Elsa Chan 003258-014 Rationale Far from being “dumbed down” and melodramatic, soap operas engage with the most serious issues of our society. My documentary seeks to explore how the parameters or conventions of soap operas enable the writers to explore social themes which engage the primarily female viewer. I will also investigate the possibility that soap operas provoke intellectual debate way beyond the negative stereotypical interpretations of the genre in South Korean soaps like “Jewel in the Palace” and “Thank You” and British soaps “Eastenders” and “Coronation Street”. 1 Elsa Chan 003258-014 Visual Audio Fade in [INT] Woman: [reading out loud] “Adults [medium shot] profile of a are decreasingly distinguishable woman sitting in a chair, from children in their absorption reading a newspaper. in entertainments...” [close up on newspaper] you can see the Washington Post “Reading the newspaper, I suddenly newspaper logo. realized that there are so many [mid shot of the woman as she negative portrayals of soap operas looks up to address the that we women love to watch. camera] Actually, I’ve already made a mistake in generalizing by saying [Close up shot] of the man that women are the viewers, or and his name appears on the have I?” bottom of the screen as “host: Elsa Chan”. As the [The Eastenders theme starts narrator (Elsa) talks, the playing and is suddenly stopped camera zooms out and she with a ‘zip’ sound and the starts walking towards a satirical “2DTV” version of kitchen where a woman wearing Eastenders theme plays. It has the an apron is chopping onions same melody, but there are voices and watching TV. that sing what most people think soap operas embody: Elsa sits down on a chair at Sung:“Grumble, grumble, moan, the dining table next to the moan, moan, wallop, slap it, housewife watching TV. punch, sob, sob, sob, boohoo, oink, shouty, shouty, kiss, grope, snog, gossip, gossip, gasp, and end on a cliff hanger!”] Close up shot of the woman Women: My husband always refuses from the kitchen who turns to to watch soaps with me because he the camera and talks: says they’re so formulaic... a talking head of a different “indulging” woman who turns to the camera and grimaces, saying: a talking head of a different “predictable” woman who turns to the camera and grimaces, saying: a talking head of a different “boring” woman who turns to the camera and grimaces, saying: 2 Elsa Chan 003258-014 Visual Audio [Mid-shot] framing Elsa on Elsa: “So some people think that the chair, and the housewife engagement in soap operas means by the counter. A man enters engagement to the most banal form the shot and goes to the of entertainment, fit only for housewife and hugs her, but housewives. That the series are sees the TV screen and his just romantic fiction portrayed in expression is that of the most prolonged and annoyance. unimaginative fashion. But, in fact, it is worthy of study as theorists study melodrama and try to work out how it’s now evolved to become widely watched around the world in different forms and viewership. Fade in from black: Today we will be looking at the Title Card: “Soap Operas and way we are able to engage with You: A study of British and these supposedly “dumbed down” Korean Soaps. forms of entertainment, and the important issues and themes that A map of the world is shown, they tackle. with Korean and Britain Two major exporters of soap operas circled. are Korea and Britain. Both have very distinct styles and are marketed differently, but have A black screen comes on and tremendous audience followings. I the following words appear: use the term “soap opera” loosely “Soap Opera - shows that air here, as the umbrella term for the in peak viewing hours for shows that air in peak viewing women such as noon and night” times for women such as noon time and night. The way soaps are seen as [Medium shot] of the woman in inherently ‘feminine’ and the kitchen, but the palette important in women’s lives is an is black and white, to issue that has roots that go back imitate old hollywood style. a long time. Because in the 1930s, She is washing dishes, and women would be at home during watching TV while fervently domestic hours cleaning, household nodding in agreement to the cleaning product companies like sentiments expressed on the Proctor and Gamble decided it was TV screen. the prime time to advertise their products on air, so these ‘soap’ companies sponsored the serials. 3 Elsa Chan 003258-014 Visual Audio So it’s no surprise that the settings of soap operas are mostly domestic, as the housewives were then able to engage with the characters. But with the rise of feminism, the changing role of women, and evening time slots with a broadening audience, how have soaps been able to keep up and how were they ever relevant? [Mid-shot]of Elsa getting up That is a question which can only from her chair, walking be answered by an investigation of towards the camera] the conventions of soap operas, how they engage a viewer, and the Black screen with the words: intellectual debate sparked from them. “Coronation street - 1960 First off, we will look at British Eastenders - 1985” soap operas. Unlike their highly glamorized American counterparts which lean towards less realistic portrayals of life, British soaps have a distinct realistic style. Black screen with the words: British cinema is known “Empire Marketing Board Film internationally for its Unit (1927-33), established contribution of the Documentary by John Grierson and Stephen Movement, led by John Grierson in Tallents” the 1930s and 1940s. The movement’s ties in wartime and The General Post Office (GPO) postwar propaganda, and patronage Film Unit (1933-39) until it by state-sponsored bodies led to a became the Crown Film Unit firm influence on the aesthetics (1939-52) under the Ministry and institutions. They were used of Information, with not as mere entertainment, but had responsibilities for wartime a role to play in society - to get and postwar propaganda. public sympathy for the working class and demonstrate that they Excerpt from the beginning of were a vital factor of existence. “Housing Problems” (1935 A. Back then, documentaries were not Elton/E. Anstey) accessible for the working class, many establishing shots and thus the richer, more educated snaking through the slums and people watching them formed a living quarters of the ‘public gaze’ on the working working class. It’s black and class. They were interested in white. There are shots of what was beyond the West End of women bating the dust out of London, and documentarists gave blankets next to their shack them images of extreme poverty and in the slums. dirtiness. 4 Elsa Chan 003258-014 Visual Audio [continued from above] The grim aesthetic used in the Dirty children are standing films continued to change and next to the wall in the develop and by the 1950s, the slums, next to much trash on British New Wave marked an era the ground. that focused on even more gritty social realism. The details and A mid shot of a woman sitting minute rituals from the everyday in a wheelchair, with a baby life of ordinary people, to show on her lap, talking to her how they dealt with the social neighbors who are standing in issues. Long takes were popular in a line far off in the back the films of that time so that the ground. details of the textual space could be observed, so that the audience could see the wider problems the working class dealt with. This move changed the way the working class lives were portrayed by making them appear stronger and not as people to be pitied, like back in the Documentary Movement. [talking head shot of Elsa] Though nowadays the portrayal of the working class is quite different, realism is still a strong underlying theme in British cinema that lends itself even to Black screen with the words: its soap operas. “Realism may be mistaken for The cheap production costs, due to cheapness, but soap operas: not being funded by exporting the - have cheap production costs soaps worldwide unlike Korean - are not funded by export soaps, don’t allow for much - bi-weekly showings special effects or lighting etc. But that’s all justified because of the many times that they show per week, and the strict schedule doesn’t allow for the director and [talking head shot of Elsa] cameramen to construct better shots. The basic shots that are employed Picture of the set of are long-time conventions of soap “Eastenders” showing the operas: the multiple camera setup Queen Vic (the pub) and the is used for quick filming, and multiple cameras in sight. they are mostly unmoving shots Picture of: like the documentary and social -the fictional Walford East realism style. We can also call station, looking rundown this ‘kitchen sink drama’, which -the back of the pub, with explores the socio-political graffiti on the walls issues in the trashier side of life, in pubs and poorer homes. 5 Elsa Chan 003258-014 Visual Audio [talking head] shot of Elsa But another reason that the cameras in soaps don’t move as much, or use fancy editing is because the use of new - and therefore alienating - camera angles don’t show what a character is really seeing in the scene. Aerial shots may be used for establishing the place, but if fast editing were used as well, it’d become very unnatural and the CUT TO: Eastenders scene when audience would not be as Mark appears in the kitchen receptive.