Politics and Soap Operas

by Michelle Kenny

 

   Well, the conventions for the Republicans and Democrats are over and that started me thinking.  Wouldn't it be interesting if soap opera viewers had a convention of our own.  I am definitely not a political science major, but I have a few ideas for a great platform (a viewers bill of rights):

 

1) Term Limits:

I feel viewers have a basic right to have certain repetitive story-lines limited (I suggest each of the following can occur only once during a four year term):

   - presumed dead (let's see, we have had Lucky, Stefan, Katherine etc,) I also would like to see a ban on the presumed dead almost bumping into loved ones for days upon end

   - big showdowns before an expected murder where everybody and their brother threatens the soon to be corpse

   - a major trial which results in the wrong person being jailed

   - faked pregnancies

   - switched DNA tests

 

2) Gridlock:

Just as in Washington DC, I have often felt that many of my favorite story lines have been stuck in committee, dragged on until they are unrecognizable and/or uninteresting.  I would like to lobby in favor of faster moving story lines (I am not for a moment advocating a Love Boat format in which every problem is resolved in 60 minutes).  However,  I feel that picking up the pace slightly, would be beneficial for many reasons.  There have been so many instances where an interesting story line has been dragged on so long that when it is finally resolved you can almost here the collective viewing audience scream "you jerked us around for months for this!"

 

3)Preservation of Historical Landmarks:

Okay maybe I am stretching on this one.  But I do feel that the history of a soap should be preserved.  GH usually gets high marks on this.  I love when they play historical footage (they showed vintage Laura and Scotty a month ago, and then showed them currently).  GH is extremely fortunate that they have enduring characters and quite often the original actors are portraying them (this is something that should be capitalized upon).  On the flip side, special care should be taken to preserve history.  Many viewers have been watching for years, the writers should be careful to avoid the common historical pitfalls (rapidly aging baby syndrome or forgetting to mention immediate family members who are no longer in Port Charles, during funerals or weddings).

 

4) Balanced Budget:

Balance is everything.  We viewers deserve it all: romance, tragedy, adventure, intrigue, and comedy.  I feel GH does a good job in this area too.  We need a good mix of age, race, and economic factors within the story lines.  There are over the top characters (Luke and Helena) and we need subtle characters to balance them.  There is tragedy (the loss of Carly's baby), and we need humor to balance that (Alexis and the internet for example).  I hope that TPTB continue to provide a good balance that offers something for everyone.

 

Well this is my two cents on politics and GH, if there is anything I left out you can write your congressman or email me at   mkenny19@msn.net