Monday, 7/21/97 The daily cleansing Soap operas provide
aficionados with a way to deal with the hum-drum reality of
day-to-day existence, an escape from reality, and a measure of
comparison to their lives.
By Michelle Navarro Daily Bruin Contributor When "Days Of Our
Lives" character Kristen Blake tried desperately to get John Black
to believe a multitude of lies, Cooperage audiences were aghast
with disbelief. Soap operas, the daytime dramas notorious for
delivering twisted plots of steamy love triangles, faked deaths,
kidnappings, vicious blackmailing, and sex scandals appear to have
a powerful, hypnotic attraction that engulfs a victim and never
lets go – for years and years. "I started watching soaps when I
could realize what a TV was," said Kaecia Curtis, a Parking and
Commuter Services employee who watched soap operas at the Cooperage
while grabbing a bite to eat. What is it about these daily doses of
fantasy that keeps people enthralled everyday, year after year? Is
it solely to see if "All My Children" ‘s Tad will marry Gloria, or
if Stefano and Kristen will ever leave John and Marlena alone on
NBC’s "Days of Our Lives"? Apparently not. Many viewers who
religiously follow a soap agree that the plot lines tend to lean to
the fantastical and predictable side. But they continue to watch
anyway, for other reasons. "They’re not real," said Angelica
Garcia, a fourth-year psychology student. "I watch ‘Days’ and
there’s been such nutty things going on. It’s not like I like
what’s going on in them, I mean the same thing could be going on
for a couple of years. You can get hooked on them." "I watch
because I like looking at someone else’s life besides mine and
being thankful for what I have," Curtis said. Or perhaps others opt
to frequent the soap zone simply because Kelly from "One Life To
Live" has a more interesting life to live. The only way to escape
the regular, day-to-day monotony is to watch perfect models on
television do nothing but bicker, get married three times or die
and then somehow come back to life. "I guess they’re engaging to
the extent that they talk about people’s lives – the drama, sex,"
said Michael Suman, a communications studies professor. "Usually
they’re much more exciting than people’s lives – the drudgery of
day-to-day lives. It’s like reading a romance novel." Just how
drama-packed are they? According to a study done by Soap Opera
Digest, a weekly magazine full of soap synopsis, in just two weeks
worth of episodes, "Another World" had over 10 physical assaults,
"Days of Our Lives" had 12 incidents of eavesdropping, and "Guiding
Light" ‘s Annie regularly shouted 10 to 30 times per show. "I don’t
think they’re real at all. Take "Days" for example – a woman
possessed by demons? Or one husband thought his wife died, so he
married another woman, but then it turned out the wife didn’t
really die," said Mark Wu, a third-year biochemistry student.
"People watch because people love to live in fantasies. People only
love something they can’t have. If they have it, then they don’t
love it anymore," Wu said. "A fantasy is something they can’t have
so they love it." The opportunity to escape boring reality and live
in "Another World" where the characters are seldom seen eating,
reading a book, going to work, or watching T.V. contributes to the
magnetism that soaps have with viewers. "People like to escape and
deal with the entertainment and sensationalistic stuff," Suman
said, "and they’ll get it in one place or another, either from
O.J., a romance novel, or a soap opera." The fact that soaps are on
five days out of the week also contributes to their affinity. Soaps
provide a never-ending story that continuously leaves viewers
hanging on and wanting more. However, other UCLA students have
different opinions on the dedication of so much time to these
overwhelming sagas. "Soap operas never end. If you watch Superman,
you have one storyline per episode," Wu continued, "if you watch a
soap opera, it just drags on and on." "They’re stupid, I don’t see
why they make them so long," Garcia said, "In Spanish, it just
takes three months and it’s over. In English, it keeps hanging for
years and years. I’m going to die and it’ll still be going on."
Daytime soaps are seen everywhere, in different languages and parts
of the world. Is it dangerous for so many people to watch these
hour-long, action-packed episodes, given that gross expectations of
society and everyday life that could develop? "I think on the one
hand people get ideas about love, romance and relationships from
TV, sitcoms, and the media – they give people a frame of
reference," Suman explained, "but then people ask ‘why isn’t my
life this exciting?’" "On the other hand, soap operas are so over
the top, people know they aren’t realistic, they just enjoy it like
a kind of trashy novel," he said. Whether fans realize or not how
distant the soap opera portrayal of life is from reality, the
devotion people have for daytime drama will never die. "I’m going
to watch for the rest of my life," Curtis said, "I even watch
Chinese soap operas." CHARLES KUO/Daily Bruin "General Hospital" is
a crucial part of third-year student Heidi Arriola’s daily routine
(left). Her partner today in the depths of the Coop is Linda
Calvillo, a third-year physiological science student. CHARLES
KUO/Daily Bruin Joanne Park, recent Music graduate, divides her
attention between two televisions at the Cooperage. Related Site:
Soap Dish (TV Guide)