So as I was reading the textbook reading for week two, I came across something that caught my attention that I never really thought about but completely agree with. On page 60, section Long-running “open” narratives uses the example of Soaps. Soap Operas can be defined as open ended or multi stranded serial forms that leave cliff hangers at the end of each one to keep you tuned for next week’s show, this continues for weeks and weeks at end as we all know. I like how the books put the perspective of how viewers watch these soaps as ethnographic, how the shows don’t explain anything to audience but they interact with one another as the audience puts together the meaning themselves. My mother watches one of the oldest Soaps around “All my Children” (don’t ask me why because I don’t even think she knows why she does). Today I sat with her a watched the show, as corny as it was, it was interesting to realize that it as well as all soaps has its limitations to realism. The characters are never discussing or conversing about real life issues, like presidents, the news, politics or celebrity’s gossip but they are conversing mostly about drama within characters. As the media is popular for, gossip seems to be such a interesting aspect of life (according to viewers of these shows) I mean to change the subject of Soaps for a second, look at the jersey shore and Real Housewives of Orange county, DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA = VIWERS VIEWERS VIEWERS. The media knows what captures viewers so can we really blame it for the junk they put out their? I say yes! lol
My whole view on Soaps is that they make me feel REALLY good about myself and my life. The funniest part about Soaps is that the people die every other week and then are magically alive the next episode..how does that happen? On the other hand, The Real Housewives are my guilty pleasure..I love them! But I feel the same, they make me feel good about myself. The Real Housewives are definitely popular because of their drama and they make the money so I can't really think of a reason why they shouldn't be aired.
ReplyDeleteI used to watch General Hospital RELIGIOUSLY from my freshman year of high school until the real 'Carly' died my junior year. Don't ask ME why I was so obsessed because I really couldn't tell you.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I agree with you Francesca that like the book says, Soaps have limitations to reality. Watching Soaps, you never hear or see any of the characters talking about current events or anything other than what drama is going on in their life. There's always some open-ended drama that takes place at the end of the show that makes you come back the next day to watch it all unfold. But Soaps really aren't structured much differently than other television series. It seems like every time something good is about to happen the episode is over. I applaud the makers of these shows because they only keep attracting more viewers, and I always tune in to my favorite shows to see what's going to happen next.