Soap Operas LM13 1937

In late 1930s, consumerist population

was on the rise

People were able to buy leisure

commodities – i.e. radios

Women were able to stay at home and became the predominant demographic soap operas catered to

Soap opera families were created to reflect this comfortable living class of the suburban housewife

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMHKF3HzM00&feature=related

Radio was heavily dependent on the money that its sponsors provided and advertising was

its main source of income

To attract listeners to bring in money, broadcasters turned to

programming

Serials were a form of story that whose plot continued

indefinitely, a daily basis in order to form a loyal audience

base

Soap manufacturers helped sponsor the first radio serials in

exchange for advertising time

As the popularity of soap operas grew,

soap companies began buying whole shows to

increase revenues

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Soap operas formed from serials as serials became increasingly complex, with multiple and overlapping plot lines

When one story line ended, another continued

Plot was moved forward primarily through the conversation between characters

Writers maintained the conversational aspect of the radio format and drew in more aesthetic aspects

Soap opera began to visually stress the importance on material goods, as part of latent commercial advertising

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxtKk2sMs-E&feature=channel

Introduction of primetime soap operas changed some of their

production aspects

Networks and the shows’ producers

required the flexibility to make soap operas appealing to wider

audiences of television viewers

Soaps shifted to taped broadcasts from live shoots

Taped products were better revenue generators because it allowed for easier distribution to foreign markets as well as reruns in syndication on televisions across the nation

Originally, soap operas used everyday locations such as a doctor’s office, law firm, or living room

In the last few decades, there was an introduction of more interesting and often-exotic locations. 1978 – All my

Children, St. Croix

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMnuly5DO0I

In the 1980s, plotlines began to focus on then-appealing motifs like business and romance

Paralleled society: tough economic times

Romance as escape from business/economic problems

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkeRVWUAmbY

1990s: Focus on Social Issues (Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Physical Illness, Sex and Relationships)

Paralleled society: better economic times, issues of the 1980s no longer held sway

Focus on the barebones of soap operas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkKowG-xmmg&feature=related

Early Days of Soap Operas: domesticity, motherhood, maintaining the household

1970s and on: Professional Roles for women, mirrored changing role of women in

society post WWII

Soap operas manage to mirror daily life as well as dramatize it

“[Soap opera] offers itself to its audience as the representation of lives that are separate from but continuous with their own” (Porter 782)

Soap operas break free from banality of everyday lives, yet still remain realistic

Viewers can “identify with the anonymity of [these soap opera] location[s]” (Hobson 32).

Soap opera families usually consist of upper middle-class professionals and wealthy business people

They are careful in choosing which parts of everyday life they portray

The soap opera world lacks politics, war, international relations or economic and commercial influences

The prominence of soaps have in culture helped shape their audience’s understanding of culture and reality

Though viewers know that soap operas do not always accurately parallel their own lives, the do draw concepts of social norm from them

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IgejVyp2gA&feature=related

Most audiences understand that the situations and circumstances of their characters, while relatable, are not generally an accurate portrayal of life, but a dramatization. As the next clip aptly demonstrates-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNJBNtEfFaE

In that they are generally watched on a daily basis, soap operas are fixtures in the lives of much of their audiences, and thus, bear a considerable amount of weight in molding their perception of social norm.

Soaps are thus both reflectors and creators of culture.

Hobson, Dorothy. Soap Opera. Cambridge: Polity, 2003. Print.

Porter, Dennis. "Soap Time: Thoughts On a Commodity Art Form." College English 38.8 (1977): 782-88. Print.