1. Soap Opera Basics
UK soaps contain more realism than US and Spanish soaps
Traditional soap operas run continuously- character storylines overlap
Can have 10-15 main characters a range of ages, gender, sexualities,
races, to appeal to as large an audience as possible
Soap Operas become part of the national psyche they weave into our
culture
Characters become ‘people’ , they are spoken of as if they are family
Soaps tend to be aimed at female audiences. This affects scheduling,
storylines, characters, narrative perspectives
Story - events unfolding
Narrative perspective – point of view the story is told from
Catharsis – emotional cleansing, watching someone go through the same
as you makes you feel better