American soap operas typically feature wealthy families with distinct character traits embroiled in emotional, dramatic storylines. Soaps focus on big, glamorous plots and are syndicated, allowing networks to broadcast them across multiple states. Early soaps like Dallas portrayed the American dream through stories of oil money and cowboys but later seasons showed the corruption that can come with greed, though characters remained culturally iconic. Dynasty also centered around wealth but provided competition to the popular Dallas.

1. American soaps
Usually about wealthy families
Characters have defining traits
American soaps are usually glamorous, have big storylines, and also are usually quite
emotional also dramatic
American soaps are syndicated meaning that the soaps can only be broadcasted to 3 states
and a time and then networks come into play where they air it into 3 other states and so on
Dallas – money, oil, cowboys, the oil is paying for the city, the helicopter is a P.O.V of what
this person is seeing. People who are living the American dream. Jolly tune, very glamorous.
(1ST SEASON, 1978)
Dallas – more money, blowing up their own land to strike more oil, it is turning into greed
and corruption, still the American dream however more evil. At the beginning there is a
montage of cut away shots of the actors to show that we only need a split second to
recognise the characters, we have become culturally attached to the characters. (13TH
SEASON, 1991.) They have now refreshed the genre so they can attract new audiences.
Dynasty – direct rivalry with Dallas.