Soap Opera, Then and Now

Abstract

This essay examines the sustained sociological relevance of US daytime soap operas, a seemingly dead or dying generic form that continues to influence the entertainment landscape as well as media scholars from across the academy. The essay begins by examining soaps' longstanding resonance with three‐core sociological concerns: identity, community or sociality, and cultural legitimacy. It then discusses scholarly research opportunities associated with the recent decline of the genre and concludes by examining current debates in soap opera scholarship.

Chile: Archivo, Streaming y Recuperación en Cámara Lenta

“…Esta transformación conllevó cambios importantes y sustanciales dentro de la narrativa, en términos estructurales y de serialidad, alejándose del modelo de las telenovelas clásicas diurnas (Martín-Barbero, 2002;Mazziotti, 1996Mazziotti, , 2009 y acercándose a la soap opera norteamericana (Allen, 1995;Harrington, 2016;Matelski, 1999). Sin embargo, Verdades Ocultas hoy no solo se aleja de los tropos de la telenovela clásica, sino que ha trastocado la serialidad inherente a su formato (Martín-Barbero & Muñoz, 1992;Valenzuela, 2012): está dividida en temporadas (ver Tabla 10) y su foco recae en las intrigas, el misterio y el suspenso/thriller, y no en la historia de amor original, sino que en el surgimiento de un big evil o gran villano que va en crescendo, eliminando o haciendo desaparecer, primero Agustina como Amelia, luego Leonardo, alias el Santo, luego Eliana, luego la misma Rocío, y finalmente, el hijo de Eliana, Mateo.…”

All in Pasaje Esperanza: how Chilean telenovela Verdades Ocultas became a streaming soap opera

“…Its success prompted an unexpected lengthening, becoming the longest telenovela in Chilean history to date. Yet narrative shifts led to ample changes regarding dramatic structure and the seriality inherent to its genre (Buonnano, 2005), fluctuating from a telenovela (Mazziotti, 2009;Martín Barbero, 2002) to a soap opera (Allen, 1995;Harrington, 2016), giving way to a product perfect for streaming. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: OAP OPERA; TELENOVELA; STREAMING; MELODRAMA reSuMen El 24 de julio de 2017 los chilenos quedaron cautivados con la sufrida historia de las hermanas Verdugo en Verdades Ocultas, una telenovela chilena estructurada en torno a conceptos del melodrama clásico (Fuenzalida, Corro & Mujica, 2009;Cabrujas, 2002).…”

“…Su éxito derivó en un inesperado alargue, siendo a la fecha la telenovela chilena más larga de la historia. No obstante, los giros narrativos provocaron amplios cambios en la estructura y la serialidad inherente a su género (Buonnano, 2005), pasando así de una telenovela (Mazziotti, 2009;Martín-Barbero, 2002) a una soap opera (Allen, 1995;Harrington, 2016) perfecta para streaming. PALABRAS CLAVE: TELENOVELA; SOAP OPERA; STREAMING; MELODRAMA.…”

“…Seu sucesso resultou em uma extensão inesperada, sendo até hoje a mais longa telenovela chilena da história. No entanto, os giros narrativos provocaram amplas mudanças na estrutura e serialidade inerentes ao seu gênero (Buonnano, 2005), passando de uma telenovela (Mazziotti, 2009;Martín Barbero, 2002) para uma soap opera (Allen, 1995;Harrington, 2016) dando lugar a um produto perfeito para streaming.…”

“…This paper explains the transformation of Verdades Ocultas as a case study (Yin, 2009) through content analysis, focused on premises from classic telenovela models (Mazziotti, 1996(Mazziotti, , 2009Martín-Barbero, 2002) contrasted with structural nodes of the American soap opera (Allen, 1995;Harrington, 2016). Findings show that Verdades Ocultas steers away from classic melodrama tropes of daytime telenovela (Fuenzalida, Corro & Mujica, 2009;Valenzuela, 2012;Cabrujas, 2002), in a "soap opera-nization" that has disrupted the seriality inherent to the genre (Buonnano, 2005), presenting a narrative, aesthetic and visual fracture that provided Chilean audiences with a product that holds the narrative and structure of a soap opera, impeccable for streaming.…”