Are People Influenced By Soap Operas? - 2
The underlying business of soap operas produced in America for American audiences is to create a profit for the networks and production companies. This is not meant to degrade or dispute the intentions of the writers and producers in reference to all the good that comes about because of the particular stories they choose to tell; it is only to state the economic reality behind the scenes. The shows must be profitable or they will be cancelled. American soaps are a part of show business, not the non-profit public service announcement sector.
Some international soap operas are indeed conceived to be extended public service announcements, specifically in the areas of health education and sex education. Clearly, the writers, producers, and sponsoring organizations believe that the viewers learn values, attitudes, and behavioral models by watching soap operas.
One such organization is PCI, which stands for Population Communications International. Their motto is, "Telling Stories, Saving Lives." They have produced eighteen soaps in fourteen countries since 1985. Why have they chosen soaps to deliver their messages? Their website states, "Serial dramas capture the dynamics of every day life, offering an opportunity to reach audience members on a deeply personal level. Because they follow a serialized format, serial dramas can dramatize the health and social realities in a sustained and systematic way. (PCI Website)
In addition to their international work, Population Communications International has held "Soap Summits" over the years for soap actors, writers, producers, and network executives from the United States to come together to discuss and analyze "the importance and power media and the creative community play in shaping the attitudes and behavior in this country." (PCI Website). Summit topics over the years have included issues that soap operas have been working into storylines for decades. Topics mentioned on the website include: "assisted fertility, death and dying, diabetes, diversity, population, minority issues, sexually transmitted diseases, teenage sexuality, teenage suicide, teenage tobacco use, and violence against women." (PCI Website)
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