| Do
our soaps need to clean up their act? |
| Posted: April 8th, 2003 |
| By:
Colin Coates |
 |
In a frantic struggle to win
viewers attention the creators of the top soap opera's have employed
a old but effective tactic for their shows: A cocktail of extreme
human emotions, including attention grabbing scenes of violence, grief
and illicit sexual relationships. Have scriptwriters gone too far
in their bid to win viewers or have they have they hit the bullseye? |
British soap opera's are national institutions
and for most of us there is no better way to see in the evening than
to curl up in our comfortable sofa with a cup of tea and a chocolate
bar and watch the latest episodes of our favourite soap.
If there is one thing the British make well, it's soap opera's and
the longevity of our top two favourite soaps are testament to that
with more than 40 years of eye-catching entertainment beamed into
our living rooms in the form of Coronation street and Eastenders.
Despite commanding our dying attention for many years producers of
our beloved soap operas have decided to put their foot on the pedal
and hope to pull away from their closest rivals as well as alternative
TV and dominate primetime viewing.
| Research Finding |
Research suggests that viewers have some concerns
about what vulnerable sections of the community, especially
children, are learning from soaps and whether or not that information
is suitable for the audience, although many said that they used
soaps to inform them about issues without being lectured to.
By: BSC.org.uk |
To do this they would have to introduce some radical
changes. Out go the subtle plots of scenes that resemble everyday
life for most of us and cue the scarcely experienced scenes of murder,
violence, and illicit sexual relationships that almost always end
in tears.
The most recent example of a far out plot was the Killer Corrie episodes
which saw the script writers introduce a sinister plot of bloody murder
to it's cobble stoned streets. Richard Hillman had been knocking off
people for months before it finally caught up with him after killing
his ex-wife. Aptly dubbed Killer Corrie it's rewards for such a horrific
storyline was record viewers, which climaxed at 17million at one point.
Coronation street was treading on new turf with the Killer Corrie
storyline but down South in the heart of East London bloody murder
and violent clashes have always been staple diets. Eastenders is no
stranger to these types of scenes in and around Albert Square. Phil
and Grant Mitchell have graced our TV screens with their countless
acts of violence and they give as good as they get.
There is no doubt that the more violent or sinister the story the
more viewers are locked in, which I guess would make the results of
this poll a foregone conclusion but maybe not.
Is our fascination for sinister stories in our soaps a natural reaction
to something that is bad, like the way we tend to watch controversial
films or the way the news tends to broadcast more bad news than good.
Or do we actually like the sinister storylines in our soaps because
they are so removed from our everyday life.
Also do we believe that these scenes of violence and inappropriate
sexual encounters are suitable viewing for young children who are
just as gripped by them as adults? |
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