How Soap Opera's construct and portray reality. (Re-Write)

We studied the context of two soap dramas, which were Hollyoaks and Eastenders. I analyzed many things such as the themes, mise-en-scene, storyline s, stereotypes etc.

The themes most commonly used in soap operas/dramas are: -Death/Murder -Relationships/Love -Bullying -School -Lying/Stealing -Teenage problems -Depression -Fighting -Love Triangles -Betrayal


The target audience for soap operas are generally working class women, due to their stereotypical love of drama and gossip.



Themes are used to create something to make the audience interested in the programme. Themes are also used to help join different types of media together. Most soap operas would use many different types of themes within one episode or segment to tackle different types of issues existing in real life. Soap operas are usually made for the middle and lower classed families, and consists of characters that come from that demographic to help the audience emphasise with the situations. Usually the themes that are used within soap operas are taboo subjects which mean it’s good, because it speaks of subjects that many people do not really want to speak about. There are such subjects and themes that soap operas tackled, and brought in a new era of television for that subject, you could possibly say they sparked a phenomenon, as soap operas were the first to cover gay relationships when it was underground and a taboo subject which was a groundbreaking achievement.

An example of a themes within Eastenders is one which involves relationships, which is the Jay, Phil and Billy storyline which is when Phil is taking Jay away from Billy by using boxing, Billy feels betrayed and this storyline is one which is tackling the theme of Relationships, many people could relate with this storyline because they have had someone come in between the relationship of them and some other, and it is a good storyline because parents who lose their children to death or possibly the street could also possibly relate.
Another example of themes within Hollyoaks is the Love Triangle storyline which is when the three are stuck in the middle of a love triangle, and this is a good theme to talk about because there are many people in modern day situations that could relate to this.


The themes in soaps are exaggerated a bit at times which make it seem extra dangerous, and more sinister, this is obviously done to keep the audience interested, because if it was done 100% by how life is the program would be far less appealing, leading to the lack of viewers.

Stereotypes are commonly and often used in soap operas as selling points. Most the characters used are people that are stereotyped in modern day, for example they always stereotype young adults, also known as teenagers in a bad light, as they are actually nothing but trouble, rude, obnoxious, disrespectful and very violent. Or they may stereotype old people as really moody, grumpy and those who are eye sores and hate the youth. Soap operas usually make and blow all of the stereotypes out of proportion by making it seem, worse that the reality actually is.
An example of a stereotype we see in the Eastenders clip is in the Billie's death storyline where his mother stereotypes his best friend as nothing but scum, yet she does not leave him alone but curses him and wishes bad fortune upon him. Billie's mother is stereotyping teenagers as negative, whilst Eastenders is also doing the same because they are saying teenagers drink too much, as drinking was the cause of Billie's death.



Mise-en-scene is the key product to making the soap operas seem realistic, and helping the audience to relate with the programme. The reason for this is so that the programme is good and realistic, they may even use a building or a setting to make it realistic, and add iconography to it, so that whenever you see that place or something similar you would instantly think of the programme, an example of this is Eastenders and the Albert Square. They may also use costumes which represent the class of the people being featured in the programme to make it more realistic, and to add a secret meaning behind it all. They may use props such as glasses, magazines and umbrellas depending on the situation to make the programme realistic, so that the audience learns to become one with the programme and relates to it fully.
Within Eastenders they seem to use various types of props. Eastenders is very similar to Hollyoaks as they use the traditional props that you would find in everyday life. They use various props such as kettles, newspapers and other stuff that are found in middle class homes. Both soap operas also seem to commonly use the same costumes, although the costumes may vary from time to time. For example in Eastenders you may see many of the characters with casual clothing, or mechanical clothing as you may see for Phil & Ricky whilst they are working. You may also catch glimpses of suits worn by Max, Darren & Jack. The costumes are also used to show status, as it shows the people wearing suits have the higher status, while the mechanics have the next status and so forth. In Hollyoaks everyone seems to be wearing casual clothing, which possibly indicates to us that they are a tight knit society, and that everyone is seen as an equal in the community.



In comparison Hollyoaks and Eastenders have many different colours. Within Eastenders they use the standard colours; they use realistic colours to make the programmes feel more real, to add a sense of realism to the programme. Whilst in Hollyoaks, they would have flashbacks and use editing for the transition which makes the flashback black and white. The lighting in the programmes is different also. In Eastenders they seem to use a lot of natural lighting as everything seems simple toned, and realistic. Although in Hollyoaks they are not realistic enough because they seem to be using artificial lighting as well as editing on the computer, which makes their programme seem closer to Hollywood, than realistic.
The facial expressions on both Hollyoaks & Eastenders are vital in making us perceive the soap operas as realistic or unrealistic. Within Eastenders the audience can easily relate to the actors/actresses because they are so realistic, and really get into the role to make the program seem realistic, whilst in Hollyoaks they use many over exaggerated facial expressions which makes us see the program as more of a comedy than a soap opera.




Within Eastenders we actually see a Matriarch who is known as Peggy Mitchell, who is key in the success of Eastenders, whenever somebody sees Eastenders or hears of it they instantly think of her, whereas in Hollyoaks they have no matriarch what so ever, which makes it less realistic. A matriarch in real life is like the popular person in the area,
Within soap operas there are many sounds that are heard within them. Within both Eastenders and Hollyoaks there are diegetic and non diegetic sounds heard. In both Eastenders and Hollyoaks we hear realistic diegetic sound we hear the voices of their characters, we hear sounds of the objects in the scene e.g. Eastenders with the washing machine and toaster. Eastenders also use diegetic sounds when the radio is on, and they use soundbridge with the same radio being played in two different scenes. Hollyoaks uses the same diegetic sound, and they also seem to use non-diegetic sounds aswell which make the program less realistic for a soap opera. Hollyoaks use mood music for the program.

Synchronous sounds are commonly used in soap operas, they are used in Eastenders and Hollyoaks. You may see synchronous sounds to increase suspense, or make the audience much more aware.
Asynchronous sound effects are also used in Eastenders, this is most commonly done when they are focusing on the death of someone, and we hear the ambulance sirens in the back. They always use this effect in soap opera’s to add a dramatic effect, and draw the audience in, while focusing thier attention on the action, whilst the sound becomes a blur in the background. I believe this same effect is done in Hollyoaks also.

All soap operas use ambient sound to make the program seem more real, otherwise without ambient sound the soap opera will be very unrealistic and dull.

During soap opera’s they commonly use a selective amount of shots, and completly disregard some of them. Eastenders usually has an establishing shot of the Queen vic to show symbolism of the soap opera, it also gives you an idea of where the first scene is set to begin, various other shot are also used as the establishing shots. Close-ups are usually also shown to show tension, and the emotion of the characters, this shot is used in every production, including soap operas such as Eastenders and Hollyoaks. In both soap operas a medium shot is done to show the structure and body language of the scene, its all done so that the audience has a clear view of the scene and what is happening. Eastenders uses a two shot when Jay and Phil are building a relationship, and Hollyoaks does so in the love triangle storyline to highlight the emotions within the scene. The two shots are done to focus on the relationships and highlight the emotions. Another camera shot that is used is the oover the shoulder shot which is used to make the audience feel as if they are in the programme, looking over that characters shoulder. This is used in both Eastenders & Hollyoaks.

In Eastenders they seem to use a shot reverse shot edit, to make the conversation between two people more effective, such as a conversation between Ricky and Bianca where they are arguing and this is done to capture the emotion of all the characters. This effect is also used in Hollyoaks between the love triangle, to show that some people inside the show are unaware to some key facts, so they used dramatic irony. Another effect that is also used in every show and movie as well as Eastenders and Hollyoaks are the transition effects, which are key to move to the next scene, but they are unrealistic.

How Soap Opera's construct and portray reality.

We studied the context of two soap dramas , which were Hollyoaks and Eastenders. I analysed many things such as the themes, mise-en-scene, storylines, stereotypes etc.

The themes most commonly used in soap operas/dramas are: -Death/Murder -Relationships/Love -School -Lying/Stealing -Bullying -Teenage problems -Depression -Fighting

Themes are used to create something to make the audience interested in the programme. Themes are also used to help join different types of media together. Most soap operas would use many different types of themes within one episode or segment to tackle different types of issues existing in real life. Soap operas are usually made for the middle and lower classed families , and consists of characters that come from that demographic to help the audience emphasise with the situations. Usually the themes that are used within soap operas are taboo subjects which means its good, because it speaks of subjects that many people do not really want to speak about. There are such subjects and themes that soap operas tackled, and brought in a new era of television for that subject, you could possibly say they sparked a phenomenon, as soap operas were the first to cover gay relationships when it was underground and a taboo subject which was a groundbreaking achievement. An example of a themes within Eastenders is one which involves relationships, which is the Jay, Phil and Billy storyline which is when Phil is taking Jay away from Billy by using boxing, Billy feels betrayed and this storyline is one which is tackling the theme of Relationships, many people could relate with this storyline because they have had someone come in between the relationship of them and some other, and it is a good storyline because parents who lose their children to death or possibly the street could also possibly relate. Another example of themes within Hollyoaks is the Love Triangle storyline which is when the three are stuck in the middle of a love triangle, and this is a good theme to talk about because there are many people in modern day situations that could relate to this. The themes in soaps are exaggerated a bit at times which make it seem extra dangerous, and more sinister, this is obviously done to keep the audience interested, because if it was done 100% by how life is the programme would be far less appealing, leading to the lack of viewers.

Stereotypes are commonly and often used in soap operas as selling points. Most the characters used are people that are stereotyped in modern day, for example they always stereotype young adults, also known as teenagers in a bad light, as they are actually nothing but trouble, rude , obnoxious , disrespectful and very violent. Or they may stereotype old people as really moody, grumpy and those who are eye sores and hate the youth. Soap operas usually make and blow all of the stereotypes out of proportion by making it seem, worse that the reality actually is. An example of a stereotype we see in the Eastenders clip is in the Billie's death storyline where his mother stereotypes his best friend as nothing but scum, yet she does not leave him alone but curses him and wishes bad fortune upon him. Billie's mother is stereotyping teenagers as negative, whilst Eastenders is also doing the same because they are saying teenagers drink too much, as drinking was the cause of Billie's death.

Mise-en-scene is the key product to making the soap operas seem realistic, and helping the audience to relate with the programme. The reason for this is so that the programme is good and realistic, they may even use a building or a setting to make it realistic, and add iconography to it , so that whenever you see that place or something similar you would instantly think of the programme, an example of this is EastEnders and the Albert Square. They may also used costumes which represent the class of the people being featured in the programme to make it more realistic , and to add a secret meaning behind it all. They may use props such as glasses, magazines and umbrellas depending on the situation to make the programme realistic, so that the audience learns to become one with the programme and relates to it fully.

Elizabeth Analysis

Within the scene that we watch we can grasp the denotation of many things, but one of them are the serious facial expressions used by loyal servants and the Queen Elizabeth II. Firstly throughout the whole clip we seem to see Queen Elizabeth II with serious facial expressions throughout the whole of the clip, with slight glimpses of smiles when we see her flashbacks. The possible reason for her serious facial expressions could be for the director to indicate that Queen Elizabeth II realises how serious the role she is about to take on is, and must let go of childishness and weakness. The serious facial expressions on Queen Elizabeth II face could also be an indication of the emotion that has been stolen from the Queen. The serious facial expressions on the humble servants may be there to indicate that the servants really respect the Queen, and that they are dedicated to serving her.

Within these collections of scenes we also see glimpses of Queen Elizabeth II smiling during a flashback, and this may be done to help us emphasize that the emotion of happiness she once held, may have been torn from her yet it lingers. Another thing within these scenes that are evident is the de-saturated scenes which may have been done to show that the happiness/warmness is being torn from her, and that she is possibly living in a cold world, surrounded by cold people and possibly being forced to become a cold person. The flashbacks within these scenes could also have done to show that the life she once cherished and enjoyed has just flashed before her eyes, possibly showing that the real she is dying.

Close to the ending of this clip we seem to see bright lighting behind Queen Elizabeth II, after she finally received the title of Queen. This has been done to show that she has reached the end of the tunnel/light to show the real her or a part of her had died. The director of this film has given Queen Elizabeth II a bold structure/body language to show The Queens power, and a warm image to show that she still retains her old personality within her. Queen Elizabeth II has an appearance of a face painted white, red hair & red lipstick. Her face has been painted white to show that her emotion has disappeared somehow or she has died in someway, whilst her red hair and red lipstick are there to show her fiery passion. Her make up and clothing is almost as if she’s hiding behind the makeup. When Queen Elizabeth II has her hair cut its almost as if she is trying to make herself equal to men, and when she lets go of her hair in her hands, its almost as if she is letting go of people controlling her decisions.

The parted people when Queen Elizabeth II is walking down the court is almost as if she’s walking down the aisle to get married to England & for power showing something similar to the red sea parting. When Queen Elizabeth II is emotionless its like she is composed and prepared. And her voice expression is loud showing authority.

Within these scenes we also see a variety of scenes such as high angle & close-up. The high angle is of the top of the head of Queen Elizabeth II showing her vulnerability and the transition turns to her face to show that she is emotionless. A mid-shot is also used and these are mid-shots of Queen Elizabeth II, and the men she has had intimate relationships with in her past. The other men are the first to show their power and importance. This is soon after done for Queen Elizabeth II, to show her power and importance. We see a two-shot of the Queen and maid, almost as if they were saying goodbye to their relationship. There is also another two shot of her and her previous lover in a flashback to show how much she misses him, or holds on to the feelings of that relationship. There is a wide shot of the court/people showing the power and transformation of Queen Elizabeth II. When Queen Elizabeth II enters we see the director using a long-shot showing her entrance and power. There is a close-up of Queen Elizabeth II getting her haircut which shows importance and it’s quite symbolic. Finally there is an POV shot of the court people from the Queens perspective to show engagement.

Denotation/Connotation Reading of Skins Posters

In this second image to end with I can see what seems to be a beautiful young woman sitting on a bed with a blank expression upon her face. This young woman seems to be wearing minimal; she is what I could only explain as half nude. To compliment her clothing, everybody else around her is half nude too. The main character seems to be wearing a transparent cardigan as well as simple underwear and nothing else; people’s body in the foreground covers her feet although we can see that she is wearing knee high tights that cover the scars on her calf. If we choose to look at the upper part of her body we can see that her hair is quite messy, and she has mascara on her face which has run down, which helps us comprehend that she has been crying. Now this image and costumes alone lets us begin to develop an idea of the occupation of the character. This character may be a prostitute or a stripper of some sort due to her exterior, and the clothing she chose to wear, or she could just simply be a misguided individual. We can see that this character is an adolescent due to her facial features, and the stereotypes that young people are misguided and are not sure of what they are doing, and how they dress is usually quit loose whilst on the verge on attaining adulthood. Also by the look on her face, this image may be indicating to us that this character may encounter depression frequently and may therefore be some sort of a drug user. We see her poorly dressed, and it may be a relation to the title of the programme.

The props within this image compliment it and add more detail to the character, hence refining the image. The thing about this image that’s iconic is the poster. It differentiates itself from other posters that use objects as props, and chooses to use people as props instead. The people that surround the main character within this image all seem to be poorly dressed, or not dressed at all. We cannot fully conclude their dress state, as some of the image has been cropped. Every person surrounding her seems to be paired up with somebody of the opposite sex, except herself and the boy behind her who seems to have his hat on. This may either mean that she only has one person to connect with in the whole world or that she may be or may have had sexual intercourse with the young man. Also the many surrounding her may be a metaphor for showing that she is struggling with peer pressure. There are tattoo’s, scars etc, to show the trials and tribulations of someone journeying through teenage life. The bare skin of the props (other characters) also makes a relation to the title of the poster/programme. The other characters also seem to highlight the importance of the main character in the image. The boy sitting on the bed, may still have his hat on due to insecurity.

The setting of this image is also pretty much obvious, it shows us that this character and the others are in a bedroom in which we are unaware if it’s her own or not. This location also helps us empathize with why the character and the others may be partly naked. The location of the setting helps us prophesise what may occur during the programme, probably that there will be a few passionate and sexual scenes. The wallpaper on the wall also looks ripped off, and may indicate that her anger has erupted and she decided to rip everything surrounding her, but kept a picture clean and sound. Maybe indicating something that it means something to her, or could be a metaphor for someone important to her.

The interior design flawlessly defines the location of this image as a bedroom, because it has the iconic bedroom object, which is the bed. Also the image shows us that this girl is making the transition from a teenager to an adult and is confused. Her being surrounded by many others sort of shows us that she is in the middle of a battle between the two stages in life and she is the trophy.

The colours within this image are a mixture. Some of which are quite cool with shades of blue and grey. The colours within this image are used to make a calm feel yet an emotional one. The colours on the main character are quite bright to show us, that the character is a good character inside.

The lighting within this image is very significant in creating the emotions that we feel towards this image. The lighting in this image seems to be natural lighting, and also seems to be high key lighting. The reason why I believe this is high key lighting is that nothing in this image is truly covered by the darkness. The reason why I believe its natural lighting is because I see light coming in from a window behind the main character, which is highlighting her importance, even though the window has been cut out of the image. Also it shows us that the lamp is on whilst light is beaming through the image, showing us that there may have been an all-night party. It’s an easily recognizable stereotype for teenagers.

I believe the way teenagers have been represented in this image is dirty. It’s a realistic portrayal to an extent, but not fully, because a few teenagers are actually respecting of themselves. I consider this image a negative depiction of teenagers because it’s based on stereotypes. I believe this image may not be found offensive by most, because the media persuades them into thinking it’s positive.

Denotation/Connotation Reading of Skins Posters

In this first image to begin with I can see that this character is either nude, or on the way to being nude, but the image has been cropped so we cannot fully interpret his clothing. Also there is a piece of something white that seems afloat. There may be either a shadow cast from the item, or a piece of his skin has been casted away from his body. This alone shows us a hefty quantity of information of this character’s occupation. We can see that this character is an adolescent, because of his facial expressions. In this day and time there is a stereotype about teenagers; which is that they are most usually depressed, as the main character in this image represents. It also shows us that this character may not have a job due to his age, and the youthfulness that is shown in his face. It actually may be that this character is a drug user of some sort. Also diving deeper into the world of stereotypes, he may be part of Goth/ skater sub-culture. It’s possible that this character occasionally withdraws his self, due to the facial expressions he has portrayed upon his face, within this image.

The props within this image compliment it and add more detail to the character, hence refining the image. Many items around this character seem to be filthy, for instance the soap, bath tub, sink and the majority of items in the image, apart from the shower head and its tap. Now this is significant because it may indicate many things to us such as; this character is not completely corrupt in his ways, or that there may be a glimpse or glimmer of hope for this person in the dark lonely world he resides in. Another prop in this image that adds more detail to this character is the cracked tiles on the wall behind him, which may indicate to us that slowly his life is possibly getting shattered and broken into pieces, but his will has held it in. Lastly the objects that are yellow and pink which are on what seem to be the window seal may indicate that he has a female in his life that brightens his life. It may also indicate that he is having trouble with his sexuality.

The setting of the image is pretty much obvious, it actually shows us that the character is presently in a bathroom, but we are not completely sure if it is his own or not. The location aids us in comprehending why the character may be completely/partly nude, but it is comparable to the character’s dressing, because the bathroom is fairly empty. The setting of the bathroom shows us that within this programme; the thing that is likely to happen occur is that there will be a huge amount of depression or emotional wars.

The interior design perfectly defines the location of this image as a bathroom because it has many bathroom objects. Some of these bathroom objects/props consist of mouthwash, toothbrush, shower gel, soap, shaver etc.

The colour within this image is quite cold and dull. It uses dark shades of blue, yellow, grey and pink. The dull colours that are used within this image make it so that we get a depressing feel. They use grimy substances to coat most of the objects in the bathroom; this is done to maintain the depressing feel. Although the designer cleverly leaves some of the bathroom sanitary. The designer keeps the shower head as well as its tap as intensely clean, so it’s quite bright and shiny. He also keeps the mouthwash and toothbrush bright colours such as yellow and pink. One of the possible reasons he keeps the mouthwash and toothbrush these bright colours are because its probably done to indicate to us that a majority of this programme will be dull, but there will be glimpses of light and goodness peeking through occasionally.

The lighting within this poster is main attribute in making us develop the feelings that we obtain. The lighting within this image seems to be artificial and the lighting seems to be a high key lighting, for the reason that even though the area looks dull it shows us everything, and does not seem to cast out anything to the darkness. The atmosphere created by this lighting is shock and mystery because it makes us reflect a lot. The high-key lighting is dismissed by the use of location that is not sterile.

The way teenagers are represented in this poster are depressing and dirty. It’s an realistic portrayl for an very little majority, so as a whole it is not really an realistic portrayl because many teenagers are not depressed and pride themselves on their dressing, oudur and hygiene. I consider this image to be a negative representation of teenagers for the reason that it’s based on an stereotype and not reality. I believe this image can be found offensive by some, and may cause contriversy in the near future