Traditional soap operas run continuously – character storylines overlap
Can have 10-15 main characters a range of genders, ages, sexualities, and races, to appeal to as large an audience as possible
Soap operas become part of a national psyche- they weave into our culture
Characters become “people”, they are spoken of as if they are family
Audience- aimed at female audiences, this affects scheduling, storylines, characters, narrative perspective.
Story- events unfolding
Narrative perspective- point of view the story is told from
Catharsis- emotional cleansing, watching someone go through the same as you makes you feel better
