AS Media Studies

Soap Operas  Open-ended, multi-strand serial forms.  First developed on US radio in the 1930s.  Owes its name to the sponsorship of these programmes by major detergent companies.  Commercial television was keen to sell the promise of audiences’ regular attention to advertisers.

 The hope is that audiences will stay tuned into the same channel all night.  Attractive to producers as cost can be kept down – narrative focused on one or two key locations.  A wide appeal is generated through the several storylines that happen simultaneously.

Codes and Conventions  Long running serials concerned with real life.  Serial – storylines are carried over from one episode to the next.  The passage of time seems to reflect real time – characters age as we do.  Broadcast on a regular time slot  Viewers are in an omniscient position – we always know more than the characters and draw pleasure from this.  A wide range of characters and ‘stock’ types  No beginning or end – plots are not linear

 Soaps often have controversial themes in order to aggregate audiences.  October 2002 – Eastenders – child abuse (Kat and Zoe).  Blanket publicity and coverage of this storyline on the day of this episode stressed the care taken by the programme makers with this topic.

Open narrative  There is no sense of ending  Lots of characters and a multi strand plot  Characters not usually in a marked hierarchy (main character, cameo etc) but shift in and out of prominence depending on storyline.  Characters also shift in and out of narrative function – this week’s hero might be next week’s villain.

Open narrative  Time usually corresponds to real time within episode although it is compressed.  Episodes may make reference to real-life events going on at the same time such as Christmas.  Audiences are expected to have knowledge of long running soaps –  magazines and the press often speculate about actors’ contracts and the fate of characters.

Character typology  Certain character types consistently recur to the point where they become stereotypes.  Eg. Grumpy old people and angst ridden teens are stock characters.

Pros and Cons  Soaps have advantages over more prestigious drama forms…  They are long running  Long term consequences of social issues (rape, unemployment, abuse etc) can be dealt with and resurface with the character over many years – just like real life.  However, there are also limitations…  Are they really realistic?  When have you ever heard characters in a soap discussing political campaigns/using bad language?

Gender Consumption  Studies by Gray (1992) suggest women prefer open ended narratives like soap operas.  Strong female lead characters  They focus on the private, domestic sphere  They deal with personal relationships  They contain an element of fantasy/escapism

Utopian Solution  Entertainment genres are popular because of their fantasy element and the escapism they provide from daily routines and problems.  R. Dyer (1977)  Soaps are frequently derided by critics for being full of clichés and stereotypes.  Soap viewers are often assumed to be only women, and in particular working-class housewives.  Soap viewers are characterized unfairly as naive escapists.  Given the great popularity of the genre, such criticisms can be seen as culturally elitist.

Coronation Street  A Granada production.  First shown in 1960, it is the longest-running British TV soap opera.  It is watched by about one-third of the British population  More women than men, by older people, and especially by people from lower socio-economic groups.  It offers a nostalgic perspective on northern industrial working-class life as group-centred, matriarchal, commonsensical and blunt but also warm-hearted.

Coronation Street  It includes strong and positive middle-aged females.  It deals with personal events.  Work away from the home is seldom shown.  People meet in shops and the pub to comment on events.  Life seems to revolve around finding a partner.  The introduction of outsiders to the community is usually presented as a threat.

Coronation Street  It has been criticized for the minimal role of non- whites.  Viewing ratings dropped when an attempt was made to introduce more contemporary themes.  There was then a move towards a lighter, more humorous style.  Rival soaps have led to some attempts to update the style.  However, it has been criticized as having grown old with its audience.  The camerawork and editing is very conventional.  Cutting is largely motivated by dialogue.

Title sequence  With the programme's move into high definition, a new title sequence was commissioned.  Its debut was on the internet on 27th May 2010 on the Coronation Street pages of ITV.com.27th May2010  This sequence incorporated shots of Manchester City Centre, including the Castlefield basin, before dissolving into shots of Coronation Street.Manchester

Coronation StreetCoronation Street's executive producer Kieran Roberts  "In our new titles Coronation Street remains the star but we see it as part of a busy, modern Manchester through our opening shots. The overall feel is livelier, more intimate and more colourful and they look stunning, especially in high definition. We think the new titles have a classy, classic, timeless quality but at the same time feel vibrant, fresh and very contemporary. That combination is exactly what we strive for in the show itself."

Official Corrie Twitter 