Realism and ideology in British and American soap opera
Soap Operas are generally described as being 'more realistic' than crime and fantasy-based dramas. There is a longstanding tradition towards social realism in British Soap, that is, a 'warts and all' presentation of the world as people experience it, rather than an idealised version of reality. These Social realist Soaps explore lives and social issues that seem broadly 'realistic', even if the idea that all these issues could arise in one small place seems rather unlikely.
This tradition is less apparent in Soaps from other countries. For example, American soaps like Dallas and Dynasty are very glamorous, presenting an idealised view of the world rather than a realistic one.
Characters are immaculately presented, beautiful and successful - here, audiences watch to escape real life, not to see it presented on screen. Light entertainment Soaps, such as Neighbours and Home and Away, seem to adopt the middle ground, being more realistic than many American soaps, but presenting issues in a less confrontational, "gritty" way than British soaps.
Some Soaps use elements of more than one style. Hollyoaks, for example, sometimes appears to be social realist, but also adopts the light entertainment approach of Neighbours, which it's younger audience finds more enjoyable.
Every element of a Soap contributes to its overall realism, including characters, storylines, setting, scripts
and production elements such as music, lighting and camera work.
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