Since the beginning of the genre, viewers were accustomed to seeing their soap operas played by a predominately white cast, but with the increase of diversity in the UK, more and more ethnic minorities are being introduced to allow viewers to relate more to individual characters, families or even a specific plot involving race. For soap operas to continue giving audiences a sense of realism, they in turn have to provide realistic atmospheres and casts, this means having interracial interactions between characters.
How are ethnic families represented in soap operas?
Both soap operas began at completely different points in time, but it is obvious from the start and to this date that Eastenders has embraced ethnicity in a different context to Coronation Street. The highly popular soap was first aired in 1985 and immediately introduced an Asian family’s story as one of the crucial plots at the time. Andrew Johnson played a Bengali store owner who was unhappy in his arranged marriage situation and later left having being disgraced for making illicit phone calls to
women. Coronation Street began its dive into diversity in 1999 with the introduction of Dev Alahan played by Jimmi Harkishin, he also ran the street’s local corner store but not much was given in relation to family or past, he was merely seen behind the store, where he interacted with the community. Since their launches there has been a huge gap in diverse families within both soaps, over the years Eastenders have introduced several ethnic characters including the Jackson Family, Truman and new Ferreira
Family. Although there is a larger sense of community within Coronation Street, the distinctive lack of ethnicity has undoubtedly made the show less popular towards minorities.
Both soaps use various plots, interesting storylines, dramatic cliff-hangers and supply a setting where narrative is drawn upon, example the Queen Vic in Eastenders and The Rover in Coronation Street. What interests me and prompts my initial question as to “How the ethnic families are represented”, is the fact that both soaps avoid direct contact into subjects within the family context which could be easily misinterpreted. Political views and Religion is avoided as much as possible, this could be due to the fact that a storyline into both views even with lengthy research would be treading into grounds that will open doors for many other criticism to representation. It is for this reason that the ethnic families within Eastenders are given the same storylines as those of the white community. It is a huge shame that Coronation Street has not taken the same approach, but instead only have 3% of its characters being minorities and that figure has decreased in recent times. Currently there are only two diverse characters in the soap, Amber Kaliri played by Nikki Patel and Kelly Crabtree played by Tupele Dorgu. Both characters unfortunately are not given centralised plots meaning they do not receive as much airtime as other actors, the plots they are given are very stereotyped, which leads to the next question.
Is There A General Stereotype To These Representations?
. Dev Alahan owning and running a corner store (Coronation Street).
. Saeed Jeffery owning and running a corner store and having an arranged
Marriage (Eastenders).
. Amber Kaliri, Dev’s daughter, good academic results, helps out in the store.
. Kelly Crabtree previous convictions and actually spent time in prison.
. Paul Truman is a featured as a drugs dealer and heavily involved in criminal
Activities.
These are just a few stereotypes I have personally found in observing both soap operas, the implying suggestion of the Asian community running corner stores or the only black character to have a prison conviction are the most obvious way of type casting minorities on television. Counter arguers would comment on the fact that soap operas reflect real life and that there could some understanding in the stereotypes, but in the case of Coronation Street, with a low diverse cast, type casting is a deliberate way to turn the ethnic viewers away. “The average proportion of ethnic faces on Eastenders was nine percent, but the actual minority percentage of the east end is thirty-seven percent, the show is therefore reflecting the east end of forty years ago”, (Crosby, Rebecca: Commission of racial equality spokeswoman: Sunday Mirror 2002).
Although forty years ago, there was a distinctive lack of minorities on our television screen, there was also no type casting to speak off. We are now in a more accepting society and although the level of ethnicity has increased, there is a definite stereotype that follows what and who we watch. Soap operas like Eastenders and Coronation Street do not remove these stigma but instead increase it. In the case of Eastenders, I can notice an admirable attempt to have more minorities depicted and a definite attempt to eliminate the stereotype (This can be seen in the form of Anthony Truman, who is portrayed as an articulate and professional character with a university degree in medicine), although his brother embodies the type cast, its great to see that other characters are then given a different approach to portraying minorities. Whereas Coronation Street has stuck to its principles and kept its character’s stereotypes, Dev still owns and works in the corner store, and Kelly Crabtree’s most noticeable plot surrounds her prison experience and criminal days. It might be debated that most viewers relate to a type of cast and there’s no actual or correct way to portray that cast without stereotyping, in a statement by an Eastenders spokeswoman “People tend to pick on everything about a show, ethnicity is difficult to represent and takes time to correctly portray”, (Eastenders Spokeswoman, Sunday Mirror 2002).
After carefully analysing both soaps, I would say Eastenders provides more in terms of diversity in its community, there are definite central plots aimed at a different minorities and although there are still elements of stereotypes within it, the show does not fail to deliver interesting storylines that are not only centred around white characters but other ethnics also. I find Coronation Street lacking in the understanding of modern society and also of the setting in which the show is based on. There is very little attempt to incorporate ethnicity within the plots and when there is a reference, it is a general stereotype based on what the director deems to be real life.
It is a shame that a highly popular soap opera like Coronation has been running for so long and still has not abandoned the way television was viewed years ago, but instead retains its predominate white cast and settles for a strict type of audience with little allocation for anyone else. Several small changes could see more ethnic audiences taking notice of the show, but until these changes are made, the show’s creators will find that, myself included more and more minorities will be watching it’s biggest competitor, Eastenders.
Sources
. Sunday Mirror 2002
(http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20020421 /ai_n12842465)
. (Making Sense Of Television) by Livingston S
. Eastenders fact and history (www.bbc.co.uk/Eastenders/)
. Coronation Street fact and history (www.itv.com/coronation street/)
. (British Television - A Reader) by Edward Buscombe
