Storylines
Settings Stereotypical Characters Conventions of a Soap Opera
In soaps, there are particular storylines that occur within the majority of soaps, alike to characters they can be repeated but portrayed by different characters and in different situations so that the audience is not likely to get bored and so that a new interest is added. The common recurring storylines include homosexuality and relationships, marriages/divorces, deaths, car crashes, racism, alcohol/drug addiction, religion, pregnancy, relationship problems/affairs, illnesses etc. These usually obtain viewer interest until the storyline ends and developes into the next familiy's problem.
Homosexuality and their Relationships The storyline containing homosexuality is common in all soaps with homosexual couple being present in all popular soaps including EastEnders' Syed and Christian, Coronation Street's Sean and Marcus and Hollyoaks' John Paul and Craig. Soaps present the idea of homosexual couples to make audiences aware of the ideas. The introduction of homosexual couples usually comes with a seperate issue running alongside the storyline. e.g. Syed and Christian's relationship developed due to Syed's relationship problems and his betrayal of his religion this shows that soaps combine more than one storyline. |  |
 | Marriages/Divorces As a common issue in everyday life, marriages and divorces are very common in soaps as a result of relationships. Marriages are common for characters as the relationship then progresses to eventually add more characters to the soap with children. Weddings are usually big events in soaps and one episode is usually based on that one storyline because an important storyline or event is usually running throughout the wedding. e.g. the recent wedding of Leanne and Peter where Leanne had to make a decision on which life she would like to follow with either Peter or Nick. |
Alcohol/Drug Addiction The issue of alcohol/drug abuse can be a hard-hitting topic to include in soaps but it is targeted well in order to present to viewers controversial subject. As a form of illness addictions are shown to present the results as a warning to what could happen as a result of these addictions. e.g Phil Mitchell suffered from a severe alcohol and drug addiction in EastEnders due to his son being sent to prison showing a decline in his character and status in the programme. |  |
 | Teenage Pregnancy Teen pregnancy is commonly shown in soaps as there is an increase on the teen pregnancy rate in the UK. This brings an understanding and relation to girls in this situation and a realization for young girls looking to follow in the footsteps of the character. e.g. Debbie Dingle in Emmerdale who hid her pregnancy by blaming the weight gain on a Haribo addiction when she was just fifteen. |
Abuse |
