A2 Media Studies

1. Soap Opera Genre –
Target Audience
Name: Patrick Coll
Candidate Number: 1102
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135
OCR Media Studies – A2 Level
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

2. Hartley’s Seven Subjectivities
Stereotypically, men are represented as expressing little or no emotion in light of the female gender hence why I believe that the
female gender may have a greater appreciation for topics discussed in ‘Soap Opera” media texts. This emotional engagement with
the text may lead producers of the “Soap Opera” genre to target the female gender over the male gender as males generally
speaking seek action and more of a ‘diversion’ (Katz) from their everyday lives. Most Soap Opera’s additionally are exhibited
during daytime TV hours, where women are stereotypically at home while the man is at work, which is also why targeting a
female audience will result in a more successful viewing. In regards to the age of the viewers, Soap Opera’s tend to have an older
audience of around 16+ as many Soap Opera’s address issues which may not be suitable or relevant to a younger audience. This is
why Soap Opera’s are either exhibited during Daytime TV where the kids are at school or a later time of around 9:00 when
younger audiences are sleeping. However in contrast to this in some cases Soap’s are viewed by families, which means younger
audiences can easily be exposed to the issues conveyed in the texts.
Socio-economic needs
When considering the socio-economic needs of a Soap Opera audience, stereotypically we tend to visualize a working class, less
financially stable person who consumes it to give them a sense of ‘personal identity’ (Katz) in relation to the issues discussed in
the media texts. Generally people who are not financially stable or lower class tend to be exposed to these issues on a day to day
basis and often find themselves consuming the content in attempt to deal with their own problems in their own lives. As a result
of this I would grade the target audience as a D as this is representative of working class citizens, who must have time to engage
with the content, but can also afford a means of viewing the content.

3. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs
After considering a selection of promotional media products for the Soap Opera genre, I have concluded that the Soap Opera
audience may find themselves primarily represented as ‘Caregivers’ (Maslow). This is because of the extensive variety of topics
covered in the Soap Opera genre, which often make the audience feel sympathy for the character’s situation as they may have
been in a similar situation in their own real lives. The realistic portrayal of characters and events in the genre also create a false
image in the audience’s head of what real life is like, which makes the content so engaging and relatable to their lives.
Additionally, some audience members might feel best represented as a ‘Survivor’ (Maslow) as soaps are a long form drama, which
gives the audience the opportunity to get emotionally invested in the plot, which in turn might become a part of their media
consumption ‘routine’. Furthermore, the Soap genre is particularly good at creating multi-stranded plots and leaving the text on a
cliffhanger, which can influence the audience to stay invested in the Soap. Alternatively ‘Explorers’ (Maslow) are often influenced
by social change and will take issues raised in the text as real life, which they then might apply to their own lives and day to day
routine.
Psychographics
The Soap Opera audience may feel that they are ‘normal’ people, who can identify (Katz) with the characters portrayed in the text.
These people are often known as social ‘reformers’ as they are people who are aware of every day issues and probably lead a
quite average life. Most likely, the audience are work at home Mum’s or people who often have a lot of time to get invested in the
series. Due to the influence on people’s life choices Soap Opera’s have they are often scheduled late in the evening or during
school hours to prevent younger audiences from being influenced by the events in the series. Some people may aspire to be like
the characters in the text, however some people are influenced to change their character and appearance to prevent being
represented by the characters in the text.
Katz’ Uses and Gratification's theory
When consuming Soap Opera’s it is highly likely that the audience will develop a ‘social interaction’ (Katz) with characters over a
long-form series as the audience will grow a custom to the character being on the show and it will become part of their routine
(Survivor’s-Maslow). Additionally the audience is often able to personally identify (Katz) with a lot of the issues raised in the text
as Soap Opera producers often attempt to create a realistic interpretation of life and social situations. However some people may
find that they are ‘informed and educated’ (Katz) on issues raised in the text as they may find a way to deal with these problems in
their own lives. Despite this some audiences just see the Soap Opera as a from of entertainment and don’t take the hyperbolised
issues seriously.

4. The BBC Eastenders official
website hints towards a
multi stranded plot featuring
a list of all the different
characters and their families.
This is useful for new arrivals
to the Soap Opera genre as
understandably it is hard to
keep up with a long form
drama, so it gives them the
ability to find out more
about the characters and
their relationships with each
other.

5. Hollyoaks on the other hand attempt to interact
with their audience through social media on their
website. Using hashtags and various other forms of
media, Hollyoaks are able to ignite discussions
about their text and give their audience the
opportunity to advertise their content. This
interaction is beneficial for both the audience and
the producers of the show as the audience are able
to share their thoughts and the producers have a
source of free advertising. The audience for a Soap
Opera may be portrayed as ‘gossipy’ or very
sociable people so this form of audience interaction
is particularly appropriate for the show.

6. The scheduling of Soap Operas during
Prime time hours
• Modern Soap Opera’s are generally scheduled around the
time of 7-11pm, which is more commonly known as the
watershed, a time where adult programs are allowed to be
exhibited. Due to the adult nature of Soap Opera covering
themes such as adultery, alcohol and drug addiction, death
and more Soap Operas may be seen as mature content.
However, for some families Soap Opera’s are to be viewed
by everyone no matter their age, which could potentially
have a negative effect on the child. This says that adults are
generally looking for content that they can view after their
children are in bed and most adults are usually finished
with work by 7:00pm so there will be a greater audience at
this time.