Other worlds: society seen through soap opera

310 Pages·1999·0.89 MB·English

by  Dorothy Catherine Anger

Other Worlds : Society Seen Through Soap
title:
Opera
author: Anger, Dorothy C.
publisher: Broadview Press
isbn10 | asin: 1551111039
print isbn13: 9781551111032
ebook isbn13: 9780585311777
language: English
Soap operas--Social aspects--United States,
subject
Soap operas--Social aspects--Great Britain.
publication date: 1999
lcc: PN1992.8.S4A54 1999eb
ddc: 791.45/6
Soap operas--Social aspects--United States,
subject:
Soap operas--Social aspects--Great Britain.
Page 3
Other Worlds
Society Seen Through Soap Opera
Dorothy Anger
© 1999 Dorothy Anger
All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without prior written consent of the
publisheror in the case of photocopying, a licence from CANCOPY (Canadian
Copyright Licensing Agency) 6 Adelaide Street East. Suite 900. Toronto. Ontario,
M5C 1H6is an infringement of the copyright law.
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Anger, Dorothy C. (Dorothy Catherine), 1954
Other worlds : society seen through soap opera
ISBN 1-55111-103-9
1. Soap operas Social aspects United States. 2. Soap operas Social aspects Great
Britain. 1. Title.
PN1992.8.S4A533 1998 791.45'6 C98-932270-x
Broadview Press Ltd., is an independent, international publishing house,
incorporated in 1985.
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www.broadviewpress.com
www.broadviewpress.com
Broadview Press gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Book
Publishing Industry Development Program, Ministry of Canadian Heritage,
Government of Canada.
Composition by George Kirkpatrick.
PRINTED IN CANADA
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To my parents, George and Ruby Anger
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Contents
Preface 9
Acknowledgements 11
Notes to the Text 12
The Soaps 13
Chapter One: Introduction: The History of the Soaps 15
Chapter Two: The Theory of the Practice 39
Chapter Three: The Art of the Soaps I: The Production 59
Machine
Chapter Four: The Art of the Soaps II: Actors, Characters, 87
and Stories
Chapter Five: Spinning Dreams or Living Life: Messages 105
of the Soaps
Chapter Six: Conclusion: Who Watches, Why, and What 127
Soaps Tell Us About Ourselves
Appendix A: Soaps' Most Daring Stories 145
Notes 149
References 165
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Preface
We do not live in this world alone, but in a thousand other worlds. The events
of our lives represent only the surface, and in our minds and feelings we live
in many other worlds.
ORIGINAL OPENING WORDS OF ANOTHER WORLD
There was a book a few years ago . . . which purported to trace all the
influences that had led me into writing [Coronation Street]. It took five of
them to do it, and it took one of me to write it, and this one couldn't
understand what they were going on about . . . I've read criticism of
Coronation Street that has sent me running to the dictionary, and still been
none the wiser. People have tried to turn it into something more important
than what it is. It's entertainment. . . . They run the risk of spoiling it. Some of
the questions you've asked me, I wonder if you'd ask a conjurer how his
illusions work!
TONY WARREN, CREATOR OF CORONATION STREET IN AN
INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR
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Acknowledgements
Many people have helped me with this project from its inception as a
radio documentary to a university course and now a book. Ideas, the
national CBC Radio documentary programme, provided the
opportunity and means for me to research soaps on both sides of the
Atlantic. Special thanks to executive-producer Bernie Lucht and St.
John's producer Maureen Anonsen. Many soap actors, producers,
technicians, publicists, and magazine editors in New York and
throughout England went out of their way to help me, and for this I
thank them all.
Don LePan, publisher of Broadview Press, suggested I write a book
on this topic. I thank him for this and for the unfailing support he and
copublisher Michael Harrison have given me. The production and
editorial assistance of Barbara Conolly, Betsy Struthers, and Terry
Teskey has been invaluable. They cheerfully kept the project on track
despite some considerable logistical nightmares.
I thank Dr. Priscilla Renouf, former head of the Anthropology
Department at Memorial University, and Department Secretary
Marilyn Marshall for encouraging me to develop the material into a
popular culture course and ensuring that I did it. Faculty and staff of
the Anthropology and Sociology Departments and the School of
Continuing Education have given every assistance and support to me.
Friends and mentors George and Alice Park and Chris Brookes read
early drafts of the manuscript, and their comments were of great help
in clarifying and improving it. Other friends contributed to the book
and my life, among them Geralyn Lynch, the O'Brien family, Gary
Wilton, Judy Dwyer, Vince Walsh, Marilyn Snow, and Michael Finlay.
Thank you.
I am truly gratified for the constant support I receive from my parents,
sister Onalee Ogglesby, brother Allan Anger, and their families.
Cedric and Jamie were my four-footed advisors during most of this
writing. When they passed away, Elsie and Jack took on the job. They
have been assisted by Doug, Spam, and Sid.
Thanks to all who gave me their thoughts on the business of
storytelling. Without those insights, I would not have learned about
the world of
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soaps. However, responsibility for errors and inaccuracies is solely
mine.
"Bingo and Another World" is reprinted courtesy of the estate of Rex
Hemeon. Drumhead Music, 1979.
Notes to the Text
Direct quotations in the text when not referenced to a printed source
or interview are from personal comments made to the author in
conversation with various anonymous sources.
The roles of actors and the positions of writers, producers, and other
personnel were accurate at time of interviews.