characters have to change themselves or have a reversal in fortune. An example of this is when Jack and Vera from Coronation Street inherited about 10,000 after years of just making enough money to make ends meet.A large part of the soap opera’s appeal is that the audience feel like they are in the living room with the characters, as if they are friends with them. This is achieved by placing an emphasis on dialogue, problem solving and intimate conversation as well as the sets being designed on a small scale so that the cameras are right in there with the actors.One of the oldest generic characteristics which stems back to the Soap Opera’s origins on the radio is that of the matriarch. There is always a strong female character driving the narrative. She is always there as the voice of wisdom and central in problem – solving. In modern day soaps it has become a characteristic to have a male character as a “sensitive man”. Alex Duval discussed this in his article in the Guardian, “ Ms Livingstone says women in British soaps are far more positively portrayed than men. “ The women are strong, down to earth characters whereas the men are weak, sometimes petty criminals, who need women to keep them on the straight and narrow” she says”(Alex Duval Smith, Guardian, Education, Nov1 1994) Examples of these characters in Coronation Street at the moment are Rita Sullivan, who although was only a foster parent for a short time several years ago, is full of maternal wisdom that the whole street take advantage of. Vickram Desai is an example of the sensitive man who needs a woman to keep him “on the straight and narrow”. It is this social realism, which is constructed so successfully in British soap operas that is the attraction for the British audiences, although I believe that Eastenders is now being broadcast on a New York cable television station and is building up an American audi...
