The history and background of 'Soap Operas.'

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Michael Smith

Soap Operas

Task 1: History And Background

The following piece of writing is based on the history and background of ‘Soap Operas.’  Commencing with where, when and why they were started. Who was the target audience. Finishing with the key conventions of the genre giving examples.

Soaps first burst on the scene in America in the 1920s to the 1930s. This was when Radio stations sprang up all over the U.S.A. At that time they solely relied on advertising revenue to stay on air.  Companies would sponsor whole programmes as well as using short burst adverts during breaks. This practice would also be used by television companies later on when the first ‘Soap Opera was shown on T.V in 1964. This method of advertising has continued to be used to this day by both forms of media.

  The main target audience for these up and coming radio programmes was identified as being housewives. The reason for this is that back in the 1920’s very few women once married, ever went out to work.  Instead they were expected to stay at home raise families and look after the house and all the responsibilities that went along with it.  One of these responsibilities was shopping. This audience was classed as the ideal one and companies took advantage of this in an attempt to supply household goods such as soap and detergents. Basically, the companies used the radio for commercial and consumer uses.

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The companies selling the goods needed the radio stations to produce a specific type of programme, which would attract a large amount of listeners from their ideal target audience.  This was so that they could get as many housewives as possible to buy their product, enabling them to make vast profits.  They succeeded by making the programme a drama serial based on the home and various domestic situations within it. The serials were made to be melodramatic with touches of romance, tragedy and also with a touch of comedy thrown in for good measure.

 The title  “Soap ...

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