Knowledge of Soap Operas

Initial Knowledge

In order to introduce me to the topic of 'Soap Operas', I created an initial mind map of what I already knew about them, such as current products, the times they appear and themes/storylines they follow. By doing this, it helped me discover what I already knew, what I still had to research and which points I would need to go into further depth.
(Please note: the edges were cut off during scanning so I have placed them at the end of the document through separate scans).

Soap Opera Mind Map


Specific Knowledge

After looking over my first mind map, I expanded my thoughts and made notes on potential audiences, including theories, and specific details, such as settings and location, along with which soap they're associated with. This introduced me into our target audience and which themes, story lines and characters would be best for our own soap opera. 

Soap Opera Mind Map 2

By using these mind maps, I have become more aware about the media theories used in soap opera television and what to look for when analysing soap opera texts. I have learned that a soap opera is for entertainment purposes so the Hypodermic Needle Theory is used and that verisimilitude of demographic groups C1 and below reflects the audience that would watch the shows. On further reflection, I also concluded that group B would be included as these include teachers and business managers as these are often portrayed as stereotypes in soap operas. When I analyse other soap operas, I will look out for these characters and familiarise myself with the kind of personalities seen on soaps.