Real Life? [18.01.07]
By Rowan Howe
This one really gets me…
Why oh why do people ruin my enjoyment of quality soaps such as Coronation Street or EastEnders by saying “I thought Janice had no money, but she’s always in the Pub” or “How come Charlie’s court case came about three days after his fight?”
Well, it may have escaped some people, given the very close match to real life, but soaps are indeed fictional. If people didn’t go to the pub every lunch and evening, the detectives could actually work out who the serial killer was, or Phil had to do some work, it would make for a very boring programme.
So there. Rant over. Just let me enjoy the show!
P.S. Just to clarify, no, your own children will not at any point be replaced with a different child bearing no likeness to your original one – just with slightly better acting skills.
Have your say...
Well Rowan, you got something of a point there. Soaps ain't real life thats for sure, buts what is interesting is that many of the “big soaps” all seem to revolve around the traditional pub as a central hub of a community.
Traditionally (going back over a hundred years or so) the good old boozer was the secular centre of many communities, accompanied by the church which help to provide the moral foundations, as well as much of the schooling needs for children. Those soaps that people enjoy so much ain't just a reflection of modern living, but also a comforting reminder of a time when everybody could get to work on foot, children walked to school and played in the street. To chat to your friends you could just go knock on their door to see if they were in. And if you felt a little bored you could pop into your local “Where everybody knows your name” and be sure of a little good company.
This kind of life style still does exist in parts but is slowly being replaced by a kind of living that attracts buzz phrases such as metrosexual and urbanite. Even soap opera's have come to reflect these changes and in series such as “This Life” and “Cold Feet” we celebrate the transition into a more modern way of living that is detached from the traditional community hubs and pubs.
We don't walk to work anymore we commute, bombarded by the rantings of Chris Moyles whilst sucking in the fumes of the car in front. Why chat to your neighbours when you have MSN messenger? Kids don't even have to talk face-to-face to their playmates any more as they can connect wirelessly via PSP's. Bump into your mates at the local shop? Not a chance as we buy our food online from tesco. And drowned in the hype of mobile phones, wireless connectivity, web 2.0 and community driven websites have we started to loose the idea of what a community really is?
Soaps are an escape from it all. Maybe its time we all joined Janice in the local pub to rediscover a little something about ourselves.
Nathan [LAD]
Fancy a big mac?
Ronald McDonald
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