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.