The Evil Phenomenon of Soap Operas

Kernel

Hi Folks,

Just been chatting with some work colleagues about something I really hate, namely soap operas. Is anyone else disdainful of the amount of coverage and time given to this fictional trash? Looking at the Late Late show on Monday (repeat) and wasn't happy to see some cast members from Fair City on there blabbing about the fictitious lives of their 'characters', and the largely pointless storylines. I mean, Pat could have had someone real with an interesting story to tell, a politician on to explain their actions (or lack thereof), maybe somebody from a charitable organisation to highlight a worthy cause.... but no, he has the cast of a crap and long running Irish soap opera on instead.

Now, we were chatting about the cult of the soap, and how some people are fanatically in tune with many of them, and I put forward the argument that it's mainly women who indulge in them. Look at women's magazines etc. and you will find pages devoted to imaginary crises in the fictitious lives of soap characters.

I mentioned that the reason why women are so interested in these things is that they are genetically more inclined towards dealing with complex social structures in groups, dating back to our pre-civilised ages. In the ancient times, while men were away hunting and foraging the women would exist in a large social group, and developed to be adept at keeping track of the group, and the circumstances and social happenings of the individuals within the group. Nowadays our large social grouping has been more secularised and isolated, which is where I think soaps come in to fill the void.

Do you think soaps offer anything of any value to society? Even in entertainment value? Most are brainless, and some can even promote anti-social values which gradually and insidiously permeate our own 'real' society. Have they been invented for women, to fill an ancient gap in group social situations (gossip) which women crave?

bounty

people like these type of stories, especially women

personally i just ignore them

Pighead

bounty wrote:

people like these type of stories, especially women

personally i just ignore them

I think the question is, whyis it women who especially like the mucky world of soap operas.Pigheads going to have a think about this and come back with all guns blazing
My initial thought is,because they spend more time in the homeplace than blokes but thats just my first draft and is open to change.see ya later

Goodshape

Kernel wrote:

Do you think soaps offer anything of any value to society? Even in entertainment value?

I suppose they offer some light entertainment at the end of the day and a way to forget your own worries, situation, whatever in favor of a fictional one for half an hour.

With regards actual lessons being learned; no, not from what I can see. It's gossip - like celebrities and all that crap.

Personally, I wouldn't watch them. And the fact that they seem to be on around the clock these days fairly gets on my tits.

Kernel

Pighead wrote:

I think the question is, whyis it women who especially like the mucky world of soap operas.

I told you why, group social psychology from the ancient days Pighead! Sheesh!

Goodshape wrote:

I suppose they offer some light entertainment at the end of the day and a way to forget your own worries, situation, whatever in favor of a fictional one for half an hour.

Yeah I was thinking this, but they are not really light entertainment - like the Simpsons for example. In soaps horrible things usually happen every day, and we watch people suffering through them... Is there a mixture of sadism in there? Does watching horrible things happen to other people make us feel better about ourselves?

Goodshape wrote:

With regards actual lessons being learned; no, not from what I can see. It's gossip - like celebrities and all that crap.

Yeah, it is pretty much crap, but there are a large number of people devoted to them, to the point where they cannot seperate fact from reality... eg. Free Deirdre Rashid (sp?) campaign, and soap stars being called by their characters names and chastised for their fictional actions? If people were to learn lessons from soaps, where would that leave us? We'd all be wife-beating, cheating philanderers, murderers and all sorts. Any way we can ban soaps and put more good entertainment and documentaries on?

Pighead

Ah kernel,cop on buddy.You're thinking way too much about this.
Soap Operas were originally targeted towards the female population in the 30's as a method of selling washing detergents.The washing powder companies would sponsor the programme and they were aimed at women who were predominately housewifes back then.Hence the name soap operas.
This is why soaps are perceived to be loved by women and women only.The National Statistics Office suggest that since the women have gradually entered the workforce over the past 50 or so years the female to male ratio of soap watching has evened out.
I think you'll find a lot of blokes watch soaps these days(they'll quietly grumble about hating theat fcuking rubbish,but will watch anyway)
Forget your complex social structures rubbish buddy.You're trying too hard

OfflerCrocGod

They should be banned and destroyed. They are the modern day circuses from the Roman "bread and circuses" idea used to keep the stupid sheep population in control. I hate them. Millions of human sheep watch them everyday - I hate them and their stupidity. Zombie programming :mad:

Le Rack

I HATE SOAPS!!!!!!!!!!
Hate them with a passion!
I barely even watch TV! I watch teh odd episode of The OC, its gone too common for my liking, and I watch Hex, when I remember, other than that I watch the rare ep of the simpsons or summit but I DETEST the likes of Fair Sh!ty, Cornation Sh!te, Emmerdale and all those things, people call entertainment!

aidan_walsh

They're an escapist route into a familiar world, something that other television shows can't provide for.

Soaps tend to be much more evolutional as time goes by. They can better survive changes of characters, introduce more varied storylines, and can generally take better and bigger risks that other dramas can't because of their structure.

jellie

i watch soaps, not religiously, but i generally will have an idea whats going on in neighbours!

im not sure why i watch it, maybe its an escapey thing, seeing problems of other people (yes i know theyre not real). maybe its being told a story. or maybe its something similar to why people gossip.

but i feel the need to add.. i know a few lads who admit to watching neighbours!

Vikings

I watch soaps(emmerdale and coronation street), why do I watch them? I dont know really, its just entertainment at the end of the day.

Spacedog

Watch blizzard of odd or tv burp if you hate soaps, gives you something to giggle to yourself about next time you're whipped into watching corronation street.

Tiffany

People watch them because soap characters relate to ordinary people alot, except these soap characters have alot more excitement in their lives - rape, serial killers, long-lost brothers, relatives back from the grave, etc. Ordinary people thrive to be the Kat Slaters and Dirty Dens of today's modern world, because in reality their lives are unexciting and gone down the shítter.

DaBreno

Pighead wrote:

I think you'll find a lot of blokes watch soaps these days(they'll quietly grumble about hating theat fcuking rubbish,but will watch anyway)

I hope you making that up Lad. Such a statistic troubles me greatly.

Endurance Man

Stupid people watch soaps .

cuppa

Looking at the Late Late show on Monday (repeat)

kernel why watch the latelate,,repeat,,its not questions and answeres?.
Blokes watch em for the hot chicks and women watch em for the mills and boone.
my gaff is full of new now newer hot ok not ok closer never,,mags i do look at em on the bog,but they have all the same hot chicks in em. My missus wont read my latest new scientist mag ,,grumble.

jester77

Soaps are just pure trash tv, they can be classed in the same league as reality tv shows. The people that watch them are usually the people who don't have too much happening in their lives, so it gives them something to talk about!

Chavster

DaBreno wrote:

I hope you making that up Lad. Such a statistic troubles me greatly.

My 29yr old male flatmates evening consists of:

Arrive home from work, the bill, hollyoaks, hollyoaks, emmerdale, coronation st, eastenders, assorted sh1te, bed.

Seriously, i could feel myself getting stupider after watching them. I could tolerate the bill and just about stick hollyoaks for the young ladies. But for the rest a large set of headphones are required....

Hydroquinone

The stereotype is that women watch soaps and men think they're daft and men watch F1, football, etc and women think they're daft.
Of couse there are men who watch soaps ans there are women who watch sports. But it's too easy to say the one you don't watch is for losers; the people who dont like what you like probably think your'e a loser for liking what you like.
Live and let live, man!!

Ann Elk

Kernel you're right. The soap opera replaces many other rituals which served the porpose of re-affirming the fact that we belong to a wider society, for example in Fishing villages the women used to meet up on various different occassions whilst the husbands were away as a kind of comfort to know that they were still part of a wider society which cared. Many sociologists argue that organised religion serves the same purpose - a coming together to join in a ritual at mass times, followed by the gatering of groups outside churches for a natter. Traditionally men have had sports, work and the pub - women weren't always freely accepted into these areas.

In todays increasingly secular and impersonal world some say that television and in particular the soap opera has assumed this role of re-affirmation. It gives people a common ground to discuss and comfort themselves that a) they belong to a larger social group and b) by emphasising with/disliking characters they can feel more relaxed knowing that others share the same morals as themselves.

All in all, despite the fact thet the content of soaps is largely ****e, they do serve a purpose for society as a whole.

Nasty_Girl

Kill all Women.
the end.

Interceptor

Small kids like Barney the Purple puppet, bigger kids like Simpsons and the goings-on in Springfield and bigger people again like what happens on Albert Square. It is just entertainment - personally I think you should be flayed for watching the Late Late as it is mind-sapping swill but thats just me - I don't watch tv. You are free to entertain yourself and spend your life in whatever way you choose - if people derive pleasure from Corrie then let them at it - there are lots of other channels with documentories for you to watch.

What if I suggested that a certain 16-25 year old segment of the population played too many video games which warped their developing minds, produced violent or ignorant citizens and burdened the health service with their blindness and repetitive-strain injured hands? Ban them all I say.... Or chill out and leave people alone

'cptr

mike65

Quite so, I watch Corrie and 'enders though I can happily miss episodes you know! I don't class The Bill as soap rather its a drama series with soap elements. Some here just love the lastest US import (whatever it happens to be) and will bang on about it (Veronica Mars etc) I almost never watch such shows.

Horses for courses.

Mike.

ferdi

i like some 'bloke-soaps', mainly hbo productions - OZ, Soparanos etc (i do not like 6FU or NipTuck)

Kernel

cuppa wrote:

kernel why watch the latelate,,repeat,,its not questions and answeres?.

Ah, I love Q&A and Primetime in fairness, but the Late Late can be interesting too, with the proper guests.

Ann Elk wrote:

All in all, despite the fact thet the content of soaps is largely ****e, they do serve a purpose for society as a whole.

You're quite right in what you have said, but I just wonder is it a good thing to have soaps and television replace the social bonds and interactions we used to have. After all, if such people had more an interest in their own communities and less in 'Albert Square' then we'd live in a better and more connected society I think. It's also questionable as to the moral lessons given by such soaps, since the soap writers will always pander for the sensationalist stories which grab the viewers and appeal to our baser instincts.... Would be an interesting debate to suggest that the moral decline of society and the isolationist segmented nature of modern 'community' could be tied in with television and soaps...?

Interceptor wrote:

personally I think you should be flayed for watching the Late Late as it is mind-sapping swill but thats just me - I don't watch tv.

Fair enough you don't watch a lot of tv, I don't watch a huge amount myself, but why do you think a programme like the Late Late is mind-sapping swill? Very often there are good human interest stories, and interesting interviews with people of all walks of life. I think it's a great show usually, and can inform and educate people.