Transcript Simply soapy How to teach soaps
Simply soapy
How to teach soaps
What is a soap?
• • Broadcast serial drama, characterized by a
permanent cast of actors
, a
continuing story
,
tangled interpersonal situations
, and a
melodramatic or sentimental style.
Feminised episode structure
(open ended episodes, cliffhangers) as opposed to formal closure. (masculinised structure)
Origins
• Its name derived from the soap and detergent manufacturers who originally often
sponsored
such programs on radio.
• Credit for the
first soap opera
usually goes to Irna Phillips, who created
Painted Dreams
for WGN radio in Chicago in
1930
. (Structure of popular serialised novels from C19.)
US Soaps
• • • • •
The Guiding Light
(since 1937; on TV since 1952; longest story ever.)
As the World Turns
13,000+ episodes) (
ATWT
) (since 1956;
General Hospital Days of our Lives
The Young and the Restless
1973) (
GH
) (since 1963) (since 1965) (since
US Soaps (primetime serials)
• • • • • • •
Peyton Place
(1964-1969)
Dallas
(1978-1991)
Dynasty
(1981-1989)
Falcon Crest
(1981-1990)
Beverly Hills, 90210
(1990-2000)
Melrose Place
(1992-1999)
Dawson's Creek
(1998-2003)
US Soaps (primetime serials)
• • • •
Alias
(2001-2006)
Desperate Housewives
2011) (2004-planned to
Grey's Anatomy
(2004-planned to 2008)
Ugly Betty, October Road….
UK Soaps
• • • • • • •
The Archers
(longest running radio soap; since 1951; 15000+ episodes)
Coronation Street
(GB since 1960)
Crossroads
(1964-1988)
Emmerdale
(since 1972)
Brookside
(1982-2003)
EastEnders
(since 1985)
Hollyoaks
(since 1995)
Forms and conventions 1
•
Generic convention of soap 1. Themes
(love, conflict, secrets, skeletons in the cupboard, family feuds, loyality; gossip & schadenfreude)
2. Melodrama 3. Characters
(the gossip, the bastard, the tart; the decent husband, the villain, the bitch, the good woman…)
Forms and conventions 2
•
Generic convention of soap
4.
Settings
(recognizable environments) 5.
Narrative pleasures
(complex structure, feminised ending, cliffhangers) 6.
Realism
(surface, emotional, social) 7.
Limits of realism
(no links to wider world; individualization; mis/under representation)
Audiences
• • • • •
Theories
(hypodermic model, two-step flow model, uses and gratifications model)
Soaps – peril or pleasure?
Active fan behaviour Female genre?
Ironic viewing!!!
Representation & Ideology
• • • • •
Stereoptypes and archetypes
son, vamp, victim…) (prodigal
Gender Class and community Race Messages and values
model) (powerful women?!) (hegemonic
Case study – Eastenders 1
• • • • •
Check history, production, funding & costs Scheduling (hammocking, stripping) Marketing, press coverage, merchandising Locations Themes (melodramatic)
Case study – Eastenders 2
•
Representations
– Class (working-class) – Extended family (backstories) – The matriarch (Pauline Fowler, 1985-2006) – Gender (women centre-stage) – Race (for a long time no black/ethnic c.) – Virtual community (nostalgic, mythologized) •
Realism, ideology&audience
(violence)
Case study – Eastenders 3
•
Possible assignments
- Students discuss the role of violence - Students discuss positive/negative aspects of matriarch role - Students discuss whether the representations are demeaning or empowering - Students discuss the importance of locations
References
• • • • • Alexander, Lou / Cousens, Alison (2004).
Teaching TV Soaps
. London: bfi education.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EastEnders http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EastEnders_in _popular_culture http://imdb.com/title/tt0088512/