Drama Queens Present :: Television Entertainment Media Papers

Drama Queens Present In the past fifty years, the television-viewing world has experienced drama, romance, and attraction through the eyes of soap opera writers, creators, producers, and actors. Soap operas, also known as daytime dramas have been around and the talk of the town for more than half a decade. It all started in radio in the earlier part of the 1900s, then the excitement moved to television. The first television soap opera was â€Å"Guiding Light† and it began airing on radio stations in the 1930s. In 1956, it crossed over to television. The CBS radio station knew it had a hit on hits hands and decided to take a chance on television success (Jameson 35). Listeners accepted the trends, and soon more and more soap operas made their debut on television. Soap operas were better known from the beginning to be for stay at home moms, who cooked and cleaned all day. Their name, â€Å"soap opera† came from the origins of the sponsors that created the shows. In the beginning, the shows were extended advertisements for the soaps that the housewives would use. Once the dramas moved to television, they began to take on a larger audience. Today everything from birth control pills, laundry detergents, and children’s toys are advertised during the soap opera viewing hours (Pagewise, Inc.). Millions of viewers; college students, mothers, fathers, stay at home moms and dads, retirees, teenagers and the elderly are hooked on daytime drama between the hours of twelve and four waiting for their shows to come on. There has been such a change in audience and growth in the viewing since the dawn of soap operas on television: soap operas constitute a very large part of network daytime viewers. From the evil stepmother to the pretty blonde girl, soaps do not change much over the years. Even the latest drama, â€Å"Passions† has some of the same plot elements as the original â€Å"Guiding Light.† Soap operas still use good, evil, sex, scandal, and relationships as basic plot elements. Some good things never change. Daytime dramas will be around for years to come. Mothers pass soap opera stories on to their daughters, and the obsession continues to grow. Today, soap operas have become multimedia events. Many people prerecord their favorite soap operas for later viewing.