Although Soap Operas use the same codes and conventions, Hollyoaks and Coronation Street manipulate them in different ways in order to attract their target audience
Although Soap Operas use the same codes and conventions, Hollyoaks and Coronation Street manipulate them in different ways in order to attract their target audience
Soap operas use issues from everyday lives to attract an audience. In this study I will be researching
the issues and topics from which soap operas create storylines, for example marriage, divorce,
death and teen pregnancy. I will look at the way different soaps look at these issues from various
perspectives because the hypothesis is that the soap Coronation street will tackle issues in a more
older perspective but the soap Hollyoaks will tackle issues in a younger view.
Audiences have many reasons why they watch soap operas. Escapism is a big reason;
people choose to watch soaps to look lives other than their own. It helps viewers to see that their lives
may not be as bad as the characters on television. In addition, sometimes people need to fantasise
about the good things in life, and it gives them hope that it might happen to them. Soap operas also
make audiences feel happy and enjoy the storylines, they get involved in what's happening, so they
watch more and more. Every soap opera needs an audience: without an audience there would be no
need for soap operas, so their job is to make sure they keep their audience interested. Soap Operas
have to keep them interested by writing storylines on everyday issues, similar to those which audiences
have to deal with in their own lives. These issues help people to consider what to do if they need to
deal with them. Soaps look at these issues differently, in different ways, in different environments, and
with different ages, in order to react to reach their target audience.
Looking at Coronation Street and Hollyoaks, both have completely different settings and
characters. Coronation Street's is the longest running television soap opera. The first episode was
released in 1965, 40 years ago. It is set in Manchester, Weatherfield in fictional industrial town, it has
a middle and lower class setting for that particular audience. It is aimed at middle and lower class
people because that is the biggest population in that area, as upper class are just ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
with different ages, in order to react to reach their target audience.
Looking at Coronation Street and Hollyoaks, both have completely different settings and
characters. Coronation Street's is the longest running television soap opera. The first episode was
released in 1965, 40 years ago. It is set in Manchester, Weatherfield in fictional industrial town, it has
a middle and lower class setting for that particular audience. It is aimed at middle and lower class
people because that is the biggest population in that area, as upper class are just a minority group. The
programme is broadcast at either 19.30 or 20.30, 5 times a week. This is when families get home from
work and sit down and relax in front of the television together. But the target audience are more late
teens to old pensioners. So with this type of audience issues need to cover different ages, to interest
different generations; children, teenagers, parents, and grandparents, but also both genders and
Coronation Street try to cover this. On the other hand Hollyoaks is set in Chester; it was first begun in
995. It is broadcast at 18.30 5 days a week and with an omnibus on Sunday at 9.15. This is called the
"Hangover Zone", the morning after a Saturday night, most people that occur in this zone tend to be
8- 30 years old so again the issues need to cover for this range of audience. The Omnibus is significant
because teenagers and older people may miss the episodes in the week as it is at 6.30 when people are
still at work. The soap is at 18.30, this is a time when older people are still at work or travelling home
so the soap needs to tackle issues very differently because it looks at young teens - young adults rather
than the older generation. However some people do not consider the show to be a serious drama when
compared with the bigger soaps such as Eastenders and Coronation Street, partly due to its reputation
for hiring numerous attractive, blonde, ratings-grabbing actresses.
The settings of both soaps are very different too. Coronation Street is set in a traditional street with a
corner shop, a pub, a very local neighbourly place where everyone knows everyone and their business
this is where all the conflict comes in, and the audience become familiar with the characters. Whereas
Hollyoaks, Chester is a bigger setting of a village not just a street. It includes a pub, a shop, a
nightclub, a school and most important a university. The characters are mostly young and beautiful, so
there is many two faced people, where most of the conflict happens. Looking at different characters
from both soaps, you see how different some characters are and some similarities there are.
Two characters a have been looking at are coronation street's Sally Webster and Hollyoaks
new character Kathy Barnes. Both characters are mothers of two teenage girls, and push their girls into
doing things that they want, not what their daughters want. Sally Webster is a very pushy person who
always wants things to go her way. A big story line recently is between her and her14 year old daughter
Rosie. After finding out her daughter was sleeping with boyfriend Craig Harris, Sally forces Rosie to take
the morning after pill, she also insists that Rosie and Craig split up. Being teenagers, they disobey and
continue to stay together without Sally or husband Kevin Webster knowing. This storyline is very
dramatic and covers an issue which concerns a lot of parents today. As an audience you see different
views of the parents and the children and it shows a way of dealing with this kind of issue, or not
choosing this way of dealing with the issue in the way characters have. Both Sally and Kathy have
similar roles being parents of two girls and wanting the best for them. Kathy's recent storyline in
Hollyoaks has shown similar way of wanting the best for her children. She has recently been pushing
her daughter into training extremely hard at swimming. Daughter Sarah loves her swimming but her
mum has been making her hobby into something she doesn't want to do. This storyline may show
people that pushing your child hard into doing something can push them away from you. This shows
that even though both soaps are very different they still have similar storylines and characters. This is
because of the audience, even though the audiences are slightly different they both use these storylines
towards the younger audiences and both soaps deal with everyday issues and both have shown this.
Another two characters I have been looking at are soap star Leanne Battersby and Mandy
Hutchinson. Both characters are a similar age but live two very different lives. Leanne is a troublesome
girl. Ever since she was a teenager she was mouthy and still hasn't changed. She has been married but
that ended and she has also been in the wrong crowds, fleeing coronation street but returning in 2004.
She then got into a relationship with newcomer Jamie Baldwin but later started sleeping with his father
Danny behind his back. After him finding out and leaving Leanne she is now in a relationship with
Danny Baldwin and trying to still be devious and ruin people's lives. Comparing Leanne to Hollyoaks
character Mandy Hutchinson, we can see that she is quite the opposite. Mandy is wife to
Tony and mother to Antonia. Mandy owns the nightclub The Loft and with her degree in business
studies from HCC, she and Tony own a lot of businesses in Hollyoaks. In the past, Mandy has been with
many different guys and with the loss of her father, brother, mother and step father, she became quite
alone but with the help of her husband Tony she is now back on her feet with her own new family.
Even though both characters are the same age they lead very different live.
Audiences see both soaps very differently in the different actors for both soaps. Some people
do not consider Hollyoaks to be a serious drama when compared with the bigger soaps such as
Eastenders and Coronation Street, partly due to its reputation for hiring numerous attractive, blonde,
ratings-grabbing actresses.
