Soap Operas: 101

"I think people like stories that continue so they can relate to these people. They become like a family, and the viewer becomes emotionally involved. There seem to be two attitudes by viewers. One, that the stories are similar to what happened to them in real life, or two, thank goodness that isn't me." 

-H. Wesley Kenney, Executive Producer of General Hospital (1988)

New York Times Magazine, 2 April 1988

I love music just as much as the next person.  I also love TV, romance, and stories that get you hooked.  But what happens when the two are combined?

For my SFL 358 class, we are doing a "Coding Analysis Project."  We were required to pick a topic, and then something in the media to code.  For example (and this is not my group's project): listen to music for two hours and coding lyrics based on references to alcohol or drugs.

I don't want to give my group's project away (and quite frankly it's irrelevant to this post) but we have been watching a TV series that is not really my favorite.  But remember what I said earlier about liking music, TV, romance, and a good story?  Yeah.

Problem #1: I don't even care about the characters, and yet I do.  I want to keep watching, but I don't at the same time.  I am beginning to feel some kind of emotional connection to the characters.

Problem #2: The stories are not the most happy, and it has been affecting my mood, and I'm making up silly excuses to watch it.

Problem #3: It's a friggin soap opera - for teenagers!  The show is not even that good (in my opinion), and I don't support it in anyway (what it supports and preaches).

Problem #4: This is the biggest problem - I am frustrated with myself.  I know all these things.  No, I am not watching it for pleasure - but I am getting some kind of enjoyment out (ridiculous)!

So - what do I do about it?  Or what can WE do about it individually?

To get off the topic of ME for a minute, I want to address the general public.  What shows do we watch that are characteristic of soap operas?  I'm not talking about the obvious choices, i.e., Days of Our Lives, Guiding Light, or The Young and the Restless.  Think hard about this, because most likely you watch at least one.

Back to me!  Here are some of my "guilty pleasure" shows - in other words SOAP OPERAS:

• The Vampire Diaries
• The Good Wife
• Bones
• Dallas
• Nashville

This is not an extensive list, just examples (and please note that I have quit watching all of these for specific reasons).  Each one of these shows has a continuing storyline, a romantic relationship (or more), and DRAMA of some kind.  So what attracts us to those things??  And why do we willfully choose to indulge ourselves??

For me, I am able to get out of my uneventful life and focus on someone else's problems and adventures.  It is nice to get out of your own skin every now and then.

But the problem I find in each one of these shows - including the one I am currently coding for for class - is this: they hook you in; snatch on to one of your "weaknesses"; hit you in the gut with an emotional story - we find something in them that we relate to, find interesting, have something we want (or something we can't have).

Are those good qualities?  I refer to them as carnal desires.

I was talking to my husband about this, explaining to him that I've been in kind of a slump all day because one of the shows I was watching was very heart-wrenching.  I wanted the characters to be happy, and was rooting for them.  But I was letting myself become consumed by their emotions - and they are not even real stories or people, it is a fictional show.  I found myself doing research on how the season ended, what happened, and what the "buzz" or "hype" was after such a dramatic turn of events.  I was listening to sad music, not being productive, and getting WAY too wrapped up in something I claim to not care about.

I had to snap out of it.  So guess what I did?

Thank you, Blake Shelton for having upbeat, in-your-face, happy music!!  What was I doing being so overwhelmed with frustration and sadness??  How often do we let the media overrun us and control our emotions?  That's why I had to quit watching those shows listed above - they were affecting my emotions, moods, and attitude more than I should have let them.  Are YOU watching something that is bringing you down in some way?  To quote President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Stop it!" (kind of out of context, but you get the idea.. hopefully..)

Let this be a small lesson in self-regulation (for me anyway).