The Survival of Soap Opera (2025)

The Soap Opera Paradigm: Television Programming and Corporate Priorities

Canadian Journal of Communication, 2006

The argument of this book unfolds in two stages. First, since roughly the early 1980s, forms and conventions associated with the soap opera have become more prevalent across the full range of television programming (sports, news, drama) and across all time slots (afternoon, prime time, weekends). Second, this transformation is attributable to changes in ownership of the main U.S. networks in that same time period and is intended to guarantee corporate profitability. The author, who is chair of the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Windsor, builds his argument through a series of case studies: an examination of sports (World Wrestling Entertainment and baseball), of news (coverage of natural disasters and political campaigns), and of reality TV (in particular Boot Camp). These studies are finely observed with a lot of interesting information. In each case, the author finds that in the time period under consideration, soap opera elements that had previously been absent or marginal acquired a greater importance, such that, in the present day, it becomes fair and reasonable to speak of a "soap opera paradigm" when discussing U.S. network television content. The soap opera elements in question are (1) "seriality," the use of cliffhangers and teasers to keep audiences glued to the narrative; (2) "real time orientation," the keying of diegetic events to the rhythms of daily life, civic holidays, births, deaths, et cetera, as well as "camera motion.. . designed to resemble the perception of an actual event" (p. 36); (3) "seeming intimacy/play orientation," the cultivation of a sense of knowing "insiderness" among viewers and a simultaneous encouragement to gossip about characters and events (for example, exchanges around reality programs); (4) "story exposition," the highly redundant construction of the soap opera narrative that gives viewers a feeling of omniscience and also allows them to appreciate the narrative ironically (for example, they can acknowledge and revel in the absurdities of many soap opera plots); and (5) "soap opera themes," the focus on interpersonal conflict (love/hate relations), the ritualistic repetition of conflicts, and the projection of "the good life." Overall, this seems like a reasonable breakdown of the contemporary soap

Popular Culture Forms: Soap Operas

The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2022

Book Review: James H. Wittebols (2004) The Soap Opera Paradigm: Television Programming and Corporate Priorities, Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield. ISBN 0742520013

Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture, 2006

In this thought-provoking book, James Wittebols has made a serious contribution to current debates on the media, not only in the USA to which the work is addressed, but internationally. His argument is that, because it is commercially successful, the soap opera has become the dominant format for the US television. This, he argues, applies across all genres from sports, to drama, and to news coverage of elections and politics.

The R Ise and Fall of the Domestic Soap Opera in Ital Ian Public and Commercial Televis Ion

2017

Prior to the mid-nineties, Italian television did not produce any soap operas. Daytime serials were imported mainly from the USA. Unexpectedly, the most commercial television genre was produced for the first time by the public service broadcaster: Un posto al sole was aired by RAI in 1996. The commercial competitor Mediaset immediately responded with Vivere in 1998 and CentoVetrine in 2001. Un posto al sole still airs today, while both Mediaset’s soaps were cancelled. The paper focuses on the rise and fall of domestic long-running daytime serials, on the different choices taken by the two competitors and on the perspectives opened up by the genre on Italian TV schedules.

Days of Italian lives: Charting the contemporary soapscape on Italian public television

The Italianist 28 (2009)

This article explores the artistic legitimation process of U.S. daytime soap operas through analysis of commentary published in The New York Times from 1930 to 2010. While soap operas gained economic legitimacy over time (due to profit-earning potential) and were popular with audiences, they were never widely classified as an " art " form. Through examination of 3 aspects of The New York Times articles—tone of critical commentary, viewership of critical commentary, and themes of critical commentary—we explore the role of evaluative press coverage in the validation, or lack thereof, of the soap opera form. Implications for the decline of the genre are also discussed.

Soap Operas and Artistic Legitimation: The Role of Critical Commentary

Communication, Culture & Critique, 2015

This article explores the artistic legitimation process of U.S. daytime soap operas through analysis of commentary published in The New York Times from 1930 to 2010. While soap operas gained economic legitimacy over time (due to profit-earning potential) and were popular with audiences, they were never widely classified as an "art" form. Through examination of 3 aspects of The New York Times articles-tone of critical commentary, viewership of critical commentary, and themes of critical commentary-we explore the role of evaluative press coverage in the validation, or lack thereof, of the soap opera form. Implications for the decline of the genre are also discussed.

The study of soap opera

2005

Title Soap Operas and Artistic Legitimation : The Role of Critical Commentary Permalink

2015

This article explores the artistic legitimation process of U.S. daytime soap operas through analysis of commentary published in The New York Times from 1930 to 2010. While soap operas gained economic legitimacy over time (due to profit-earning potential) and were popular with audiences, they were never widely classified as an "art" form. Through examination of 3 aspects of The New York Times articles-tone of critical commentary, viewership of critical commentary, and themes of critical commentary-we explore the role of evaluative press coverage in the validation, or lack thereof, of the soap opera form. Implications for the decline of the genre are also discussed.

Women and Soap-Operas: Popularity, Portrayal and Perception

In the multi-media world of today, television has emerged as an important instrument of transmission of knowledge and information. Working as a complimentary agent to other sources, television has enhanced the process of change by providing timely information about education, hygiene, health, customs and so on. The purpose of television is to inform, educate and entertain its viewers. Television, because of its predominance of visual movement has the capacity of bringing the world into the living room with great authenticity and efficacy. As a result of this, television has a more profound and persuasive impact on its viewers, particularly women. Women are treated as " special audience groups " , so that appropriate measures can be taken to cater to their propensities and inclinations. In this context, problems and issues pertaining to women are shown regularly on television in different programmes. Soap operas are one of the most popular genres on television and as a cultural produce, this format is extremely popular among the masses. Soap-operas, inevitably, have attracted a large and loyal fan base. Soaps enjoy a momentous and immense popularity among the contemporary society and they have found a place for themselves and also allow a multiplicity of interpretations to suit the diverse tastes of the dominant Indian middle class.