Different views…one man’s blog

This is one man’s view on what soap operas can offer us…

I used to hate soap operas.

As far as I was concerned, they were for people who preferred to spend their time following fictional creations rather than getting involved with real people and communities.

I don’t think that anymore.

After spending a year or so living with my wife’s EastEnders addiction, some of her arguments have begun to persuade me otherwise.

Continued…

• The soap opera can be an effective forum where ethical issues that would otherwise go undiscussed invite comments and opinions from all who watch.

• In a culture like ours, where morals and values tend to be ignored in much public discussion, the soap opera provides an opportunity to contemplate the good and the bad in life.

• Fair enough, there is a lot of rubbish around (anyone who saw Peggy Mitchell throw Chrissy into the grave of twice dead Dirty Den will agree), but many serious issues are also covered (e.g. adoption, terminal illness and child abuse to name but a few).

Our soap opera

Ok, so we’re not doing anything new. A lot of the storyline we come up with will have been

dealt with in some form or other on a TV series at some point in the past 30 or 40 years.

What makes our soap opera different is that we decide which way the moral decisions

go and we write the consequences

Moral Problems Today

Task: If you can, with someone at home describe the most significant moral problems which young people most frequently have to deal with.

• Avoid simply making a list such as mobile phone theft, tidying up your bedroom, bullying.

• Pick one and write a paragraph on paper.

• Provide enough information to make it clear why the issue is a moral problem. Look at different views and note down your opinions on it.