Why we love soaps: The enduring appeal of soap operas.
Melenie Parkes takes a look at the lifelong love affair many viewers have with soap operas.
The global outbreak of Covid-19 has made many of us truly appreciate the value of soaps – and we’re not talking about the frothy, foamy stuff we’re told to scrub with regularly.
While they may be considered frivolous viewing by some people, soap operas are a long-standing and beloved tradition in many homes.
Where once people sat by the radio for a daily dose of kitchen-sink drama, around the world people now turn to their TVs for a slice of life – albeit an exaggerated one.
During lockdown, television became a lifeline to the outside world. How many of us found ourselves watching the final few minutes of Emmerdale everyday as we waited for the lunchtime Covid-19 update?
But the coronavirus pandemic caused many television programmes to stop production and, despite their sudsy properties, soaps were not immune.
Shortland Street is back up and running now after temporarily closing its clinic doors because of Covid-19. The soap, which usually airs weeknights, was cut back to screening Monday to Wednesday to stretch out its episodes but will return to its full weekly schedule from June 29. Coronation Street is still on reduced hours.
But just what is it about these melodramas that we love so much?
They reflect our society
While we love our international soaps, the great thing about having a home-grown product is that it can tell the story of what’s happening in our own communities. Shortland Street has mirrored life in New Zealand for 27 years. It has covered almost every topic that has hit the local headlines and the writers have an uncanny ability to predict what’s just around the corner. Storylines like the suicide attempt by Kane Jenkins (KJ Apa) and the decision by Jean King (Catherine Wilkin) to end her own life after
developing dementia have become a conduit for conversations in living rooms, waiting rooms and meeting rooms around the country.
However, if you grew up with US soap operas such as Days Of Our Lives and The Young And Restless, you might have had some bizarre expectations about grown-up life.
Maybe you thought babies were regularly swapped, that everyone suffers from amnesia now and again, and quicksand is an obstacle we all must face. And while their British counterparts certainly have their fair share of outrageous storylines, they tend to be a little closer to reality.
The acting is (usually) great
Even when they’re stuck with clunky dialogue and ridiculous storylines, the fact that soap opera actors work so consistently means they often become very good at their jobs. They can become wholly believable even when delivering the most ludicrous lines. And often, it’s the dialogue that gets the biggest laugh that becomes a cultural touchstone. “You’re not in Guatemala now, Dr Ropata,” from Shortland Street’s first episode has transitioned from being roundly mocked into a beloved piece of television history. And it was Chris Warner’s, “Please tell me that is not your penis” that went viral when Warner confronted his son Harry about a sexting session gone wrong.
The line became Massey University’s New Zealand’s quote of the year in 2017.
Malcolm Gladwell theorised in his book Outliers that to become accomplished in any field you must practise for 10,000 hours.
William ‘Ken Barlow’ Roache has worked almost 60 years on Coronation Street and holds the Guinness World Record for the longest-serving male television star in a continuous role. Based on a conservative 20-hour week that equates to a whopping 61,360 hours on the job.
It is almost impossible to separate Roache from his alter-ego and for many soap opera fans, there is no distinction between their favourite characters and the actors who play them.
Ngahuia Piripi, who plays Esther Samuels on Shortland Street, told TV Guide that some fans believed her onscreen pregnancy was real and were surprised to see her in real life without a baby.
The fast turnaround environment of soap operas has long made them a proven training ground for actors. They learn to memorise their lines fast and work quickly.
Famous names such as Robin
Wright, Kevin Bacon, Susan Sarandon, Ray Liotta, Julianne Moore, Tommy Lee Jones, James Earl Jones, Leonardo Di Caprio and Brad Pitt all had their start working in the soap opera boot camps.
Acclaimed British actors such as Sarah Lancashire, Suranne Jones, Joanne Froggatt and Katherine Kelly paid their dues on Coronation Street before moving on to roles in dramas that are often labelled ‘prestige television’.
Closer to home, Shortland Street has served as a launch pad for actors such as Karl Urban (The Boys), KJ Apa (Riverdale) and Martin Henderson (Grey’s Anatomy) who have all enjoyed success in the US.
They often have meaty roles for older people
Unless you’re Betty White, roles for older people aren’t that common on TV. But regardless of whether it’s set in a hospital, a pub or a village, a soap opera revolves around a community and in any community you are going to find an older population.
Consequently, some of the best roles of a certain age can be found on soaps and the wittiest quips are often delivered by these geri-actors.
They’re not just there as window dressing either. They’re often at the centre of substantial storylines.
On Emmerdale, elder abuse and the financial hardships faced by senior citizens has been sensitively broached. Coronation Street and EastEnders, too, have always had meaningful storylines and covered topics specific to the elderly.
But their storylines aren’t always harrowing; they also serve to remind us that age is no barrier to living boldy and well. We’ve seen more mature characters hold riotous parties, fall in and out of love, and drop down drunk.
However, brace yourself to see less of your favourite pensioner thespians in the coming months.
Coronation Street and Emmerdale have confirmed they have cut the scenes of their over-70 stars because of coronavirus concerns and it’s likely other soaps will follow suit.
Coro Street producer Iain MacLeod said that the coronavirus pandemic will be acknowledged in Coro scripts to reflect the changes to viewers’ lives, but it will not dominate storylines.
They get people talking
Worldwide, the soap opera has always been used to foster debate and share information. Almost everything that was once considered too taboo for TV, first aired on a soap. And because soap operas have such a broad audience it’s a
really effective way of getting a message out to the public. Coronation Street is often a leader in bringing issues to the screen, covering such topics as suicide, rape, sexual assault, sexuality and gender identity. In 1998, it was the first British soap to feature a transgender character. For many people, their daily soap might be the only way for them to meet, albeit through their TV, someone from a marginalised community. And in Hayley Cropper (Julie Hesmondhalgh), viewers were able to see that transgender people are just ordinary folk. Last year, Emmerdale brought in transgender character Matty Barton, played by Ash Palmisicano, himself a trans man. In 1987, EastEnders was the first British soap to show a kiss between two men and although it was just a chaste peck on the forehead it caused an outcry. But time and exposure to gay characters softened the detractors and as gay people became more visible on television, attitudes changed. But it’s not just the UK that educates as it entertains viewers with its soaps.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Mexico became a leader in creating educational dramas such as Ven Conmigo, which aimed to improve adult literacy rates, and Nosotras Las Mujeres, which promoted female empowerment.
The formula was so successful that it was employed in India in 1984. Hum Log was designed to address subjects including dowry, the caste system and women’s issues. Peru has one of the lowest organ donation rates in the world and in 2019 the government decided to address the problem. Together with an advertising agency they created a bold plan to reach the widest possible audience using the country’s two most popular soaps.
In what is surely the ultimate cross-over episode, viewers saw one character on Ojitos Hechiceros 2 die only for another character on rival show Senores Papis to receive his kidney. The innovative stunt resulted in a 200 per cent increase in organ donation in just a week.
Erroneously believing Dallas to be anti-capitalism, it slipped past the censors in Communist Romania in 1979. It was taken off air in 1981 but it was too late – Romanians had enjoyed a glimpse into a life outside Communism, and they liked what they saw.
Actor Larry Hagman, who played evil JR Ewing, claimed he was greeted as a hero in the streets when he visited Romania some years after the 1989 uprising.
“People from Bucharest came up to me in the street with tears in their eyes saying, ‘JR saved our country’.”
Not bad for a simple soap star.