Page 61 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

CHAPTER 3

wants him to stay away from her. Dru caught Devon trying to steal money
from her purse to give to Yolanda. J.T. continued to help Bobby bring down
Vinny. Michael asked Paul to get info on Lauren’s son, Scott. 15

A major theme that emerges in these storylines is contending with
change. In the world of the soap opera, extraordinary things happen
to ordinary people: car accidents, hurricanes, medical emergencies,
and criminal assaults such as blackmail, theft, and murder. Soap opera
characters are striving to establish some degree of equilibrium in this
rapidly changing world.
In addition, soap opera plots typically focus on relationships. In all of
the capsule summaries above, couples are engaged in romantic quests for
true love. These programs include all of the stages of a romance: the bliss-
ful beginning, trouble in paradise, and resolution. However, a cumulative
message that emerges from these plots is that happiness is fleeting.
Beyond romantic love, the soap opera plots reinforce the value of rela-
tionships, particularly issues around children. Significantly, a number of
plots deal with the separation of mothers and children (through death or
abduction), despite the efforts of the women to hold on to their children.
In the worldview of soap operas, the key to survival is a clear sense of
identity. Numerous subplots deal with the issue of identity: “lost” relatives,
cases of amnesia, and inheritance issues. In this rapidly changing world, the
protagonists are unable to see the motives of the villainous characters.

Subplots

Subplots may appear to be unrelated; however, because the characters
operate within the same worldview, subplots often comment on differ-
ent aspects of the same thematic concerns. Consequently, identifying
thematic connections between subplots can furnish a perspective into
the cumulative messages contained in a program.
To cite an example, in a 2004 episode of The Amazing Race, the seven
remaining teams headed to Egypt. During this leg of the journey, the
teams chose between leading camels by horse to the Pit Stop or pulling
heavy blocks for several hundred feet. The episode consisted of the fol-
lowing subplots:

• The brothers drag behind because Marshall can no longer run with
his bad knees.

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