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realism in british soap opera

realism in british soap opera Using a media text as a key example, evaluate selected techniques of fictional production which contribute to a sense of realism consistent with genre or format used. Many have defined the term realism but these definitions by Watt and Williams can be easily applied to my choice of media text, which is the British soap opera. Fiske writes that Watt and Williams “….tend to define it by its content. Watt traces its origins to the rise of the novel in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.” And Williams “…whose historical perspective covers the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, lists three main characteristics of realism in drama: he finds that it has a contemporary setting, that it concerns itself with secular action … and that it is “socially extended”. ( Television Culture, John Fiske, Routledge, 1997, P.21 – 22) To expand on Williams’ three characteristics, the contemporary setting means that the drama should be set in the present day or at least modern times that the present audience are likely to have lived in. When the drama “concerns itself with secular action” this means that the events that take place within the drama are about people and described in human terms. The term “socially extended” means that the events in the drama revolve around the lives of ordinary people and not kings or social leaders. Williams definition can be seen to relate to the working class and their experience of subordination in industrial society. These are three of the generic characteristics found in the British soap opera. Coronation Street is one of Britain’s most successful soap operas where all of these characteristics can be seen clearly. The contemporary setting can be seen through the iconography used such as the modern cars, the clothes and issues that are discussed in the programme such as general elections. In soap opera this contemporary setting goes further than just modern day, they like to appear as if to be on the same day as the audience watching. This is achieved by covering the general elections as mentioned and characters making reference to the weekend in a Friday episode. The “Secular Action” in Coronation Street is clear as the narrative is character driven and the events are always seen from the characters point of view. “Secular Action“ is particularly prevalent in Coronations street rather than the other big soaps such as Brookside and Eastenders because Coronation Street relies on its characters for its narrative rather than big explosions and car chases that can be seen in the others. The “Socially extended” characteristic can be seen with most of the main characters working in the factory or pub. Although characters are present that wouldn’t be strictly defined as “working class” such as Mike Baldwin who owns the factory or Natalie Barnes who owns the pub, in Coronation Street it is important to note that these characters are easily immediately visible to the working class. Many commentators compare British Soaps with American soaps when discussing Realism. “ Realism is one of those words, like morality or wealth, whose definition is subjective. On the soaps reality is an artificial thing that is always being manipulated for the plot’s benefit… British soaps work in a naturalistic context which the American soaps do not attempt…..the British go for what I might call a “flattened” reality, a middle brow nuts and bolts, everyday sort of reality.” (All For Love, A Study in Soap Opera, Peter Buckingham, Secker & Warberg 1984, p.45) American Soap Operas such as Dallas or Dynasty are set in a contemporary setting but they are not concerned with secular action. These soaps rely on extravagant story – lines, a famous one being one character being abducted by aliens – this is not the typical experience of the working class as discussed by Williams. These American Soaps also don’t conform to the “Socially extended” characteristic of realism that Williams discusses. All of the characters in these soaps are very wealthy and live in huge mansions, certainly not accessible to the working class. Christine Geraghty discusses the function of using the working class in soaps. “ Both programmes (Brookside and Eastenders) also use class as a way of developing characters and engaging the audience. The majority of the characters are working class and while that does not make them automatically sympathetic or correct in their judgements, the audience is invited to understand the programmes from that class perspective.” ( C. Geraghty to be continued, Soap Operas from around the world, Routledge 1995, Edited by Robert C. Allen) In British soaps, “Social Realism” is used, this is more specific to portraying the real lives of the working class and is a major characteristic in soap, “ ..the genre of Social Realism demands that life should be presented in the form of a narrative of personal events, each with a beginning, a middle and an end, important to the central characters concerned but affecting others in only minor ways.” ( Television Monograph Coronation Street, Richard Dyer et al, BFI Publishing 1981 p.28) There are more generic characteristics of Soap opera, these are related to the way the programme makers achieve “Naturalism” in the programme. The term naturalism is slightly easier to understand. It is simply the idea that everything that can be seen in shot looks “normal”. For example in Soap Opera naturalism is achieved by making the sets look like typical houses or pubs or factories, the characters wear normal everyday clothes and the lighting is set to look like normal domestic lighting even small touches such as washing up in the sink or a ketchup bottle on the dinner table contribute to this sense of naturalism. Another part of naturalism is in the characters themselves. In order to appear “normal” they must speak with the appropriate dialect and behave in a very normal manner. For example, they couldn’t begin dancing and singing in the street without the audience questioning the realism of the show. Other generic characteristics include the open texts; this is where the audience are able to read into the programme in different ways, when one reading is not dominant. The serial form is a characteristic of soap opera. This means that soaps are ongoing and resist narrative closure. In practise this means that even though a particular plot may have been wrapped up, it is still on going in the sense that it can be referred to weeks later. There are multiple narrative strands. This is different storylines, usually up to 5 or 6, acting simultaneously. Linked to this, these multiple strands are usually distinct from each other. All soap operas have many characters, none being the main character as in films. Time parallels real time in soaps, the audience are made to feel that the action continues with or without the audience. Fiske discusses this,” This means that the time taken to perform an action on television coincides precisely with the time taken to perform it in “real life” – dead time in the middle cannot be edited out as it is on film. This….adds subtly to the sense of realisticness, the sense that the camera is merely recording what happened.” (John Fiske Television Culture, Routledge 1997, p.22-23) Another generic characteristic is that characters change or have reversals in fortune this is to keep the audience interested in their lives. If a character seems to just have a constant run of bad luck, the audience will get bored eventually, and so the 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 audience at the moment. These audiences of British soaps enjoy this realism because they can see their favourite characters experiencing problems that they are facing or have faced. “ What the reviewers identify as realistic on the soaps is their concern for social issues: breast cancer, sterility, foster care and so forth.”( All For Love, A Study in Soap Opera, Peter Buckingham, Secker & Warberg 1984, p.178) These storylines are what the audience perceive to be realistic and when the programme makers cover issues such as rape and teenage pregnancy, it is often labelled “gritty realism”. However it is not often commented the fact that several of these terrible things all happening within a small time frame to one family, which is commonly found in most soaps, is actually quite unlikely and therefore unrealistic. This usage of several dramatic storylines simultaneously, may be unrealistic but it is absolutely necessary to maintain the audience, which is after all what the programme makers are there to do. If these programme makers decided to make a completely realistic soap opera of an average street in a working class area. Nowadays they would find little interaction with neighbours, rare chance meetings with friends on the street or the pub on the corner, and nowhere near as much drama. There have been some interesting discussions by feminists about the storylines in Soap Operas, “ As a rule, only those issues which can be tolerated and ultimately pardoned are introduced on soaps. The list includes careers for women, abortions, pre-marital and extra-marital sex, alcoholism, and divorce, mental and even physical cruelty. An issue like homosexuality, which perhaps threatens to explode the family structure rather than temporarily disrupt it, is simply ignored.” (Feminist Television Criticism, A Reader, Charlotte Brunsdon et al, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1997 p.39) This omission of an issue such as homosexuality can be seen as unrealistic because obviously there are gay people in the world, and if a soap opera is supposed to portray a real “slice of life” then they should include gay people in it. Marxist feminists believe that the reason for this is because homosexuality threatens the bourgeois ideal of a nuclear family with two parents and their children living together, which is more effective and efficient for the ruling class. This means that the father and provider has the responsibility of his family and is not likely to “ step out of line” in terms of going against the grain and feeling any revolutionary desires because he cannot afford to lose his job. This is the way that Marxist feminists believe the programme makers (who are part of this powerful ruling class) feel and so they influence their audience by not acknowledging or advocating homosexuality because it isn’t productive in terms of the non-threatening work force. It can be argued that this isn’t the case and gay people have appeared in soap operas, this is true, but these characters are not simply gay people getting on with their lives as productive and valuable members of society. It is always a big storyline and ratings puller when the audience knows that a character is going to announce their sexuality. Then after the “outing” there would be lots of attention dedicated to their problems because of their sexuality and soon after, they inevitably disappear. This is probably the programme – makers answer to the criticism that they ignore homosexuality. Now they include it but dwell on its disruptiveness in the community. This isn’t to say that the programme makers demonstrate how a typical nuclear family live in constant harmony, “ It is important to recognise that soap operas serve to affirm the primacy of the family not by presenting an ideal family, but by portraying a family in constant turmoil and appealing to the spectator, to be understanding and tolerant of the many evils which go on within that family.” ( Feminist Television Criticism, A Reader, Charlotte Brunsdon et al, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1997 p.39) In terms of the technical production of soap operas adding to the feel of naturalism, the style usually includes static, unobtrusive camera shots with little tracking, the use of flat lighting with no shadows, continuity editing, naturalistic sets and no diegetic music. (The only use of music is usually a strong signature tune) Also the programme makers make use of close up shots and extreme close ups regularly. This allows the audience to share the feelings and emotions that the characters are feeling as if they are stood in front of them. When these soaps are successful in portraying real life, they have an educational value as well. This can be seen when issues are covered such as AIDS or breast cancer. It is important for soaps to educate about these issues, because of their massive audience. In most cases this audience won’t feel as though they are receiving these messages from their favourite characters but will take this knowledge on board which they may not have done had they read an article about the issues in a newspaper. An example of an important issue that was covered in Eastenders and showed just how successful the soaps are at educating their audience is when Mark Fowler discovered he was HIV positive and then told his family about it. It was reported that the day after this episode was aired, more people went to be tested for HIV than on any other day on record. An incident that shows the other side of this successful portrayal of the real was reported in the Guardian, “…. Some fans find the dividing line between fact and fiction blurred. A record 29 million people watched an episode of Coronation Street in which Alan Bradley – who had been beating his wife Rita – was run over by a tram. After he had been “killed off” Mark Eden, who played Alan, was hit over the head with an umbrella in a shop. Viewers have also been known to send wreaths to television companies after characters have “died.””( Alex Duval Smith, Guardian, Education, Nov1 1994) In conclusion, the techniques used to contribute to sense of realism in the British soap opera include the three characteristics that Williams outlines. These are the use of a contemporary setting, the soap must concern itself with secular action and the soap should be socially extended. Other techniques that soap opera makers employ are the use of naturalism in the sets and characters, the time paralleling real time, the coverage of everyday issues as well as the big issues which actually happen very rarely but are very real. However the programme makers occasionally fail in their attempts to portray the real with the omission of gay characters and the closeness of all the residents of their particular area, which in real life is virtually non-existent. Bibliography:

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