OJ's lawyer is a donkey. OJ wasn't refused service because of race but because he's a murderer, plain and simple. Stuff like that should happen to OJ more, but maybe it doesn't happen because people are afraid of ending up like Nicole and Ron (seriously!). Good for the restaurant owner. He has courage, but now I'd walk with some security or a gun if I were him.
read more | digg story
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Patrick Moore complains women ruining BBC
What the hell is up with this guy? What a mysoginist [sic]! If he hates women so much, why doesn't he just become gay? But you know, I don't even think the queens would put up with that crap!
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Are They For Real?: How Do Fictional Soaps Deal With Real-Life Situations
How have soaps dealt with certain issues such as rape, abortion, AIDS, cancer, and eating disorders? Do they show realistic portrayals, or do they tend to sweep these issues under the rug?
Every once in awhile, soap operas have a storyline where a character has been raped. It is always difficult for soap opera writers and directors to portray a rape because they cannot graphically show a woman being raped due to TV censorship. In the past, rape was not as graphic as it is today. In the late 1970s on General Hospital, the character of Luke Spencer raped the woman he loves, Laura, on the dance floor of a club. The way, though, that the rape was portrayed was as if it was a seduction rather than a rape. Luke is dancing with Laura, and he slowly drags Laura to the floor and rapes her, but the camera does not show that part. What’s interesting about after the rape is that Luke and Laura’s love not only survived, they married, had children, and became the most famous soap couple of all time. An interesting anecdote to this is the actor who plays Luke, Anthony Geary, has said that he would be bothered when he would go to fan club events, female fans of Luke would cry,” Rape me! Rape me, Luke.”
Another example of how rape in soaps was portrayed in the past was in the soap opera Guiding Light in the early 1980s. The character of Holly was raped by her husband, Roger. At least in this case, as opposed to the Luke and Laura case, Holly is shown struggling on the bed with her husband. What was interesting about this rape was that it was the first time on television viewers could see that rape is rape, even within a marriage.
In later years, the subject of rape in soap operas still remains a delicate issue, but the difference between now as opposed to the past is that: 1. The rapes are a little bit, but not much, more violent and graphic and 2) The soap opera shows the repercussions of the rape. This means that viewers don’t just see the rape and it is forgotten. There is the rape, and then comes the constant reminders of the rape spanning from months to even years. In 1998 on General Hospital, the character of Elizabeth Webber had been raped by an attacker, and viewers of the show saw how, after the rape, Elizabeth had been affected mentally and emotionally. Her rape led her to fall in love with Lucky Spencer, who is not only Luke and Laura’s son (who was not the product of Luke’s raping of Laura), but he also happened to find Elizabeth after she was raped. Elizabeth’s rape lead to Lucky eventually finding out that his father had raped his mother twenty years before, and after many years, viewers were not only subject to Laura’s anger at Luke over being raped but also Lucky’s anger at Luke for raping his mother. In other words, General Hospital had finally shown the repercussions of the rape, even though it was long overdue.
Like rape, another serious issue carefully dealt with in soaps from time to time is abortion. Because of censorship rules, soap operas cannot show the graphic details of an abortion. Because of this, and the political issue of pro-life versus pro-choice, is why abortion is an issue rarely discussed on soaps. Whenever a soap character has an abortion, the show is quick to move on with the storyline and forget that it ever happened. For example, both General Hospital and Days of Our Lives had young, female characters that had abortions, were anguished about it for awhile, and then moved on with life. This is great for the characters, but perhaps not so great for young girls watching these shows because they may think that having an abortion is not a big deal and there are few repercussions.
Medical conditions on soap operas like AIDS and cancer are discussed every once in awhile, but there seems to be more of a bias in soaps towards discussing cancer over AIDS. In the past, soap characters, particularly the female ones, have had leukemia, breast cancer, and lupus. In the 1990s, One Life to Live had made strides by featuring a character with a little-known disease such as lupus. But two other ABC shows, All My Children and General Hospital, are noteworthy for their portrayal of AIDS in soap operas. In the early 1990s, a character on All My Children learns she is HIV positive, and she is later a victim of an attack because of her HIV. General Hospital also featured the character of Robin Scorpio, a character whom long-time viewers had seen grow up from a child to a teenager, contract HIV from her boyfriend. Viewers later saw her boyfriend die from HIV-related complications, but the Robin character is not only still alive, she has become a doctor despite having to live with being HIV positive for the rest of her life. Robin is a very important General Hospital character for a few reasons: 1) She is the daughter of a popular couple, so viewers feel like they have known Robin all of their lives. 2) She is an example that people who contract HIV are not social deviants but normal people. Anyone can get it. 3) Having HIV does not equate a death sentence. 4) Robin is a woman, and statistically, women contract HIV and AIDS more than men.
Compared to life-threatening diseases, eating disorders are mentioned comparatively less often. All My Children’s Bianca, the same character who had come out of the closet, was a bulimic in her pre-teen years. On As the World Turns, pre-teen Faith is suffering with a bit of anorexia, a bit of bulimia, and body image issues in general. As with other heavy issues like rape and abortion, eating disorders can never be accurately portrayed, especially the vomiting that is involved with bulimia, which may be a reason why it is not shown very much on daytime soaps.
Even violence is a delicate issues on soap operas. The producers of ABC's One Life to Live scrapped a bunch of episodes about a student shooting up his high school in light of the Virginia Tech shootings. Usually in soaps, when violence such as shooting or stabbing is involved, there is either a killer on the loose or there is spy/mob activity going on. General Hospital is probably the best example of this because of the character of Sonny Corinthos, who is a mobster. Ever since Sonny came to town years ago, Port Charles, the fictional New York town where General Hospital is set up, has experienced non-stop shootings which are usually between Sonny and a rival mobster.
A tactic soaps often use is to implement violence in a situation where all or most of the soap's characters are involved, and this is usually done during a sweeps period to get ratings. The situation is usually very emotional and intense, more than usual for a soap opera. For example, during February sweeps, General Hospital had a hostage situation where the majority of Port Charles' citizens were being held hostage at a hotel. By the end of it, one person was shot (It happened to be HIV-positive Robin), a veteran character was dead from heart complications, and the hotel exploded due to a bomb. This is exciting and entertaining television but not all that realistic. Port Charles in particular has had so many fires, bombings, shootings, and virus scares that it makes one wonder why anyone would want to live there if it really existed.
Every once in awhile, soap operas have a storyline where a character has been raped. It is always difficult for soap opera writers and directors to portray a rape because they cannot graphically show a woman being raped due to TV censorship. In the past, rape was not as graphic as it is today. In the late 1970s on General Hospital, the character of Luke Spencer raped the woman he loves, Laura, on the dance floor of a club. The way, though, that the rape was portrayed was as if it was a seduction rather than a rape. Luke is dancing with Laura, and he slowly drags Laura to the floor and rapes her, but the camera does not show that part. What’s interesting about after the rape is that Luke and Laura’s love not only survived, they married, had children, and became the most famous soap couple of all time. An interesting anecdote to this is the actor who plays Luke, Anthony Geary, has said that he would be bothered when he would go to fan club events, female fans of Luke would cry,” Rape me! Rape me, Luke.”
Another example of how rape in soaps was portrayed in the past was in the soap opera Guiding Light in the early 1980s. The character of Holly was raped by her husband, Roger. At least in this case, as opposed to the Luke and Laura case, Holly is shown struggling on the bed with her husband. What was interesting about this rape was that it was the first time on television viewers could see that rape is rape, even within a marriage.
In later years, the subject of rape in soap operas still remains a delicate issue, but the difference between now as opposed to the past is that: 1. The rapes are a little bit, but not much, more violent and graphic and 2) The soap opera shows the repercussions of the rape. This means that viewers don’t just see the rape and it is forgotten. There is the rape, and then comes the constant reminders of the rape spanning from months to even years. In 1998 on General Hospital, the character of Elizabeth Webber had been raped by an attacker, and viewers of the show saw how, after the rape, Elizabeth had been affected mentally and emotionally. Her rape led her to fall in love with Lucky Spencer, who is not only Luke and Laura’s son (who was not the product of Luke’s raping of Laura), but he also happened to find Elizabeth after she was raped. Elizabeth’s rape lead to Lucky eventually finding out that his father had raped his mother twenty years before, and after many years, viewers were not only subject to Laura’s anger at Luke over being raped but also Lucky’s anger at Luke for raping his mother. In other words, General Hospital had finally shown the repercussions of the rape, even though it was long overdue.
Like rape, another serious issue carefully dealt with in soaps from time to time is abortion. Because of censorship rules, soap operas cannot show the graphic details of an abortion. Because of this, and the political issue of pro-life versus pro-choice, is why abortion is an issue rarely discussed on soaps. Whenever a soap character has an abortion, the show is quick to move on with the storyline and forget that it ever happened. For example, both General Hospital and Days of Our Lives had young, female characters that had abortions, were anguished about it for awhile, and then moved on with life. This is great for the characters, but perhaps not so great for young girls watching these shows because they may think that having an abortion is not a big deal and there are few repercussions.
Medical conditions on soap operas like AIDS and cancer are discussed every once in awhile, but there seems to be more of a bias in soaps towards discussing cancer over AIDS. In the past, soap characters, particularly the female ones, have had leukemia, breast cancer, and lupus. In the 1990s, One Life to Live had made strides by featuring a character with a little-known disease such as lupus. But two other ABC shows, All My Children and General Hospital, are noteworthy for their portrayal of AIDS in soap operas. In the early 1990s, a character on All My Children learns she is HIV positive, and she is later a victim of an attack because of her HIV. General Hospital also featured the character of Robin Scorpio, a character whom long-time viewers had seen grow up from a child to a teenager, contract HIV from her boyfriend. Viewers later saw her boyfriend die from HIV-related complications, but the Robin character is not only still alive, she has become a doctor despite having to live with being HIV positive for the rest of her life. Robin is a very important General Hospital character for a few reasons: 1) She is the daughter of a popular couple, so viewers feel like they have known Robin all of their lives. 2) She is an example that people who contract HIV are not social deviants but normal people. Anyone can get it. 3) Having HIV does not equate a death sentence. 4) Robin is a woman, and statistically, women contract HIV and AIDS more than men.
Compared to life-threatening diseases, eating disorders are mentioned comparatively less often. All My Children’s Bianca, the same character who had come out of the closet, was a bulimic in her pre-teen years. On As the World Turns, pre-teen Faith is suffering with a bit of anorexia, a bit of bulimia, and body image issues in general. As with other heavy issues like rape and abortion, eating disorders can never be accurately portrayed, especially the vomiting that is involved with bulimia, which may be a reason why it is not shown very much on daytime soaps.
Even violence is a delicate issues on soap operas. The producers of ABC's One Life to Live scrapped a bunch of episodes about a student shooting up his high school in light of the Virginia Tech shootings. Usually in soaps, when violence such as shooting or stabbing is involved, there is either a killer on the loose or there is spy/mob activity going on. General Hospital is probably the best example of this because of the character of Sonny Corinthos, who is a mobster. Ever since Sonny came to town years ago, Port Charles, the fictional New York town where General Hospital is set up, has experienced non-stop shootings which are usually between Sonny and a rival mobster.
A tactic soaps often use is to implement violence in a situation where all or most of the soap's characters are involved, and this is usually done during a sweeps period to get ratings. The situation is usually very emotional and intense, more than usual for a soap opera. For example, during February sweeps, General Hospital had a hostage situation where the majority of Port Charles' citizens were being held hostage at a hotel. By the end of it, one person was shot (It happened to be HIV-positive Robin), a veteran character was dead from heart complications, and the hotel exploded due to a bomb. This is exciting and entertaining television but not all that realistic. Port Charles in particular has had so many fires, bombings, shootings, and virus scares that it makes one wonder why anyone would want to live there if it really existed.
Soaps Get Technical: How Daytime Dramas are Using New Media To Survive
Daytime soap operas represent a past time of television. In the past, people in general had more time on their hands to watch television. Now, with the Internet, cable TV, and other distractions, television networks are constantly looking for new ways to get and keep audiences. Daytime soaps are no exception, especially with low ratings to worry about. The soaps are using technology as a life preserve to save them from cancellation.
A good example of technology being used to seal the fate of a soap in danger of cancellation is Passions. A few months ago, NBC announced that it would be cancelling Passions, which was a shock but at the same time, it wasn’t. The cancellation news was a shock because Passions has earned a good amount of ratings, especially with teenaged girls and young women, but its ratings are always horrible in comparison to the other ten soap operas on TV. Of the ten, Passions is always rated the lowest, and Passions has been network television for eight years. In 2007, NBC says it is cancelling Passions because it wants to add another hour to the morning show Today, and also the network wants to cut back on its budget. As soon as NBC announced Passions’ cancellation, there was immediately speculation that SOAPNET would pick up the show. SOAPNET is a network owned by Disney which repeats soap operas such as General Hospital, The Young and The Restless, and Days of Our Lives (the other NBC soap) at night. It would have made sense to put Passions on SOAPNET, but SOAPNET did not want it. It seemed like there was no hope for Passions, but it was recently announced that DIRECTV would pick up the show. New episodes will run five days a week, and reruns will be shown on the weekend.
Passions will be the first soap opera that was saved in cancellation in this way. Producers of popular cancelled soaps of the past must be kicking themselves for not having the option to have been saved by satellite television. Even if DIRECTV did not catch Passions before it fell, the Internet could have saved it. Passions fans can already watch episodes of the soap on NBC’s website. If it wasn’t already going to DIRECTV, Passions could have made history by becoming the first soap opera that was on television but could now only be seen online. It’s not as if it would be the first time that a soap opera moved from one medium to another. Shows such as Guiding Light and As the World Turns are the only soaps on television today that originally started on radio, so why not with a show like Passions that is in danger of cancellation. With dwindling ratings, it is an option that soaps should definitely consider.
Although the majority of soap operas are not in as much relative danger of cancellation as Passions, let’s face it. Daytime soaps are considered by many in America to be archaic, boring, and lacking in creativity and innovation, so what better way to spruce up the viewing public’s image of soaps than to use it together with new media technologies. For example, two soap operas-As the World Turns and Guiding Light-are available for download on iTunes. What’s interesting about this is that the downloads are only audio and not video downloads, which hearkens back to the radio years of those two particular soaps. It is a positive thing because Proctor & Gamble-owned As the World Turns and Guiding Light have comparatively older viewers than the other two CBS soaps: The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, so iTunes is an alternative to get viewers, especially young, technologically savvy viewers, interested in the P&G soaps.
With the exception of the P&G soaps and Passions, the other daytime soaps don’t offer their shows on iTunes. So for a soap fan that misses their favorite show, SOAPNET is another alternative. As previously mentioned, SOAPNET’s allure is that you can watch your favorite soaps even at night if you miss them during the day. SOAPNET, as with anything in life, had good and bad points. The network is good if you, for example, do not feel like watching General Hospital at the time it is broadcast on your ABC-affiliate. SOAPNET is also useful if you forgot to program your VCR or TiVo. On the down side, SOAPNET does not show all of the soap operas. Another big downer is that SOAPNET is very biased towards ABC’s soap operas, which isn’t surprising since both SOAPNET and ABC are owned by Disney. It is only very recently that SOAPNET introduced The Young and The Restless and Days of Our Lives to the lineup; before, the lineup was all of ABC’s soaps.
Basically, if you are watching SOAPNET for the non-ABC shows, you will feel cheated and that there is nothing much for you to watch, but the network wants to show that it has a cornucopia of programming for a soap viewer. What is great about SOAPNET is that it has original programming such as I Want to Be a Soap Star, a reality show where aspiring actors and actresses compete to win a 13-week contract on a soap. The network also has Soapography, a series about the biographies of soap opera stars.
Of course, what about the person who doesn’t have iTunes or SOAPNET? Well, of course, there is always the good old-fashioned Internet. All three of the major networks have websites for their soap operas. The websites contain information on the soap characters, cast bios, story synopses, and more. These sites are also interactive so that fans can vote on polls and write on message boards.
A good example of technology being used to seal the fate of a soap in danger of cancellation is Passions. A few months ago, NBC announced that it would be cancelling Passions, which was a shock but at the same time, it wasn’t. The cancellation news was a shock because Passions has earned a good amount of ratings, especially with teenaged girls and young women, but its ratings are always horrible in comparison to the other ten soap operas on TV. Of the ten, Passions is always rated the lowest, and Passions has been network television for eight years. In 2007, NBC says it is cancelling Passions because it wants to add another hour to the morning show Today, and also the network wants to cut back on its budget. As soon as NBC announced Passions’ cancellation, there was immediately speculation that SOAPNET would pick up the show. SOAPNET is a network owned by Disney which repeats soap operas such as General Hospital, The Young and The Restless, and Days of Our Lives (the other NBC soap) at night. It would have made sense to put Passions on SOAPNET, but SOAPNET did not want it. It seemed like there was no hope for Passions, but it was recently announced that DIRECTV would pick up the show. New episodes will run five days a week, and reruns will be shown on the weekend.
Passions will be the first soap opera that was saved in cancellation in this way. Producers of popular cancelled soaps of the past must be kicking themselves for not having the option to have been saved by satellite television. Even if DIRECTV did not catch Passions before it fell, the Internet could have saved it. Passions fans can already watch episodes of the soap on NBC’s website. If it wasn’t already going to DIRECTV, Passions could have made history by becoming the first soap opera that was on television but could now only be seen online. It’s not as if it would be the first time that a soap opera moved from one medium to another. Shows such as Guiding Light and As the World Turns are the only soaps on television today that originally started on radio, so why not with a show like Passions that is in danger of cancellation. With dwindling ratings, it is an option that soaps should definitely consider.
Although the majority of soap operas are not in as much relative danger of cancellation as Passions, let’s face it. Daytime soaps are considered by many in America to be archaic, boring, and lacking in creativity and innovation, so what better way to spruce up the viewing public’s image of soaps than to use it together with new media technologies. For example, two soap operas-As the World Turns and Guiding Light-are available for download on iTunes. What’s interesting about this is that the downloads are only audio and not video downloads, which hearkens back to the radio years of those two particular soaps. It is a positive thing because Proctor & Gamble-owned As the World Turns and Guiding Light have comparatively older viewers than the other two CBS soaps: The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, so iTunes is an alternative to get viewers, especially young, technologically savvy viewers, interested in the P&G soaps.
With the exception of the P&G soaps and Passions, the other daytime soaps don’t offer their shows on iTunes. So for a soap fan that misses their favorite show, SOAPNET is another alternative. As previously mentioned, SOAPNET’s allure is that you can watch your favorite soaps even at night if you miss them during the day. SOAPNET, as with anything in life, had good and bad points. The network is good if you, for example, do not feel like watching General Hospital at the time it is broadcast on your ABC-affiliate. SOAPNET is also useful if you forgot to program your VCR or TiVo. On the down side, SOAPNET does not show all of the soap operas. Another big downer is that SOAPNET is very biased towards ABC’s soap operas, which isn’t surprising since both SOAPNET and ABC are owned by Disney. It is only very recently that SOAPNET introduced The Young and The Restless and Days of Our Lives to the lineup; before, the lineup was all of ABC’s soaps.
Basically, if you are watching SOAPNET for the non-ABC shows, you will feel cheated and that there is nothing much for you to watch, but the network wants to show that it has a cornucopia of programming for a soap viewer. What is great about SOAPNET is that it has original programming such as I Want to Be a Soap Star, a reality show where aspiring actors and actresses compete to win a 13-week contract on a soap. The network also has Soapography, a series about the biographies of soap opera stars.
Of course, what about the person who doesn’t have iTunes or SOAPNET? Well, of course, there is always the good old-fashioned Internet. All three of the major networks have websites for their soap operas. The websites contain information on the soap characters, cast bios, story synopses, and more. These sites are also interactive so that fans can vote on polls and write on message boards.
Diversity in Soap Operas: Are Soaps Doing Enough?
Historically, daytime dramas have had mostly all-white casts with a sprinkle of a minority here or there. With the statistic that Hispanics will become the majority in the U.S. in a couple of years, and with the strides and contributions they as well as Blacks, Asians, gays, and others have made to American society, wouldn’t it be a little more true-to-life to have more of a variety of different kinds of people in daytime television, right? Wrong! At least that is what soap opera writers seem to think.
Even though the lack of diversity on daytime television dramas is disappointing, there have been some strides made. All My Children recently made strides with introducing the first transgender character. This is the same soap opera that made into a lesbian the daughter of a beloved character, namely Erica Kane. It is commendable that a daytime soap is willing to take risk by introducing gay and transgendered characters, but it is a double-edged sword. On soaps, the gay characters don’t stay in the storyline for very long. For example, Erica Kane’s daughter, Bianca, is being written out of the storyline as well as Zoe/Zarf, the transgendered character. To be fair, viewers have seen Bianca’s realization that she is gay as well as her relationships with other women, so much so that a TV Guide Editor calls the character “the patron saint of gay soap characters,” but it is not enough. Bianca and Zoe/ Zarf are the only homosexual characters on the show. After they have left, the show is all heterosexual characters. At least there is always room for Bianca to come back because she is related to Erica, an important character on All My Children, but Bianca is relegated to the “character that comes back every once in awhile” status. What kind of message does this send to viewers, particularly gay ones? That it is okay to have homosexual and transgendered characters as long as they are not on screen too much? It is tricky to feature gay characters on soaps, especially when it comes to portraying romantic and sexual scenes. Soap opera writers, directors, and producers have a tricky balance between showing realistic portrayals of gay relationships while still placating those who are uncomfortable with gay relationship storylines.
What about portrayals of African-Americans on soaps? In general, there are some strides, but nonetheless, there is much to be desired. Soaps such as Passions and The Young and the Restless have African-American families who get a fair amount of time onscreen and regularly interact with the White characters. These African-American characters even get to have romantic relationships with the White characters as well, which brings up another issue all together. Passions especially is commendable for its portrayal of Black characters on the show. One character on the show, Eve, has had a long relationship with a White character. Eve’s daughter, Simone, recently came out as a lesbian, and it was recently revealed that Chad, who is married to Eve’s other daughter Whitney, is having an affair with a man. Never before have Black characters been so complex. Often in soaps, the Black characters are morally perfect, which is a good thing or a bad thing. It is good because Black people are portrayed in soaps as doctors and lawyers rather than maids, criminals or prostitutes. At the same time, though, soap writers are pressured to make Black characters good all of the time because: 1)They don’t want the soap to be deemed racist against Blacks and offensive to Black viewers. 2) The majority of soap viewers who are White have limited contact or knowledge of the African-American experience, so soap writers put the Black characters in one-dimensional roles.
As for Latino, Asian, and Native American characters, there is still much to be desired. Native Americans are virtually non-existent on soap operas. There is a Latino family on the ABC soap One Life to Live who are regulars and who are involved romantically with the White characters. Passions has set the standard by including a whole Latino family as well as an African-American one. Otherwise, the number of Latino characters isn’t a lot on soaps. At least the Latinos on One Life to Live are really Latino, whereas a good number of the “Latino” characters on Passions are either White or of mixed heritage. There are not a lot of instances of Asian characters on soap operas, and when there are Asians around, they don’t get front-burner storylines, and they are usually platonic with the White characters, but there is nothing romantic going on.
The issue of romantic relationships with White characters brings about the issue of interracial relationships on soaps. Again, One Life to Live is making strides with the character of Evangeline. She is a successful African-American attorney who has had relationships with White and Latino characters on the show, and aside from the romance, Evangeline is important to the storyline. Shows such as One Life to Live, Passions, and The Young and the Restless is doing a lot more than most of the other soaps when it comes to having minority characters get involved romantically with White characters. The Young and the Restless, for example, features Lily Winters of the African-American Winters family. Lily is married to Daniel, who is White. The interesting thing about it is that about ten years ago, Lily’s father Neil was romantically involved with Victoria Newman, a White character, a relationship that was unfavorable to some fans, but Lily and Daniel’s relationship has not received much audience disapproval. There has not even been uproar for the relationships Evangeline from One Life to Live has gotten involved in. This suggests that there may be a bias for soap opera fans when it comes to favoring relationships with Black women and White men over Black men and White women. This may explain why the Black man/White woman relationship is rarely seen on soaps, and if it is seen, it doesn’t last long. For example, on The Young and the Restless, Daniel’s mother Phyllis, who is White, had a romantic relationship with a Black man, but the relationship didn’t last and the man has since left town. This is an example of how soap opera writers are reinforcing long-standing racial fears of putting Black men and White women together romantically, even in a fictional setting.
Diary of a Soap Fan
It is hard for me to pinpoint when I started watching and liking the soaps at the same time. There is a difference between watching soap operas because you’re forced to and watching them because you like them. I have vague memories of being four or five years old and being annoyed at my great-grandmother for not letting me change the channel to watch cartoons because she was watching the soaps. I had to endure hours of boredom while she enjoyed her stories. Little did I know that as I’ve become older, daytime soaps would remain a part of my life.
My family is a big reason why I became hooked on to the soaps. My mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother all watched all four the soaps on CBS: The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, As the World Turns, and Guiding Light. On the other hand, my two cousins on my mother’s side watched the daytime dramas on ABC: General Hospital, All My Children, One Life to Live, and any one of the other now-defunct soaps that used to make up the four-soap lineup. Before my adolescent years, I would watch the CBS soaps from time to time. The interesting thing about that period was that I was not a soap fan, but I knew the names of the characters and most of the storylines. This was because of the ongoing TV watching struggle from when I was a child with my great-grandmother and even with my grandmother to an extent. From the time period of 12:30 pm to 3 or 4pm, I not anyone else could disturb my great-grandmother as she watched her stories. This would have been fine by me except for a few things. For one thing, I was a kid, and kids like to watch cartoons. In my mind, soap operas were an integral part of the adult realm, and especially the female adult realm. I didn’t want to
watch stuff that involved sappy melodrama, kissing scenes or (Gasp!) sex scenes.
So what made me change my no-soap operas boycott? For one thing, I have two words: General Hospital. I started watching the soap because of my two female cousins who were practically raised on ABC’s soap operas. My cousins, who are 11 years older than me combined, had a big influence on my young mind. I used to take cues from them on many things, and soaps were one of them. Another reason was due to adolescence and all of its changes and confusion. To make a long story short, I was starting to have crushes with the boys at school and catty drama with the girls so much so that going to school everyday felt like going off to the battlefield. Soap operas were a refuge for me, an escape from the tough lessons of adolescence.
The irony of my soap watching was that the people who got me hooked on the stories stopped watching. Those who hate soaps would proabably say that this is the point when these people gained their sanity and I lost it (lol!), but what can I say? A lot of habits one learns comes from the home and family. Anyway, both of my cousins haven’t watched soap operas in years. My great-grandmother died and buried her soap-fanaticism with her, and both my mother and grandmother became born-again Christians who feel that watching daytime dramas is sinful and is at odds with their beliefs. So where does that leave me? Yup, you guessed it, still watching soaps. When everyone else jumped over the sinking ship that is soap-opera watching, I stay and will probably continue to stay. And with these changing times when it seems like many people like my family members have abandoned the stories, I as well as others choose to watch soaps, even if the ship sinks to the bottom of the ocean.
Where Have All the Good Soaps Gone?
What happened to soap operas? Do they need to be cancelled, and are they still relevant? For some, the soaps or the “stories” are still fun and entertaining, but the vast majority of Americans consider soap operas as one of those things that should have been thrown out with the trash ages ago. To combat this belief, daytime soap operas are doing two things. For one thing, daytime dramas are ignoring naysayers by continuing to do the same programming that they always have. Secondly, soaps are working together with companies such as iTunes and DIRECTV to survive. But are daytime TV’s attempts to stay fresh and new while still retaining their old audiences a futile effort?
Upcoming Soap Opera Series
I have written a few articles about my thoughts on the daytime soap opera industry which I will be posting soon. I think that even if you dislike soaps, you will find these articles interesting. Later Dayz!
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