Exploring Soap Operas
This work is all about soap operas or `soaps'. A soap is a drama on TV
which shows various aspects of family, or ordinary daily life.
Soaps include aspects of family life, issues within families are
greatly used parts in soaps. With family life you can see people
growing up, people's attitudes towards each other changing, for better
and for worse. You can see families develop, falling in love, getting
married like Nat and Barry in Eastenders. You get to see what the
outcome is when one partner of a relationship goes behind the back of
the other one, they have an affair. Eventually the good partner finds
out the there are a lot of questions, will they stay together, will
they not, what about the baby if there is one. Also what about the
person the partner was having an affair with, what happens when the
people around them find out. There are a lot of issues that can be
raised by family life and an almost endless list of situations that
can be created. These family life storylines are based around real
life and shows good information and hidden messages to people,
especially younger people about what goes on in life. They also show a
number of outcomes and resolutions to help viewers.
A soap is generally set in a limited location because as they concern
family life the soaps stay around the area in which the families live,
the house, the work place and public places like pubs or town parks
etc. In Eastenders the work places arecentredaround the square like
the arches for Gary and the Queen Vic for Alfi, Spencer and their Nan.
Lynn works in the café and Pauline works in the launderette. There are
many more...
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...er people winning things that you could use more. Soaps have
a bad side to them also, the more a soap is watched by a viewer the
bigger impact it has on their lives and soon people can get very
emotionally involved with the soap or an idol character in one. This
means that people's lives are sometimes ruled by certain events in the
soaps. Also the cliffhangers force them to continue watching the soap.
One the whole if a viewer controls their emotions and tries to get on
with their lives instead of continually thinking about the soap then
they are good as they can help you to relax and forget about the world
around you. This is of course unless events in the soap don't remind
you of events in your life. The less involved you get with them the
better they seem and you get more enjoyment out of watching them all
together.
How Reality TV affects the audience and the characters who were participating into it? Does it really give knowledge to people who were watching and supporting? Or is it just the sake of money and exposing their appearance on television? When it comes to watching television, people at home can choose which types of program they want to want for many reasons. Some people look to television for inspiration; others want to be kept informed about their surroundings and the world. In the article entitled, “Reality TV and Culture” by Jack Perry, he argues, there are some good points to how reality television are formed and offered. Perry explains that, not all of the shows are designed to encourage and promote dangerous and unrealistic. However,
D.H. Lawrence's "The Horse Dealer's Daughter" could be described as a story in which boy meets girl. Its plot, on the surface, resembles that of any number of traditionally romantic pastorals: a country boy saves a country girl from drowning, sees something in her that he never saw before, and, at the end of the story, proposes marriage. In this day, this story would get made into a soap opera, and would be called ?Mabel?. This story deals with everyday soap life and has the thick plot that only soap can hold a candle to.
Nelson, R. (2009). Modernism and Postmodernism in Television Drama. In: Creeber, G Televisions: An Introduction to Studying Televsion. 2nd ed. London: British Film Institute . p.90.
It is no secret that reality television shows often present contrived situations as reality. Many producers claim that there are no scripts used in the production of reality shows. They maintain that nothing in the lives of the participants is planned purely for viewers’ entertainment, and that what is presented in the show is their actual reality. However, most people know this to be untrue to a certain degree. The events and situations in reality shows are often staged, re-enacted, or cleverly edited to make them appear more dramatic, thereby more interesting, than they are. Elizabeth Larkin writes, “After so many “reality” programs, we can discern a pattern of “characters” that isn’t very far different from the stock characters found in fictional programming. There’s the sweet and naive person from a small town looking to make it big while still retaining small town values. There’s the party girl/guy who’s always looking for a good time and who shocks those around them—and the list goes on” (Larkin 290). Participants in reality television shows are often looking to gain wealth and fame, and they are willing to do anything necessary to achieve that.
This report observes the consequences that televised sexuality has by different, essentially observing reality shows, soap operas, animated shows, and comedies. Moreover, they related the quantity of sexual content with the repeated references t...
Soap Operas' Success in Their Construction of Realism One of the main appeals to the audience of soap opera is realism. Realism is the attempt to recreate the real, or to create a perception or representation of reality. This is created through a number of ways, such as settings which appear to be realistic, language including slang and even low-level swearing, and a wide range of characters in an attempt to reflect society. The events found in soap operas are usually realistic, and even the dramatic events are within the possibility of reality.
Have you ever been watching a TV show and find yourself relating it to your life in some way? You might relate it to some problem that is going on in your life or some issue going on around your society. All of the sudden, I found myself thinking sociologically one day when I was watching the TV series Grey’s Anatomy. Almost seven series in, I started to realize similarities between Grey’s Anatomy and topics we have been learning about in class. I noticed ideas and concepts that related to sociology. From norms and agents to theories and structures, the series Grey’s Anatomy is a great analysis of sociology.
Relationship Between Soap Operas and Reality TV Dating Shows Tania Modleski’s “The Search for Tomorrow in Today’s Soap Operas” proposes that the unique appeal and function of soap opera lies in (a) the viewer’s ability to inhabit the text’s prescribed spectatorial position of ‘the good mother’, and (b) using the archetypal ‘villainess’ to displace one’s own repressed anger and powerlessness. It can be argued, using Modleski’s analytical perspectives on the interpellated spectatorial positions of soap operas, that a new genre of television programs (namely the reality dating shows) function in a similar way. An examination of Modleski’s thesis renders these statements more likely. Modleski argues that soap operas are essential in understanding women’s role in culture.
From the mid-twentieth century to the present time, telenovelas have been a huge source of entertainment in Latino households. From comedies to melodramas, the purpose of telenovelas is to offer an escape from the monotony of daily life. Most of the themes that are present are topics relevant to the Latino community. In the words of Cynthia Duncan, “... soap operas tend to promote and uphold traditional values and are generally conservative in nature.” (Duncan 84) Telenovelas focus on family life and how the character’s decisions affect the whole. Those so-called traditional and conservative values tend to imprison women in cliché telenovela characters. Women are always presented as selfless, at times evil, or as women whose sole purpose is
This essay will examine my thoughts and those of David Sterrit on the critically acclaimed television show The Honeymooners. First, I will talk about the Honeymooners and it’s setting in postwar America. Secondly, the social and cultural issues the series portrayed. Next, would be the psychological perspective and the aesthetics of the show. Finally, the essay would conclude with my thoughts on how the Honeymooners were impacted by these aspects, but also how the show managed to leave a legacy in television today.
From high school girls desperately trying to be one of cool kids in school to corporate warriors rubbing elbows for that next promotion, nearly everyone has fantasized about being a part of the “in crowd”. What is it that makes the bonds and barriers of “in crowd” so unbreakable? Through sharing stories and reaching conclusions through discussion of those stories, members of small groups develop a common bond that shapes their social reality. An example of this bond is prominent in the CW’s hit show, Gossip Girl, which focuses on the world of high society elite at a private high school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York. Circumstances in Gossip Girl show how concepts in symbolic convergence describe the formation of group bonds and their effect on the group’s and individual group member’s interaction with the outside world. Before analyzing this, one must be knowledgeable about the basic components of symbolic convergence and have a general understanding of the show’s premise and plot line.
In today 's generation, millions of television shows have been created to entertain the general public. Whether it be cartoons, dramas, comedies, chick flicks, or reality t.v., I guarantee there is a show that each person enjoys watching. One particular genre appears to be the most viewed from a television screen, which is reality television. It is evident that the general population enjoys watching lives unfold and the various interactions between characters in reality television. For example, in Keeping Up With The Kardashians, the main characters in the family, (Kim, Kourtney, Khloe, Kris, Bruce (Caitlyn), Kylie, and Kendall) all fight like cats and dogs and stay angry at each other over something incredibly minute. The extent to which this show is dramatized is
Reality TV is influencing the way individuals live their lives. It encompasses staged drama, false images of families, and it tries to make immorality seem appealing. Clearly, what people believe to be somewhat realistic is just another Hollywood show. The only truth in the shows are found by skimming the surface of the family’s lives. Hence, reality TV is not anything except a glorified, unrealistic life.
HBO's Sex and the City has become a cultural icon in its 6 seasons of running. Based on Candace Bushnell's racy book Sex and the City, the show exhibits an unprecedented example of the sexual prowess of women over the age of 35. The result is an immense viewing audience and an evolving view on the "old maid" stigma that a woman's chances of finding love are significantly reduced after thirty-five. In this paper, we will closely analyze the characters and themes of Sex and the City to explain the significance of what the show represents in American culture.
I believe they have been beneficial in helping me cope with my stressors. Cognitive restructuring for sure has helped and as I continue to practice a positive outlook will become second nature. Mental imagery has already become part of my daily routine, it is fun, relaxing and a good way to cope or distract me from negative though. Humor is also another strategy I will continue to use as a distraction for those times where my anxiety level is high. Swimming is also a good way of stress reliever and it also a way to condition my body to a healthier path.