February 14, 2008

I Read The News Today, Oh Boy!
From Elaine G. Flores
So this morning, my husband sends me an e-mail with this subject line: "Hmmmm, maybe this is why soaps aren't relating to their audiences." I clicked the link to find a story in the New York Daily News by an OLTL soap writer. The married mother was discussing financial hardships caused by the writers' strike. What followed was the harrowing tale of cutting out restaurants and movies, having to sew a party dress for her daughter and — this part made me cry — giving up her $200 haircuts. Oh, the humanity! Okay, sarcasm aside, please know that I understand and support the writers' cause and I know a little something about being on the brink financially, so I'm not trying to be insensitive here, but are you kidding me? After I got over my bitter resentment that I can't afford $200 haircuts, I re-read the subject line of the e-mail and it suddenly clicked for me why soaps are failing. It's not that many women are no longer at home during the day. It's not that people stopped watching because O.J.'s trial interrupted programming for so long. It's not cable giving so many options. You know what it is? A genre that is meant to appeal to America's heartland is totally out of touch with reality. I'm not talking about back-from-the-dead evil twins. That stuff is okay. Harry Potter books and shows like BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER illustrate my point that a fantasy-based genre can be totally believable — if you relate to the people you are writing for. At a time when the nation is facing an absolutely terrifying recession, it seems like we are all in danger of getting pink-slipped, families struggle to put food on the table, maybe — just maybe — scribes who write about family drama in a town like Llanview, which has a history of featuring working-class folks, need to get to know some "real" people. I don't know. Hey, I'm just another latté-drinking, little-dog toting, elitist New Yorker, and even I know this kind of attitude will not play in Peoria. Oh, gotta go, my shipment of caviar just arrived.

Read the article yourself here, then come back and let us know your take on the story.

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