soap operas.
i can admit that i have been an infrequent watcher of "the young and the restless," and for many, many years have wondered why. why do i enjoy the drama? why am i, at times, on the verge of what feels like an addiction? my soap habit is tempered by the fact that i am rarely home at 4:00 to watch it, and that i can't be bothered to PVR it. it could also be that i know that i'll be able to pick up where i left off on my next viewing, even if it's not for another year.
i know why. this type of story is geared to those are looking for the eternal dialogue, and are willing to overlook the lack of resolution to the story. it's why it's not strange that nick and phyllis will most likely break up, and that he may go back to his ex-wife sharon, with whom he shares an uncomfortable amount of sexual tension...why it's not strange that victor has been married to nikki at least 3 times, and ashley twice....why separated children always seem to find their way to their real parents...and why, despite all of the horrible things that people continue to do to each other, i shamefully continue to watch.
what do i know now? i know that there is never going to be a resolution. they are not going to fill in the blanks, or give me that "happily-ever-after" outcome that my romantic heart yearns for. they will keep dragging me long for the next half century, while the adults never age, the children age 10 years overnight, and days in genoa city seem to last entire weeks on the show. i know that i want the eternal dialogue, and can overlook the lack of resolution.
as jaigris pointed out this week, soap operas provide "endless disruptions in plot lines provide characters with opportunity for focus on dialogue and relationship, as opposed to action." i need to drill down on this one a little bit...
in thinking about it, do you see any hint of the pattern of "real" life in that reflection?
i do.
if i think about it enough, and strip away the moral issues, adultery, greed, and selfishness, the plotline of a soap opera is not dissimilar to my life. i'm hardly a great example of daily adventure, and i do seem to be more focused on dialogue and relationship, than on action. as much as i wish my life was as exciting as "24," it seems like soaps are more like my life...occasional drama, sprinkled with an occasional joyous event. there are happy times and sad, but most of all, it's about people. and most of the plotlines of my life are still unresolved...i could go on for pages about my life's drama, but in the end, it all comes down to relationship and dialogue, too. or lack thereof.
my consciousness is peaked, and i'm sensing that it's time to let go of the soaps - not because i'm worried about what damage i will incur from it's observation, but because i wonder...what is the point of watching something that's not much different than my real life on a theoretical level? and if i'm basically living a tamed-down version of a soap opera anyways, why don't i go out and actually live it, instead of watching it?
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