Soap Opera and Its Evolution - Essay Example

Soap Opera and Its Evolution Wherever there is a television and wherever there are viewers, soap opera is also an ever-present element. The twenty-first century average television audience knows exactly what to expect during the afternoon and evening telecasts. To while time away and to just simply be entertained and drawn out of the cruel realities and boring routines of life, one is often enticed by these seemingly harmless and even amusing stories. This may go on for days and even months. Some people just find themselves looking forward to going home or finding a television set when the "time" comes for their favourite soap opera. It seems that a day is incomplete without them being able to look and get the latest about the lives of their favourite characters. Eventually, they find themselves talking about the day or night's episodes as if the characters they are talking about are real people they know and interact with. The soap opera has indeed been given a place and significance that it did not have in the beginning and in certain places like the United States. At present, television can no longer be more entertaining without the presence of these soaps. But how does this genre came into being How and why did it grow popular as time passes From a simple radio program, it has blossomed to be a permanent part of the series of programs in commercial television networks. The telenovelas are added with koreanovelas, ranging from the Americas to the rest of Asia. Since its conception in the 1930s until the 1990s, soap opera has not been taken with high regard by critics and social commentators; however, it remains to be 'the most effective and enduring broadcast advertising vehicle ever devised' (Allen, 1995). It has been considered a low class fiction that only caters to the emotional weakness of the masses. It is considered inferior to the already stable world of fiction and its different genres with Eurocentric conventions. However, at present, soap opera has retained its popularity worldwide amidst this negative treatment. The dictionary defines soap opera is as any ongoing work of fiction that is episodic in nature. In other words, it refers to a story that is told over an extended period of time and that which focuses on several characters in different settings and situations. A soap opera seldom presents the story immediately nor does it focus on a single character unlike the usual short story. It covers various characters with various interrelated stories or incidents to depict. There appears to be a lingering and a casual movement of interrelated incidents that draws along with its pace the audience's interest and anticipation of the next events. One unique characteristic of soap opera according to studies and observation is that every series ends with a note of a succeeding suspense and drama. It leads the audience to look forward to something more in the following episodes that moves on and on until the final episode. It is unlike other programs like sitcom that has a different story or incident in each showing. Sitcoms may deal with one complete event or concept and is complete in one telecast. The soap opera on the other hand is continuous and if one misses one episode, he/she feels he/she has missed a piece of the puzzle. We may wonder why the term 'soap' is used in this genre. According to the history of the soap opera, the first sponsors of the first soap operas were the soap manufacturers like the Procter and Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, and Lever Brothers. Since the advertisers were soap producers, the term soap has been referred to as the serial fiction. Since then, the name soap opera has been retained to refer to these presentations. In contrast to other television programs, the plot and theme of the soap operas focus on family life, personal and sexual relationships, emotional and moral conflicts and issues of serious concern like rape, teen drinking, drug abuse, adoption, illness and the like. Moreover, these serials are made to reveal the daily routines of the characters are they develop along with the story for a certain period of time. The characters are shown sleeping, eating and drinking and other related activities that they have subtly become a part of the viewer's routine too. Nowadays, it appears that any theme under the heat of the sun has been tackled in soap operas. In addition, the characters also appear to be very attractive and true-to-life that the audience is not only glued to the episodes but are also influenced by the way they look, behave and dress. This is in addition to being subconsciously controlled and influenced by the products of the commercials promoted within every break or intervals. Moreover, soaps are made with cheaper budget since these are mostly shoot in a certain location that could be a makeshift stage and setting. Moreover, it is also made under a faster production sacrificing the visual quality of the soaps in comparison to primetime television programs. Since there is less budget, quality of the picture is also diminished. It has been recorded that soap opera developed from the American radio serials in the 1930s and has expanded to a major global television genre. Along with the changes in time and trends, it has also developed and gained significant changes in its form and content. It is Robert C. Allen who devoted much time in the discussion and presentation of the features and development of soap opera across the years in the books entitled: Speaking of Soap Operas and To Be Continued: Soap Operas Around the World. It is from these books that the following information has been taken. "Soap opera" used to refer to serialized radio dramas in the 1930s. In the following decade, it has gained popularity among advertisers because of its vast audience. According to Allen, 'the term continues to be applied primarily to the approximately fifty hours each week of daytime serial television drama broadcast by ABC, NBC, and CBS, but the meanings of the term, both in the U.S. and elsewhere, exceed this generic designation' (Allen, 1995). Moreover, Allen said that 'In the absence of systematic audience measurement, it took several years for broadcasters and advertisers to realize the potential of the new soap opera genre. By 1937, however, the soap opera dominated the daytime commercial radio schedule and had become a crucial network programming strategy for attracting such large corporate sponsors as Procter and Gamble, Pillsbury, American Home Products, and General Foods. Most network soap operas were produced by advertising agencies, and some were owned by the sponsoring client' (Allen, 1985). From then on, soap opera has taken its solid footing on commercial advertisement which is one major factor that makes it remain on air for a long time. The most unique feature of the soap opera is what Allen calls "seriality." It is made up of interrelated episodes where the audience is glued to listen or watch the next episode based on the foreknowledge about its connection to the present and past episodes. The audience is then controlled and sustained until the end of the long narrative of bit-by-bit instalments of fiction called serial episodes. The time of airing ranges from three to four months. Some even exceed this time frame based on the viewers' response and the rating of the show. Accordingly, there are two kinds of soap operas. One is called "open" soap operas where 'which there is no end point toward which the action of the narrative moves.' The other is the so-called: "closed" soap opera where 'no matter how attenuated the process, the narrative does eventually close.' One soap opera may run from three to four months with numerous episodes. Some examples of the open soap operas are the General Hospital, All My Children, The Guiding Light, Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest etc. for the United States; for the British serials are the Coronation Street, EastEnders, and Brookside, and most of the Australian serials such as the Neighbours, Home and Away, and A Country Practice. On the other hand, the closed soap opera is more common in Latin America, where it is aired at primetime in countries from Mexico to Chile. During this time, as the soap opera spread out, it was treated like a contagious disease by the American critics and commentators. As it intruded the privacy of every household, it did not gain much acclaim for it was often associated with bad taste and the simple and low-grade minds of its contents and followers. Moreover, as technology continued to develop, soap opera also proliferate all forms of media especially the television. The audience is all the more drawn to their TVs, trying not to miss one episode. The stories of these soaps eventually have become the topic of every informal conversation. In contrast to the history of the soap opera in the United States, Allen records that 'The history of soap opera in Britain can be traced back to the 1940s radio' (Allen, 1985). The Archers was a daily, fifteen-minute serial of country life that was broadcasted by the BBC with its major aim of 'educating farmers about better agricultural practices.' It is said to have grown out of the need of commercial television in the late 1950s. With this in mind, the commercial television services grew in number as they also take advantage of the growing audience that belongs to 'urban lower-middle class and working-class television viewers.' It was in December 1960 that the "Manchester-based Granada Television introduced its viewers to Coronation Street.' It is a 'serial set in a local working-class neighbourhood.' Since then, it has become the favourite of the viewing public and 'has remained at or near the top of the primetime television ratings nearly ever since' (Allen, 1985). According to Allen: "Coronation Street's style, setting, and narrative concerns are informed by the gritty, urban, working-class plays, novels, and films of the 1950s--the so-called "angry young man" or "kitchen sink" movement. Where U.S. daytime serials were (and still are) usually disconnected from any particular locality, Coronation Street is unmistakably local. Where U.S. soaps usually downplay class as an axis of social division (except as a marker of wealth), Coronation Street began and has to some degree stayed a celebration of the institutions of working-class culture and community (especially the pub and the cafe)--even if that culture was by 1960 an historical memory and Coronation Street's representation of community a nostalgic fantasy' (1995). With this regionalism that is built into the commercial television system, all British soap operas that followed became more geographical and cultural in scope and setting such as the: 'Crossroads (1964-88) in the Midlands, Emmerdale Farm (1972--) in the Yorkshire Dales, Brookside (1982--) in Liverpool, and the BBC's successful entry in the soap opera field EastEnders (1985--) in the East End of London.' British soap opera has been 'more specific and explicit in their social and class settings' compared to the Americans. Because of this, British soap operas have been subjected to criticism and comments. For instance, Coronation Street 'has been criticized for its cosy, insulated, and outdated representation of the urban working-class community, which for decades seemed to have been bypassed by social change and strife' (Allen, 1985). Moreover, British soaps are 'much more concerned with the material lives of their characters and the characters' positions within a larger social structure. EastEnders, when it was launched in 1985 the BBC's first venture into television serials in twenty years, was designed from the beginning to make contemporary material and social issues part of the fabric of its grubby East End community of pensioners, market traders, petty criminals, shopkeepers, the homeless, and the perennially unemployed' (Allen, 1985). Overall, what gave soap opera its widespread acclaim are the 'extraordinary popularity of domestic television serials in Latin America, India, Great Britain, Australia, and other countries, and the international circulation of non-U.S. soaps to virtually every part of the world except the United States' (Allen, 1995). These Latin American telenovelas have dominated primetime schedules throughout the world and so the 'Latin American serial producers began seriously pursuing extra-regional export possibilities in the mid-1970s.' According to records, 'Brazil's TV Globo began exporting telenovelas to Europe in 1975' and in ten years 'it was selling soap operas to nearly 100 countries around the world, its annual export revenues increasing five-fold between 1982 and 1987 alone.' As a matter of fact, 'Mexico's Televisa exports serials to fifty-nine countries and its soap operas have topped the ratings in Korea, Russia, and Turkey.' Moreover, 'Venezuelan serials have attracted huge audiences in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Portugal and even in the Spanish-speaking population of the United States.' Actually, 'serials comprise a large share of the primetime programming on Spanish-language cable and broadcast channels in the United States.' Lastly, the most viewed television programs in the United Kingdom have been the EastEnders or Coronation Street. With the foregoing information, it seems that soap operas are here to stay. Despite its simplicity and 'mediocrity' compared to the Eurocentric conventions and standards of fiction, soap opera has thrived. There seems to be some kind of a potion that makes soap opera addictive to its audience. It has effectively touched and continues to touch the core of the human being's being that makes it so widely accepted and patronized. How clever and fortunate must the soap manufacturers have been in sponsoring such programs. They have entered subtly and effectively into the privacy of the audience's houses and even hearts and minds through these soap operas. Every individual who watches these soaps willingly remains facing and watching the commercials as if they are part and parcel of the story itself. They do not only talk about the characters and events in the soap in groups but they also behave like the soaps' characters and they believe and buy the products advertised during each broadcast. The present generation of television viewers can indeed never imagine what television would be without these operas. These have been so much a part of the viewing public's routine as eating and drinking. Obviously, the greatest beneficiaries of this genre are the sponsors. They do not only get their products advertised but they have become partners with the soaps in controlling and influencing the minds of the audience. This is how soap opera came to be and continues to become a part of every viewer's waking hours. This is how soap opera became an effective tool to convince, persuade, and impact the lives of the audience as well as the advertisers. However, this is not the end of the "story." More can come out of this genre over time. From a mere instrument of entertainment, it has become a social tool and a capitalist's asset. There can be more changes and innovations and development as we continue to make it a part of out lives. It will continue to evolve into something more in this century. Who knows what will it be Let us just wait and see. Bibliography Allen, R. C., 1985. Speaking of soap operas. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Allen, R. C., 1995. To be continued: soap operas around the world. London: Routledge. Buckingham, D., 1987. Public secrets: eastEnders and its audience. London: British Film Institute. Cantor, M. G., and Pingree, S., 1983. The soap opera. Beverly Hills, California: Sage. Cassata, M., and Skill, T., 1983. Life on daytime television. Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex. Dyer, R. et al., 1981. Coronation street. London: British Film Institute. Geraghty, C., 1991. Women and soap operas. Cambridge, U.K.: Polity Press. Hobson, D., 1982. Crossroads: the drama of a soap opera. London: Methuen. Williams, C. T., 1992. "It's time for my story": soap opera sources, structure, and response. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. Read More