Soap Opera Questionnaire

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  • MissLcMissLc Posts: 236
    Forum Member
    Best of luck with your project!

    1. How old are you? 19
    2. Male or female? Female
    3. In your opinion, briefly summarise the effect Soap Operas have on their audience - I think they become a part of many peoples lives.
    4. How do you watch Soap Operas? On TV
    5. How often do you watch Soap Operas? 5 days a week
    6. How many (and which) Soap Opera’s do you watch? I watch Hollyoaks and Coronation Street and dip in and out of Emmerdale/Eastenders
    7. How important is watching Soap Opera’s to your daily routine? Quite important.
    8. What appeals to you about watching Soap’s? Entertainment
    9. What type of Soap Storyline’s are your favourites? Romance/Affairs

    Examples: Community based, Issue led (e.g. HIV, anorexia, euthanasia e.t.c.), Family, love/romance/affairs, violence/revenge/crime, topical issues, identity/sexuality, teenage issues (sex, pregnancy, school work), career/power.

    10. What appeals to you about your favourite Soap ahead of the others? It combines drama and comedy well.
    11. What expectations do you have of Soap Opera’s? - Entertainment, comedy and realism.

    Examples: - Entertainment, to learn something, comedy, drama, highly dramatised scenarios, realism, identifiable characters, escapism e.t.c

    12. Which Soap Opera do you associate most with the following…

    - Entertainment (Coronation Street)
    - Strong storylines (Coronation Street)
    - Humour (Coronation Street)
    - Gloom and Doom (Eastenders)
    - Realism (Coronation Street)
    - Drama (Hollyoaks)
    - Relatable Characters (Coronation Street)
    - Current social issues (Coronation Street/Hollyoaks)
    - Sensitive issues (Coronation Street)
    - Escapism (Hollyoaks)
    - Informational/Educational (Coronation Street)

    13. Are Soap Opera’s discussed in your household? Yes
    14. Do you watch alone? No
    15. Do you think Soap Opera’s tackle social issues sensitively? Yes
    16. Do you think their portrayal’s help people? Yes.
    17. What do you think is more important in doing this?- Accuracy and Sensitivity

    - Accuracy
    - Sensitivity
    - Avoiding graphic scenes
    - Ending positively
    - In character of the programme
    - Accompanied by support helpline

    18. In general, how important do you think realism is to Soap Opera’s? Very
    19. How do you feel women are represented in Soap Opera’s? Fairly
    20. Name one good representation of a woman in a Soap Opera, and one bad. Good - Carla Connor Bad - Tracy Barlow
    21. Do you think the strong woman stereotype is

    a. Positive? Yes
    b. Realistic? Yes

    22. If applicable, in your opinion, how has the representation of women in Soap changed over the last 50 years?I think storylines for women have become more realistic and relateable.
    23. What are you thoughts on this? Do you think it is positive/negative/accurate/unnecessary? Positive.
    24. Do you believe women are stereotypically presented in Soap Opera’s? No
    25. Do you think Soap Opera’s are intended for a female audience? No
    26. Do you think the young feisty female stereotype is….

    a. Positive? Yes
    b. Realistic? Not always
    c. Exploiting women? No
    d. Any other views on it? No

    27. Do you think women are portrayed as the victim in Soap Opera’s? No
    28. How important do you think it is for Soaps to portray women as multi-faceted? Quite important
    29. Do you think it is important for Soaps to present both the housewife stereotype and the strong, independent woman? Yes
    30. Which of these do you think is the most accurate of society? Strong independent women
    31. How do you consider the portrayal of young and older women to vary? The younger women seem to be more feisty than the older.
    32. Which stereotype of women do you think is most prominent in Soap’s today? Strong, independent women
    33. The stereotypical representation of women in Hollyoaks is that they are beautiful and sex objects. What are your thoughts on this? I think this is an assumption, whilst HO do have a young attractive cast, there are only a few used in this way.
    34. What are your views on the representation of intelligent, smart women in Soaps? I don't feel there are enough of them in soaps.
    35. Do you think a representation of women as beautiful and ditzy is irresponsible? To some degree, but it is also a reflection on real life too, aslong as not too many are represented this way.
    36. How important do you think a Soap’s audience is to the representation of women? E.g. teenage audience in Hollyoaks
    I think it definitely varies, I know the teenage audience and the sex appeal does put some women off watching Hollyoaks.
  • los.kavlos.kav Posts: 8,053
    Forum Member
    i appreciate it is long but I would be very grateful for any feedback :)

    When do you have to have it for? Can I fill it in over the next day or so (it's a bit late now, and I'm a bit busy tomorrow and won't be back until the evening) and PM it to you?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 130
    Forum Member
    I am currently doing the Extended Project Qualification and have chosen to do it on the stereotypical representation of women in British Soaps and how it has changed over time.

    I would really appreciate it if some of you guys could fill out the questionnaire as part of my primary research. I know it's long but anything would help.

    Many thanks

    Extended Project Questionnaire

    1. How old are you? 19
    2. Male or female? Female
    3. In your opinion, briefly summarise the effect Soap Operas have on their audience.. It makes them think about their own lives and gives an escape

    4. How do you watch Soap Operas? Tv
    5. How often do you watch Soap Operas? Everyday
    6. How many (and which) Soap Opera’s do you watch? Corrie emmerdale doctors hollyoaks
    7. How important is watching Soap Opera’s to your daily routine? Very! I record every ep
    8. What appeals to you about watching Soap’s? I get sucked in by the characters and story lines
    9. What type of Soap Storyline’s are your favourites? Murders, affairs

    Examples: Community based, Issue led (e.g. HIV, anorexia, euthanasia e.t.c.), Family, love/romance/affairs, violence/revenge/crime, topical issues, identity/sexuality, teenage issues (sex, pregnancy, school work), career/power.

    10. What appeals to you about your favourite Soap ahead of the others? Depend on characters
    11. What expectations do you have of Soap Opera’s?
    Good storylines and decent characters

    Examples: - Entertainment, to learn something, comedy, drama, highly dramatised scenarios, realism, identifiable characters, escapism e.t.c

    12. Which Soap Opera do you associate most with the following…

    - Entertainment - hollyoaks
    - Strong storylines - corrie
    - Humour - doctors
    - Gloom and Doom - eastenders
    - Realism- eastenders
    - Drama- hollyoaks
    - Relatable Characters- emmerdale
    - Current social issues - corrie
    - Sensitive issues- doctors
    - Escapism - corrie
    - Informational/Educational- doctors

    13. Are Soap Opera’s discussed in your household? Yes! All the time
    14. Do you watch alone? No
    15. Do you think Soap Opera’s tackle social issues sensitively? Yes
    16. Do you think their portrayal’s help people? No
    17. What do you think is more important in doing this? Accuracy

    - Accuracy
    - Sensitivity
    - Avoiding graphic scenes
    - Ending positively
    - In character of the programme
    - Accompanied by support helpline

    18. In general, how important do you think realism is to Soap Opera’s? Very
    19. How do you feel women are represented in Soap Opera’s? Most women portrayed in soap are very strong, every soap has both ends of the spectrum ie a successful women and then a not so well of women normally portrayed with a family.
    20. Name one good representation of a woman in a Soap Opera, and one bad.
    Good- Karen, doctors
    Bad- Carmel hollyoaks
    21. Do you think the strong woman stereotype is

    a. Positive? Yes
    b. Realistic? The majority of the time yes

    22. If applicable, in your opinion, how has the representation of women in Soap changed over the last 50 years?
    23. What are you thoughts on this? Do you think it is positive/negative/accurate/unnecessary?
    24. Do you believe women are stereotypically presented in Soap Opera’s? No
    25. Do you think Soap Opera’s are intended for a female audience? No
    26. Do you think the young feisty female stereotype is….

    a. Positive? No
    b. Realistic?no
    c. Exploiting women? No
    d. Any other views on it?

    27. Do you think women are portrayed as the victim in Soap Opera’s? Yes
    28. How important do you think it is for Soaps to portray women as multi-faceted?
    29. Do you think it is important for Soaps to present both the housewife stereotype and the strong, independent woman? Yes, it shows.the differences in society
    30. Which of these do you think is the most accurate of society? Housewives
    31. How do you consider the portrayal of young and older women to vary?
    Younger women are normally more 'mouthy' in soaps and normally always sleeping around, older women are more wine drinkers with a 'past'

    32. Which stereotype of women do you think is most prominent in Soap’s today? Middle aged women 30-40
    33. The stereotypical representation of women in Hollyoaks is that they are beautiful and sex objects. What are your thoughts on this?
    I think it's true, I wouldn't say sex objects but many are attractive and it can't not help attract more viewers but most of the women are good actors, also the soap in my opinion is made for younger viewers so thy tend to have you gets actresses
    34. What are your views on the representation of intelligent, smart women in Soaps?

    All strong women tend to have been given a past probably so the audience can empathise with them
    Zara doctors, Carla corrie, jac holby, Kat Ee, jacquie HO

    Intelligent women seem to be quite wealthy, not many friends, no children (maye 1)



    35. Do you think a representation of women as beautiful and ditzy is irresponsible? No, because its true to society l, the representation of ditzy women is balanced by mature women, also they're probably used for humour
    36. How important do you think a Soap’s audience is to the representation of women? E.g. teenage audience in Hollyoaks

    Very, teenagers Can be impressionable, and hollyoaks audience is quite young, so it's important they promote women well and true to form.. The majority of times I think they do ie Esther, sinead, Myra, nancy but others not so ie Theresa, loberty, Carmel, Mercedes, maxine
  • StarryNightStarryNight Posts: 7,289
    Forum Member
    Oh, this sounds very interesting. I'll do my best to answer these but I only watch Hollyoaks.



    1. How old are you?
    27

    2. Male or female?
    Female

    3. In your opinion, briefly summarise the effect Soap Operas have on their audience
    Soap operas, like all media, reproduce societal values, norms and roles. The audience observes them and internalises them, additionally they can also be quite useful for both challenging stereotypes or perpetuating them. They also offer a form of escapism and can be quite educational when 'issue tackling'.

    4. How do you watch Soap Operas?
    On tv.

    5. How often do you watch Soap Operas?
    5 days a week.

    6. How many (and which) Soap Opera’s do you watch?
    1. Hollyoaks.

    7. How important is watching Soap Opera’s to your daily routine?
    Its quite important I suppose. I hate missing it and I sort of time my dinner around it :o

    8. What appeals to you about watching Soaps?
    Television shows in general tend to be more character driven and that interests me. I think that its also because you get very fond of the characters because they are on so often so you can watch their development.

    9. What type of Soap Storyline’s are your favourites?
    I don't know if I have a favourite but i'll give you examples of the stories i've most got into on Hollyoaks. The first was the 'McDean' romance simply because it was a really sweet love story with the added complication of a young man struggling to except his feelings for another boy. Then their was Hannah's anorexia. For me that was brilliantly realised and honestly taught me more about the illness than any article or documentary had before. Then there was Silas, I think for that it was almost just a delightful pantomine with the added element of Lynsey being his nemesis and waiting to see who would be next. Lastly, I really enjoyed Brendan's exit storyline - the reveal of the sexual abuse he had suffered at the hands of his father. Just steller performances and scripts.

    10. What appeals to you about your favourite Soap ahead of the others?
    It has a unique style and it takes risks.

    11. What expectations do you have of Soap Opera’s?
    To be entertaining. To be responsible to its audience i.e. if issue tackling doing it with respect and caution. To raise awareness and hopefully to challenge the audience.

    12. Which Soap Opera do you associate most with the following…

    - Entertainment - Hollyoaks
    - Strong storylines - Hollyoaks
    - Humour - Corrie
    - Gloom and Doom - Eastenders
    - Realism - Brookie
    - Drama - Brookie
    - Relatable Characters - Hollyoaks
    - Current social issues - Brookie
    - Sensitive issues - Hollyoaks
    - Escapism - Corrie
    - Informational/Educational - Hollyoaks

    13. Are Soap Opera’s discussed in your household?
    Occassionally, very rarely.

    14. Do you watch alone?
    Yep.

    15. Do you think Soap Opera’s tackle social issues sensitively?
    In 99.9% of cases yes. I think there was some controversy lately about the portrayal of social work on Eastenders.

    16. Do you think their portrayal’s help people?
    Yes, absolutely in the majority of cases.

    17. What do you think is more important in doing this?

    - Accuracy
    - Sensitivity
    - Avoiding graphic scenes
    - Ending positively
    - In character of the programme
    - Accompanied by support helpline

    I think all of these things are important but the least important is probably avoiding graphic scenes. It always helps if something happens to an established character that people love.

    18. In general, how important do you think realism is to Soap Operas?
    I think its extremely important if they are writing a story around an issue because its dangerous to glamourise or to stereotype something but the day to day stuff i.e. like the amount of huge accidents that occur or affairs people have etc. is less important.

    19. How do you feel women are represented in Soap Operas?
    I think soap operas generally represent women well because by the nature of soaps woman cannot be categorised like they generally are in films. For example, a major problem of most films is that most of a female characters dialogue revolves around either a man/a relationship or their children. Also female characters are often the 'prize' for the hero at the end i.e. he saves the day and his reward is sex with the beautiful girl. In soap operas women are more diverse in their representations, their dialogue, their looks and their conversations. I can only relate this to Hollyoaks though but as I recall from years of watching Eastenders, they did seem to perpetuate the male 'bread winner' female 'carer' idea quite strongly.

    20. Name one good representation of a woman in a Soap Opera, and one bad.
    I think Jacqui McQueen is a good representation because she's strong and capable and although she's made many serious mistakes and committed crimes, she's a good person. When she was raped, she also dealt with that in a good way.

    A bad representation would probably be Theresa McQueen because she's generally very image and man obsessed and is sort of a stereotypical blonde bimbo.

    21. Do you think the strong woman stereotype is

    a. Positive?
    b. Realistic?

    Both.

    22. If applicable, in your opinion, how has the representation of women in Soap changed over the last 50 years?
    Yes, the representations of both men and women have.

    23. What are you thoughts on this? Do you think it is positive/negative/accurate/unnecessary?
    Positive and accurate. In the last 50 years we've had more women entering the work-force, higher rates of divorce, single parentish and educational mobility for women etc. It was be absurd for a soap opera not to portray these changes.

    24. Do you believe women are stereotypically presented in Soap Operas?
    In some cases, yes. But generally, and I can only relate this to Hollyoaks, i'd say not to a massive extent at all.

    25. Do you think Soap Opera’s are intended for a female audience?
    Yes.

    26. Do you think the young feisty female stereotype is….

    a. Positive?
    b. Realistic?
    c. Exploiting women?
    d. Any other views on it?

    I don't think of it as exploitative as a concept but individual cases may unintentionally become so. Generally, I think it would be quite positive and realistic.

    27. Do you think women are portrayed as the victim in Soap Operas?
    I think women tend to be more victimised than men on soaps. For example, as far as I know male rape has been covered just once on a UK soap while females rapes are pretty frequent as are stories about domestic abuse. In a sense, one could probably view stories about put upon women as victimising i.e. there is a story on Hollyoaks right now about Nancy Osbourne becoming increasingly stressed out because she is caring for her deaf son and her husband seems to look after him less. Again, these sorts of stories are pretty consistant.

    28. How important do you think it is for Soaps to portray women as multi-faceted?
    Very.

    29. Do you think it is important for Soaps to present both the housewife stereotype and the strong, independent woman?
    I don't want to see any stereotypes but I think its important to portray both choices positively.

    30. Which of these do you think is the most accurate of society?
    I think the more independent woman is more accurate now.

    31. How do you consider the portrayal of young and older women to vary?
    Older woman are quite often portrayed in a more traditional caring role, while young ones are more independent. Older characters often have quite a comedic role whereas younger characters have more dramas.

    32. Which stereotype of women do you think is most prominent in Soap’s today?
    Most people continue to assume that woman are natural carers i.e. essentialsing the genders and adopting a socio-biological - and therefore incorrect - view of gender. And I think, that there's still a general feeling that women should occuy a supporting and subordinate position to men among some factors of society.

    33. The stereotypical representation of women in Hollyoaks is that they are beautiful and sex objects. What are your thoughts on this?
    I disagree with this entirely. I don't think this is what Hollyoaks are portraying with their characters but its what people who don't watch it assume because the cast are young and beautiful. The girls on Hollyoaks do tend to wear dressy clothes and have nice hair and make-up but just because a woman dresses up, it does not mean she's inviting sex. It reminds me of people who say a girl is asking to get raped by wearing a short skirt. You can be a good female role model in a short skirt, high heels and lipstick. There's nothing wrong with exhibiting femininity. As a woman, I don't watch that and think they're sex objects - I think its great that they have taken a post-feminist approach to their characters i.e. you can be strong and independent but that doesn't mean becoming masculine. It means celebrating women and all that they are.

    34. What are your views on the representation of intelligent, smart women in Soaps?
    Sadly they're often cast in the role of villian. And the fact that they are still anomalies speaks volumes. Again, relating this to Hollyoaks, there are really quite a lot of these characters - in fact there are very few unintelligent female characters in Hollyoaks but I think they're quite diverse in their personalities and storylines. I don't think its all that different to how intelligent men are portrayed.

    35. Do you think a representation of women as beautiful and ditzy is irresponsible?
    Yes and no. It reproduces the notion that beautiful women are normally stupid and reduces them to their appearance alone. However, these characters are often well liked and the moral centre of a storyline/situation so they have their positive attributes too.

    36. How important do you think a Soap’s audience is to the representation of women?
    Very. In Hollyoaks, they have a young audience so they write young women and the things they're interested in are often topical. They're dealing with exams and socialising etc. In Corrie, there are a lot of older characters and widows etc. and I think that appeals more to their demographic who find that more relatable.


    Hope that's ok. I'd really like to see what conclusions you come to. Its such an interesting topic.
  • IzzyInTheHouseIzzyInTheHouse Posts: 4,348
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    1. How old are you? 100, I'm actually immortal :p

    2. Male or female? Female

    3. In your opinion, briefly summarise the effect Soap Operas have on their audience. They allow someone to escape and just enjoy (or be moved) by a person or storyline.

    4. How do you watch Soap Operas? Online or through he Tivo box normally, sometimes catch it on TV.

    5. How often do you watch Soap Operas? 2 1/2 hours of Hollyoaks, 2 hours of EE and 2 1/2 of Corrie so 7 hours a week.

    6. How many (and which) Soap Opera’s do you watch? 3, Coronation Street, Eastenders and Hollyoaks.

    7. How important is watching Soap Opera’s to your daily routine? Not incredibly, but I enjoy watching them so make time.

    8. What appeals to you about watching Soap’s? I can escape from the world for half an hour and watch something exciting :)

    9. What type of Soap Storyline’s are your favourites?

    - Issue Led
    - Violence/Revenge/Crime
    - Sometimes Identity/Sexuality

    10. What appeals to you about your favourite Soap ahead of the others? It always has something going and I really enjoy it I guess. It's the best soap at the moment (Hollyoaks)

    11. What expectations do you have of Soap Opera’s?

    - Entertainment/Drama
    - Realism
    - Idenifiable Characters
    - Escapism

    12. Which Soap Opera do you associate most with the following…

    - Entertainment - Hollyoaks
    - Strong storylines - Hollyoaks
    - Humour - Coronation Street
    - Gloom and Doom - Eastenders
    - Realism - Hollyoaks
    - Drama - Hollyoaks
    - Relatable Characters - Coronation Street
    - Current social issues - Eastenders
    - Sensitive issues - Hollyoaks
    - Escapism - Hollyoaks
    - Informational/Educational - Eastenders

    -- Hard to do as I don't know if you mean currently or as in of all time.

    13. Are Soap Opera’s discussed in your household? No lol

    14. Do you watch alone? Yes, unless my dog counts :)

    15. Do you think Soap Opera’s tackle social issues sensitively? Sometimes.

    16. Do you think their portrayal’s help people? Yes certainly.

    17. What do you think is more important in doing this?

    - Accuracy
    - Sensitivity
    - Ending positively
    - Accompanied by support helpline

    18. In general, how important do you think realism is to Soap Opera’s? Extremely.

    19. How do you feel women are represented in Soap Opera’s? Sometimes well, sometimes badly. Same goes for men.

    20. Name one good representation of a woman in a Soap Opera, and one bad.

    Good - Becky Granger. Deep down she always wanted to do well, settle down and have a family. She was a really nice person, who had a lot of crap thrown at her through her life.

    Bad - Mercedes McQueen - she makes the same mistakes again and again, and never learns. She's also a serial cheat.

    21. Do you think the strong woman stereotype is

    a. Positive? Sometimes.
    b. Realistic? Again, sometimes.

    22. If applicable, in your opinion, how has the representation of women in Soap changed over the last 50 years?

    Not much really, they're have always been different types of women in soap (tart with a heart, vulnerable etc.) and they're still are now.

    23. What are you thoughts on this? Do you think it is positive/negative/accurate/unnecessary? Positive I guess, it shows not everyone is the same.

    24. Do you believe women are stereotypically presented in Soap Opera’s? No there is no such thing as a 'stereotype' women IMO.

    25. Do you think Soap Opera’s are intended for a female audience? No, but male and female

    26. Do you think the young feisty female stereotype is….

    a. Positive? Depending
    b. Realistic? In some cases, yes.
    c. Exploiting women? No
    d. Any other views on it? There isn't really a stereotype of this either, every character is usually different and have different flaws and characteristics.

    27. Do you think women are portrayed as the victim in Soap Opera’s? No not generally.

    28. How important do you think it is for Soaps to portray women as multi-faceted? Just as important as it is too show man as multi-faceted.

    29. Do you think it is important for Soaps to present both the housewife stereotype and the strong, independent woman? Yes.

    30. Which of these do you think is the most accurate of society? Both, many people fit into both categories.

    31. How do you consider the portrayal of young and older women to vary? Younger women (just people generally really) can be more reckless, whereas older people are more relaxed I guess.

    32. Which stereotype of women do you think is most prominent in Soap’s today? Tart with a heart I suppose.

    33. The stereotypical representation of women in Hollyoaks is that they are beautiful and sex objects. What are your thoughts on this? That these people have clearly never seen the show and are talking a load of crap.

    34. What are your views on the representation of intelligent, smart women in Soaps? ..? It's good lol.

    35. Do you think a representation of women as beautiful and ditzy is irresponsible? No, there are quite a few people who are like that.

    36. How important do you think a Soap’s audience is to the representation of women? E.g. teenage audience in Hollyoaks. They will appeal to different she groups so have different characteristics.



    Hope that's okay. I don't really think there is a 'stereotype' of women at all. I mean some are clever, some are evil, some are sl*ggy, some are damaged etc. etc.
  • wavlovrwavlovr Posts: 3,741
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Extended Project Questionnaire

    1. How old are you? 48. Now lets never speak of it again :)
    2. Male or female? Female
    3. In your opinion, briefly summarise the effect Soap Operas have on their audience. Its my bit of escapism from the world. And someone having a bad day in soapland makes my day seem a lot better in comparison.
    4. How do you watch Soap Operas? Online
    5. How often do you watch Soap Operas? Most days, or I save them to watch on weekends when i`m not so busy.
    6. How many (and which) Soap Opera’s do you watch? In order of preference....Pobol Y Cwm, Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Home&Away, Neighbours.
    7. How important is watching Soap Opera’s to your daily routine? on a scale of 1-10 = a 7
    8. What appeals to you about watching Soap’s? Living in the USA, it`s my home away from home escapism, and makes me less homesick.
    9. What type of Soap Storyline’s are your favourites? The storylines where my least favourite soap actor gets their comeuppance.

    Examples: Community based, Issue led (e.g. HIV, anorexia, euthanasia e.t.c.), Family, love/romance/affairs, violence/revenge/crime, topical issues, identity/sexuality, teenage issues (sex, pregnancy, school work), career/power.

    10. What appeals to you about your favourite Soap ahead of the others? In Pobol Y Cwm the characters seem so real I feel I know them personally. That`s down to the superb writing and the actors.
    11. What expectations do you have of Soap Opera’s? I like to be entertained with gritty storylines, but it annoys me if the same charactors gets all the gritty storylines week after week and lesser known characters don`t get their chance to shine.

    Examples: - Entertainment, to learn something, comedy, drama, highly dramatised scenarios, realism, identifiable characters, escapism e.t.c

    12. Which Soap Opera do you associate most with the following…

    - Entertainment Corrie, Pobol Y Cwm, Home and Away
    - Strong storylines Corrie, Pobol Y Cwm
    - Humour Corrie, PYC, Emmerdale
    - Gloom and Doom EastEnders
    - Realism PYC, Corrie
    - Drama PYC, Corrie, Emmerdale
    - Relatable Characters PYC, Corrie
    - Current social issues PYC, Corrie, Emmerdale
    - Sensitive issues PYC, Corrie, Emmerdale
    - Escapism PYC, Corrie, Emmerdale. Home and Away
    - Informational/Educational PYC, Corrie

    13. Are Soap Opera’s discussed in your household? Yes, quite often
    14. Do you watch alone? Yes. I watch online using wireless headphones while I do my knitting.
    15. Do you think Soap Opera’s tackle social issues sensitively? Most do yes.
    16. Do you think their portrayal’s help people? Very much so - especially when the credits roll at the end and there is a helpline number to contact if any viewer has been affected by a particular storyline. PYC does that a lot.
    17. What do you think is more important in doing this? To make the viewer feel they are not alone in a particular scene that affects them personally.

    - Accuracy
    - Sensitivity
    - Avoiding graphic scenes
    - Ending positively
    - In character of the programme
    - Accompanied by support helpline

    18. In general, how important do you think realism is to Soap Opera’s? Very important.
    19. How do you feel women are represented in Soap Opera’s? Corrie has the Northern 'tart with a heart' persona down perfectly. . On the whole though, women are represented quite well in all soaps.
    20. Name one good representation of a woman in a Soap Opera, and one bad. One good representation of women in soap is Rita Sullivan from Corrie. She has lived through decades of pain and suffering, and still she comes up smiling. Ditto with Audrey Roberts. A bad representation is Mercedes McQueen from Hollyoaks who would sleep with any man with a pulse.
    21. Do you think the strong woman stereotype is
    Pretty good. A 21st century woman is much more confident and outgoing than from the 60`s. But the 1960`s women weren`t as promiscuous as they are now.



    22. If applicable, in your opinion, how has the representation of women in Soap changed over the last 50 years? Women are a lot less dependant on men than they used to be. And with that more independence and equality comes with a lot more confidence.
    23. What are you thoughts on this? Do you think it is positive/negative/accurate/unnecessary? Its the sign of the times. Whether it be good or bad, it depends on the woman. What works with one woman doesn`t necessarily mean is a bad thing. its down to personal taste. ,
    24. Do you believe women are stereotypically presented in Soap Opera’s? Not anymore. They used to be in the 60`s and 70`s, but not so much anymore.
    25. Do you think Soap Opera’s are intended for a female audience? Mostly yes, but there are a lot of men who enjoy soap operas. Although there aren`t as many who fully admit it.
    26. Do you think the young feisty female stereotype is…. It depends on the character. Tina McIntire in Corrie is feisty and very realistic. Where a quieter character like Hayley Cropper in Corrie wouldn`t be as gobby, but much more diplomatic.

    a. Positive?
    b. Realistic?
    c. Exploiting women?
    d. Any other views on it?

    27. Do you think women are portrayed as the victim in Soap Opera’s? Some characters relish playing the victim to get what they want...especially when they want their own way. Nicola King from Emmerdale and Charity Sharmer from Emmerdale are both perfect examples,
    28. How important do you think it is for Soaps to portray women as multi-faceted? Its vitally important. One day we despise a certain character for months for being such a wirtch. Then the tables are turned and you can`t help feeling sorry for her. A perfect example is Sioned Rees in Pobol Y Cwm.
    29. Do you think it is important for Soaps to present both the housewife stereotype and the strong, independent woman. Absolutely. Not every woman are in the same mold. Some prefer to be stay at home wife and Mother while others prefer to have a career,
    30. Which of these do you think is the most accurate of society? The younger ones seem to be more confident, while the older ones are more wise.
    31. How do you consider the portrayal of young and older women to vary? The younger females seems to think that they know everything, while the older woman learn from their mistakes.
    32. Which stereotype of women do you think is most prominent in Soap’s today? Women who think they won`t get pregnant after a one night stand.
    33. The stereotypical representation of women in Hollyoaks is that they are beautiful and sex objects. What are your thoughts on this? They don`t represent real woman who can be both big and sexy, or smart and sexy without being drop dead gorgeous.
    34. What are your views on the representation of intelligent, smart women in Soaps? They are represented quite well on the whole.
    35. Do you think a representation of women as beautiful and ditzy is irresponsible? yes. and it sends the wrong message to teenage girls.
    36. How important do you think a Soap’s audience is to the representation of women? E.g. teenage audience in Hollyoaks. I have no opinion as the soap is not in my age group.

    Whew!!!! I hope an older person such as myself did their age group proud. I`m probably the oldest person doing this survey.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,322
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Extended Project Questionnaire

    1. How old are you? 17
    2. Male or female? Male
    3. In your opinion, briefly summarise the effect Soap Operas have on their audience. They can influence and teach people, Soaps often tackle real life issues that could be an eye opener or educational for the viewers. Some people can also be affected emotionally by a particular storyline, which is probably the main reason for complaints and of course praise. They provide entertainment and a bit of escapism for the viewer too.
    4. How do you watch Soap Operas? TV, if I miss it then I will watch online.
    5. How often do you watch Soap Operas? Most weekdays.
    6. How many (and which) Soap Opera’s do you watch? 3. EastEnders, Coronation Street and occasionally Emmerdale.
    7. How important is watching Soap Opera’s to your daily routine? Not very, it depends on the soap and how good it is at the time. Sometimes it is unmissable, other times it is just missable.
    8. What appeals to you about watching Soap’s? Seeing the lives of other people and what goes on behind their closed doors. I like to get farmiliar with people and places and if a storyline grips me... It grips me good. On the whole I just find it interesting watching TV characters go through their dramatic day-to-day lives.
    9. What type of Soap Storyline’s are your favourites? Issue led, I find them to be very strong stuff and if it raises awareness then even better! Violence/revenge/crime, not all of the time but a good, juicy murder or revenge hungry character is always very interesting for me. Family, I like to see what is going on behind closed doors and take a look at a family interacting with one another and going through the good and bad together. I like most types of storylines but they come out on top for me.

    Examples: Community based, Issue led (e.g. HIV, anorexia, euthanasia e.t.c.), Family, love/romance/affairs, violence/revenge/crime, topical issues, identity/sexuality, teenage issues (sex, pregnancy, school work), career/power.

    10. What appeals to you about your favourite Soap ahead of the others? Seeing very strong storylines at a young age hooked me. For example Mo and Trevor in EastEnders, I found it gripping, terrifying and heartbreaker for Mo. I also grew fond of all of the characters which made it my favourite soap.
    11. What expectations do you have of Soap Opera’s? Highly dramatized scenarios, I expect a storyline that really has something big about it, it also has to obviously be entertaining. Comedy is also important so the soap doesn't get too depressing and bleak. Identifiable characters I definitely expect to see in a soap opera, they need to be understandable and have justifiable reasons for doing things (Unless they are loopy) and they need to be 3 dimensional with a decent background to be a really good character.

    Examples: - Entertainment, to learn something, comedy, drama, highly dramatised scenarios, realism, identifiable characters, escapism e.t.c

    12. Which Soap Opera do you associate most with the following…

    (I don't watch Emmerdale that much so forgive me for not knowing much about it)
    - Entertainment Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale
    - Strong storylines EastEnders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale
    - Humour Coronation Street, EastEnders
    - Gloom and Doom EastEnders
    - Realism EastEnders
    - Drama EastEnders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale
    - Relatable Characters EastEnders
    - Current social issues EastEnders, Coronation Street
    - Sensitive issues EastEnders
    - Escapism EastEnders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale
    - Informational/Educational EastEnders

    13. Are Soap Opera’s discussed in your household? Occasionally, usually triggered by me.
    14. Do you watch alone? If I don't watch it when it airs on TV then yes, I will watch it alone on the internet.
    15. Do you think Soap Opera’s tackle social issues sensitively? Yes.
    16. Do you think their portrayal’s help people? Yes, I have heard they do.
    17. What do you think is more important in doing this?

    - Accuracy People may take offence to things or get upset the truth must be dellivered, accuracy is the most important way of portraying an issue that may help someone.
    - Sensitivity
    - Avoiding graphic scenes
    - Ending positively If this cushions the blow for those affected then it helps, I think its nice to have a positive ending to an issue led storyline (example: Domestic abuse) it could also encourage people to take action against it, especially if the ending is positive.
    - In character of the programme
    - Accompanied by support helpline

    18. In general, how important do you think realism is to Soap Opera’s? I think it is quite important because the soap is meant to be portraying real life sort of people living their day-to-day life. Realism is definitely needed in soaps.
    19. How do you feel women are represented in Soap Opera’s? In a decent, entertaining and as far as I am concerned non offensive manner. Most of my favourite characters are women I would like to add.
    20. Name one good representation of a woman in a Soap Opera, and one bad. I would say a good representation of a woman in soap would be someone like Dot, she has been around for a very long time and suffered so much but is still a kind hearted soul. A bad representation of a woman could be someone like Kat, who doesn't seem to make herself better. I know she had a bad childhood experience but sleeping around constantly doesn't show her in a good light at all.
    21. Do you think the strong woman stereotype is

    a. Positive? Yes.
    b. Realistic? Maybe. Some women are very strong, but the amount of 'strong' women in soaps may be more common than those in real life. The term 'strong woman' is given to most women in soaps too.

    22. If applicable, in your opinion, how has the representation of women in Soap changed over the last 50 years? I am only 17 so I can't comment on this question :(
    23. What are you thoughts on this? Do you think it is positive/negative/accurate/unnecessary? See above.
    24. Do you believe women are stereotypically presented in Soap Opera’s? No.
    25. Do you think Soap Opera’s are intended for a female audience? Despite people often saying they are (outside this forum) I don't believe they are.
    26. Do you think the young feisty female stereotype is….

    a. Positive? Yes.
    b. Realistic? Sometimes.
    c. Exploiting women? No.
    d. Any other views on it? I like the young, feisty characters. Overkill is never good though.

    27. Do you think women are portrayed as the victim in Soap Opera’s? Only when necessary, Mo Slater was portrayed a victim, only because she was a victim. Kirsty Soames however, was not the victim, in fact her male partner Tyrone Dobbs was. It all depends on the situation.
    28. How important do you think it is for Soaps to portray women as multi-faceted? Very important. Characters need to have more than one side to them, it brings them to life and makes them interesting.
    29. Do you think it is important for Soaps to present both the housewife stereotype and the strong, independent woman? Yes, variety is good and it is important to represent both sides of the coin.
    30. Which of these do you think is the most accurate of society? I am not sure sorry.
    31. How do you consider the portrayal of young and older women to vary? The younger ones are usually fiesty and mischievous, often getting the big storylines. The older characters are often more mellow and not usually doing much wrong.
    32. Which stereotype of women do you think is most prominent in Soap’s today? Fiesty, most of the soap women are fiesty these days and are often written and portrayed in a very confrontational, headstrong manner. That may not be the case for all women but for many it is.
    33. The stereotypical representation of women in Hollyoaks is that they are beautiful and sex objects. What are your thoughts on this? I don't watch Hollyoaks but it is important to strike a balance, if a soap wants a pretty face then fair enough, but it is very important for a soap to represent all types of people and not see them as 'sex objects'.
    34. What are your views on the representation of intelligent, smart women in Soaps? They are lacking. I rarely see this side of soap characters, be it male or female. Characters are often gobby and attention seekers for the drama. I don't mind too much but there aren't many intelligent or smart characters around. Not that the women are stupid, they just lack the intelligent and smart characteristics IMO. Or at least they don't show that side of them often.
    35. Do you think a representation of women as beautiful and ditzy is irresponsible?
    It can be, if the same process is repeated. No one wants to see the same ditzy but beautiful character in 10 different forms. Having a ditzy character that isn't beautiful, or a beautiful character that isn't ditzy could help shake off this stereotype.
    36. How important do you think a Soap’s audience is to the representation of women? E.g. teenage audience in Hollyoaks I think a soaps audience is important to a soaps representation of anything. Be it men, women, abuse, terminal disease etc.


    I actually found that quite difficult, I am not the brightest tool in the shed but I did my best. I like to help those in need :)
  • adenbelle09adenbelle09 Posts: 104
    Forum Member
    Thank you both so much for your incredibly detailed and thorough answers! I really appreciate it :)
  • KieranDSKieranDS Posts: 16,545
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    My answers in bold/underlined ----

    1. How old are you? 21
    2. Male or female? Male
    3. In your opinion, briefly summarise the effect Soap Operas have on their audience. Escapism, relaxation, routine...
    4. How do you watch Soap Operas? Television or Online.
    5. How often do you watch Soap Operas? Often.
    6. How many (and which) Soap Opera’s do you watch? 3 - EastEnders, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks
    7. How important is watching Soap Opera’s to your daily routine? Not that important. But I'll always catch up if I miss an episode.
    8. What appeals to you about watching Soap’s? I'm not quite sure.
    9. What type of Soap Storyline’s are your favourites?
    Issue led, mystery, violence/revenge/crime, character led stories.

    Examples: Community based, Issue led (e.g. HIV, anorexia, euthanasia e.t.c.), Family, love/romance/affairs, violence/revenge/crime, topical issues, identity/sexuality, teenage issues (sex, pregnancy, school work), career/power.

    10. What appeals to you about your favourite Soap ahead of the others? EastEnders - although it's not at it's best, when it's good I like how well written it can be. I also feel like I can identify more with the show as I live in London.
    11. What expectations do you have of Soap Opera’s?
    Inform, entertain, drama, realism, well written/acted/directed

    Examples: - Entertainment, to learn something, comedy, drama, highly dramatised scenarios, realism, identifiable characters, escapism e.t.c

    12. Which Soap Opera do you associate most with the following…

    - Entertainment - Corrie
    - Strong storylines - Hollyoaks
    - Humour - Corrie
    - Gloom and Doom - EastEnders
    - Realism - EastEnders
    - Drama - EastEnders
    - Relatable Characters - EastEnders/Hollyoaks
    - Current social issues - Hollyoaks
    - Sensitive issues - Hollyoaks/EastEnders
    - Escapism - Corrie
    - Informational/Educational - EastEnders

    13. Are Soap Opera’s discussed in your household? Yes
    14. Do you watch alone? Mostly
    15. Do you think Soap Opera’s tackle social issues sensitively? Yes, generally.
    16. Do you think their portrayal’s help people? Yes
    17. What do you think is more important in doing this?

    - Accuracy
    - Sensitivity
    - Avoiding graphic scenes
    - Ending positively
    - In character of the programme
    - Accompanied by support helpline

    I didn't quite understand the question.

    18. In general, how important do you think realism is to Soap Opera’s? Very important.
    19. How do you feel women are represented in Soap Opera’s? Sometimes positively, sometimes negatively.
    20. Name one good representation of a woman in a Soap Opera, and one bad.Good - hard to pinpoint. I'll go with Dot. Although she has serious flaws, she has a good nature. Bad - Kat Slater.
    21. Do you think the strong woman stereotype is

    a. Positive? Yes
    b. Realistic? Yes

    22. If applicable, in your opinion, how has the representation of women in Soap changed over the last 50 years? Storylines have become more relatable to female viewers.
    23. What are you thoughts on this? Do you think it is positive/negative/accurate/unnecessary? Positive.
    24. Do you believe women are stereotypically presented in Soap Opera’s? Sometimes.
    25. Do you think Soap Opera’s are intended for a female audience? I'd say yes. Although I believe the gap is closing.
    26. Do you think the young feisty female stereotype is….

    a. Positive? Depends.
    b. Realistic? Depends.
    c. Exploiting women? Depends.
    d. Any other views on it?

    It depends on how it is presented. Most of the time, it is a stereotypical portrayal through and through.

    27. Do you think women are portrayed as the victim in Soap Opera’s? No.
    28. How important do you think it is for Soaps to portray women as multi-faceted? Very important.
    29. Do you think it is important for Soaps to present both the housewife stereotype and the strong, independent woman? Perhaps.
    30. Which of these do you think is the most accurate of society? Strong and independent.
    31. How do you consider the portrayal of young and older women to vary?
    32. Which stereotype of women do you think is most prominent in Soap’s today? Over sexualised.
    33. The stereotypical representation of women in Hollyoaks is that they are beautiful and sex objects. What are your thoughts on this? That viewpoint is catering for their target audience and is not representative of society.
    34. What are your views on the representation of intelligent, smart women in Soaps? Sorely lacking.
    35. Do you think a representation of women as beautiful and ditzy is irresponsible? Depends.
    36. How important do you think a Soap’s audience is to the representation of women? E.g. teenage audience in Hollyoaks
    Very important.
  • adenbelle09adenbelle09 Posts: 104
    Forum Member
    Thanks so much to everyone for their support and effort and fantastic responses! :) xx
  • DeschanelDeschanel Posts: 8,733
    Forum Member
    Extended Project Questionnaire

    1. How old are you? 28
    2. Male or female? Male
    3. In your opinion, briefly summarise the effect Soap Operas have on their audience. They relax, entertain, inform, and provide relate-ability, escapism that all invoke passion - either positive or negative.
    4. How do you watch Soap Operas? TV, DVR, Online.
    5. How often do you watch Soap Operas? Religiously for some, occasionally for others.
    6. How many (and which) Soap Opera’s do you watch? 3 - Neighbours, EastEnders and Hollyoaks.
    7. How important is watching Soap Opera’s to your daily routine? Depends on the show. Watching Neighbours is important b/c I'm a lifelong fan and I enjoy the show, but the others are not important, unless they are seriously good, but even then it doesn't matter if I don't watch that day, as I can always catch up if I so wish.
    8. What appeals to you about watching Soap’s? Variety of characters and stories that can be told. Escapism and relate-ability of the characters and how they deal with what can be real life scenarios. Exploring human psychology.
    9. What type of Soap Storyline’s are your favourites? Issue led, mysteries, topical issues, violence/revenge/crime, romance, power plays.

    Examples: Community based, Issue led (e.g. HIV, anorexia, euthanasia e.t.c.), Family, love/romance/affairs, violence/revenge/crime, topical issues, identity/sexuality, teenage issues (sex, pregnancy, school work), career/power.

    10. What appeals to you about your favourite Soap ahead of the others? Neighbours: Relating and connecting to the characters and their stories. The sunny outlook is way more appealing than wall-to-wall misery. The moral edge that shapes the show. The down-to-earth vibe the show has. When it's good, it's awesome. Neighbours can combine serious drama with silly storytelling.
    11. What expectations do you have of Soap Opera’s? To be entertaining and informative; moral without being preachy. relateable and identifiable; realistic and fun; to have drama. Well written with decently plotted storylines, and characters whose motivations are clear and realistic.

    Examples: - Entertainment, to learn something, comedy, drama, highly dramatised scenarios, realism, identifiable characters, escapism e.t.c

    12. Which Soap Opera do you associate most with the following…

    - Entertainment Neighbours / Hollyoaks
    - Strong storylines EastEnders / Neighbours / Corrie
    - Humour Neighbours
    - Gloom and Doom EastEnders
    - Realism Neighbours / EastEnders
    - Drama EastEnders / Neighbours
    - Relatable Characters Neighbours
    - Current social issues Hollyoaks / Neighbours / EastEnders
    - Sensitive issues Hollyoaks
    - Escapism Neighbours
    - Informational/Educational Neighbours

    13. Are Soap Opera’s discussed in your household? Yes
    14. Do you watch alone? No
    15. Do you think Soap Opera’s tackle social issues sensitively? Generally, yes.
    16. Do you think their portrayal’s help people? Yes
    17. What do you think is more important in doing this?

    - Accuracy
    - Sensitivity
    - Avoiding graphic scenes
    - Ending positively
    - In character of the programme
    - Accompanied by support helpline

    18. In general, how important do you think realism is to Soap Opera’s? It should be one of their main priorities.
    19. How do you feel women are represented in Soap Opera’s? Positively and negatively depending on the show.
    20. Name one good representation of a woman in a Soap Opera, and one bad. Good: Neighbours' Sonya Rebecchi (a few months ago I would have said her sister Jade Mitchell, but she's left the show). Bad: EastEnders' Kat Moon.
    21. Do you think the strong woman stereotype is

    a. Positive? Yes
    b. Realistic? Yes

    22. If applicable, in your opinion, how has the representation of women in Soap changed over the last 50 years? I'm not old enough to know, but I's assume female characters have become more independent, and less tied to the kitchen waiting on their man.
    23. What are you thoughts on this? Do you think it is positive/negative/accurate/unnecessary? It's positive, accurate and necessary. You don't want female characters to be stuck in the past, just like you don't want the male characters to be either. Soaps have to evolve with society.
    24. Do you believe women are stereotypically presented in Soap Opera’s? It depends on the show. So yes and no.
    25. Do you think Soap Opera’s are intended for a female audience? To a degree, but there are a lot more male viewers these days than there ever used to be...
    26. Do you think the young feisty female stereotype is….

    a. Positive? Depends on the character.
    b. Realistic? Depends on the character.
    c. Exploiting women? Depends on the character.
    d. Any other views on it? The feisty female can be fresh and fun, but can very easily be too negative and unlikeable. It can get old fast.

    27. Do you think women are portrayed as the victim in Soap Opera’s? Depends on the storyline. They can be strong, independent characters, but can so easily be the victim and be written as weak.
    28. How important do you think it is for Soaps to portray women as multi-faceted? Uber important.
    29. Do you think it is important for Soaps to present both the housewife stereotype and the strong, independent woman? I don't think the housewife stereotype is relevant to today and can be too negative. It's more important to have strong, independent women.
    30. Which of these do you think is the most accurate of society? Strong and independent.
    31. How do you consider the portrayal of young and older women to vary? Young woman can be overly sexualised, while older women are quite feisty.
    32. Which stereotype of women do you think is most prominent in Soap’s today? The overly sexualised.
    33. The stereotypical representation of women in Hollyoaks is that they are beautiful and sex objects. What are your thoughts on this? Beautiful maybe, but I think they've progressed a lot in recent years with characters like Nancy, Phoebe, Esther, Jacqui... I think it's important not to write female characters as sex objects, unless it is part of a storyline / character development, especially with the show's impressionable young audience.
    34. What are your views on the representation of intelligent, smart women in Soaps? There isn't many. Charlotte McKimmie on Neighbours fits this, but she's a recurring guest, and if she became a regular character, she'd probably have a lot of "dumb" moments for the sake of the storyline.
    35. Do you think a representation of women as beautiful and ditzy is irresponsible? No.
    36. How important do you think a Soap’s audience is to the representation of women? E.g. teenage audience in Hollyoaks. Very important. The more impressionable the audience, the better the representation should be.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,446
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    mo mouse wrote: »
    I would have thought the original poster could make their own decision about who to ignore if that is what they want to do. Personally, I'd be more inclined to ignore sanctimonious, sycophantic, self congratulatory hypocrites.

    So they should ignore you, in that case? :rolleyes:
  • adenbelle09adenbelle09 Posts: 104
    Forum Member
    los.kav wrote: »
    When do you have to have it for? Can I fill it in over the next day or so (it's a bit late now, and I'm a bit busy tomorrow and won't be back until the evening) and PM it to you?

    Of Course, no problem at all! :) thanks again
  • Belle FilleBelle Fille Posts: 472
    Forum Member
    Extended Project Questionnaire

    1. How old are you?
    18

    2. Male or female?
    Female

    3. In your opinion, briefly summarise the effect Soap Operas have on their audience
    Allow people to escape and switch off and relax for a while.

    4. How do you watch Soap Operas?
    TV

    5. How often do you watch Soap Operas?
    Not so much at the moment as studying for exams but up until now I watched daily and will do so again when my exams are over and I have more time.

    6. How many (and which) Soap Opera’s do you watch?
    Emmerdale, Coronation street , Doctors

    7. How important is watching Soap Opera’s to your daily routine?
    Quite important as it is a fixed time set aside to relax and take it easy.

    8. What appeals to you about watching Soap’s?
    Interesting storylines,maybe not realistic ones but that is what makes them so enjoyable.

    9. What type of Soap Storyline’s are your favourites?

    Examples: Community based, Issue led (e.g. HIV, anorexia, euthanasia e.t.c.), Family, love/romance/affairs, violence/revenge/crime, topical issues, identity/sexuality, teenage issues (sex, pregnancy, school work), career/power.

    Topical issue and family issues.

    10. What appeals to you about your favourite Soap ahead of the others?
    Good characters and good storylines

    11. What expectations do you have of Soap Opera’s?

    Examples: - Entertainment, to learn something, comedy, drama, highly dramatised scenarios, realism, identifiable characters, escapism e.t.c

    Comedy and drama

    12. Which Soap Opera do you associate most with the following…

    - Entertainment
    - Strong storylines Corrie, Eastenders
    - Humour Corrie
    - Gloom and Doom Eastenders
    - Realism Eastenders Corrie
    - Drama Eastenders Corrie
    - Relatable Characters Corrie
    - Current social issues All of them really
    - Sensitive issues Doctors Corrie Hollyokes
    - Escapism Doctors Corrie Emmerdale
    - Informational/Educational Corrie

    13. Are Soap Opera’s discussed in your household?
    Yes

    14. Do you watch alone?
    No, with family

    15. Do you think Soap Opera’s tackle social issues sensitively?
    Sometimes

    16. Do you think their portrayal’s help people?
    I think they can do.I would hope that they do.

    17. What do you think is more important in doing this?

    - Accuracy
    - Sensitivity
    - Avoiding graphic scenes
    - Ending positively
    - In character of the programme
    - Accompanied by support helpline

    Having a positive ending is very important to encourage people and the support helpline number is also helpful.

    18. In general, how important do you think realism is to Soap Opera’s?

    Not overly important. Most people watch them to relax and wouldn't be overly fussed if they weren't too realistic I think. However totally off the wall storylines obviously wouldn't be good but a bit of artistic licence is allowed I would say.

    19. How do you feel women are represented in Soap Opera’s?
    Quite well. There are lots of strong, independent women in the soaps.

    20. Name one good representation of a woman in a Soap Opera, and one bad.
    Good - Diane Sugden in Emmerdale. She is a good business woman and is just an all round nice person who has been through a lot but doesn't let it change who she is.

    Bad - Gail Mcintyre in Corrie. She is so weak and just lets everyone walk al over her.

    21. Do you think the strong woman stereotype is

    a. Positive?
    b. Realistic?

    I think it is realistic as they show all different types of women. Some positive role models and some not so positive but that is the way the world is.
    22. If applicable, in your opinion, how has the representation of women in Soap changed over the last 50 years?

    23. What are you thoughts on this? Do you think it is positive/negative/accurate/unnecessary?

    24. Do you believe women are stereotypically presented in Soap Opera’s?
    No.

    25. Do you think Soap Opera’s are intended for a female audience?
    They aren't specifically aimed at them but I think they have the name of being for women, which I don't really understand why. Perhaps it is a cultural thing that originally they were aimed at them so to this day people just associate them with women.

    26. Do you think the young feisty female stereotype is….

    a. Positive?
    b. Realistic?
    c. Exploiting women?
    d. Any other views on it?

    Realistic as there are people like that out there.

    27. Do you think women are portrayed as the victim in Soap Opera’s?
    Yes, more often then not they seem to be the ones suffering.

    28. How important do you think it is for Soaps to portray women as multi-faceted?
    Very important as women have more than one side to them and it would be insulting to all women if they were seen as just having one aspect to them.

    29. Do you think it is important for Soaps to present both the housewife stereotype and the strong, independent woman?
    Yes, as that is the reality.

    30. Which of these do you think is the most accurate of society?
    I think the housewife is most accurate as I think most women would consider themselves mothers and wives, girlfriends etc. first and then their career second.

    31. How do you consider the portrayal of young and older women to vary?
    Younger women seem to feature more and get more of the bigger storylines when some women seem to fade into the background when they reach a certain age.

    32. Which stereotype of women do you think is most prominent in Soap’s today?
    Strong, independent woman

    33. The stereotypical representation of women in Hollyoaks is that they are beautiful and sex objects. What are your thoughts on this?
    Not a very good representation of women and not something that they should be encouraging. Lots of children watch soaps with their families and may grow up seeing this representation of women as being one of the most important aspects of a women.

    34. What are your views on the representation of intelligent, smart women in Soaps?
    They are very good on the whole although some smart women especially business women can be turned into ruthless women who end up getting involved in some sort of unethical or corrupt business deal etc.

    35. Do you think a representation of women as beautiful and ditzy is irresponsible?
    It can be if that is the only side of them we are presented with.

    36. How important do you think a Soap’s audience is to the representation of women? E.g. teenage audience in Hollyoaks
    It is quite important. If they know a fanbase is younger, they will have more younger characters than older ones to appeal to the audience.



    Hope this helps and good luck with your project.:)
  • adenbelle09adenbelle09 Posts: 104
    Forum Member
    Brilliant! :D thanks for the effort and fab answers!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 137
    Forum Member
    Extended Project Questionnaire

    1. How old are you? 20
    2. Male or female? Female
    3. In your opinion, briefly summarise the effect Soap Operas have on their audience. Give people something to gossip about in work etc and experience some exciting drama.
    4. How do you watch Soap Operas? Tv
    5. How often do you watch Soap Operas? Prob 4 times a week
    6. How many (and which) Soap Opera’s do you watch? 2 - eastenders and hollyoaks.
    7. How important is watching Soap Opera’s to your daily routine? Not very
    8. What appeals to you about watching Soap’s? Dramatic storylines, the type that u don't often experience in real life
    9. What type of Soap Storyline’s are your favourites? Who done it... Serial killers... Comedy storylines... Love and affairs... Addictions and eating disorders.

    Examples: Community based, Issue led (e.g. HIV, anorexia, euthanasia e.t.c.), Family, love/romance/affairs, violence/revenge/crime, topical issues, identity/sexuality, teenage issues (sex, pregnancy, school work), career/power.

    10. What appeals to you about your favourite Soap ahead of the others? Hollyoaks if my fav... I like that it is more daring than other soaps e.g. Brendan Brady exit. Can be quite glamorous compared to others and funny
    11. What expectations do you have of Soap Opera’s? Expect them to entertain audience and keep them interested and gripped

    Examples: - Entertainment, to learn something, comedy, drama, highly dramatised scenarios, realism, identifiable characters, escapism e.t.c

    12. Which Soap Opera do you associate most with the following…

    - Entertainment Hollyoaks
    - Strong storylines Eastenders
    - Humour Coronation Street
    - Gloom and Doom Eastenders
    - Realism Emmerdale
    - Drama Eastenders
    - Relatable Characters Hollyoaks
    - Current social issues Coronation Street
    - Sensitive issues Hollyoaks
    - Escapism Hollyoaks
    - Informational/Educational Hollyoaks

    13. Are Soap Opera’s discussed in your household? No
    14. Do you watch alone? Yes or with mum or boyfriend
    15. Do you think Soap Opera’s tackle social issues sensitively? Yes
    16. Do you think their portrayal’s help people? Sometimes yes
    17. What do you think is more important in doing this?

    - Accuracy
    - Sensitivity
    - Avoiding graphic scenes
    - Ending positively
    - In character of the programme
    - Accompanied by support helpline

    Positive ending where person get what they deserve whether that is good or bad Karma

    18. In general, how important do you think realism is to Soap Opera’s? Not very important it's not real life so doesn't have to be 100% real
    19. How do you feel women are represented in Soap Opera’s? Depends on the soap... Women often run a business or have a full time job at least, run a household and be a full time mum and wife!
    20. Name one good representation of a woman in a Soap Opera, and one bad. Good repersentation is women can multitask and bad is women are likely seduce somesones husband to get what they want
    21. Do you think the strong woman stereotype is

    a. Positive?
    b. Realistic?

    Positive as it represents the 21st century

    22. If applicable, in your opinion, how has the representation of women in Soap changed over the last 50 years? NA
    23. What are you thoughts on this? Do you think it is positive/negative/accurate/unnecessary?
    24. Do you believe women are stereotypically presented in Soap Opera’s? Not the women in my area no
    25. Do you think Soap Opera’s are intended for a female audience? Not necessarily but women may be more inclined to enjoy certain storylines
    26. Do you think the young feisty female stereotype is….

    a. Positive?
    b. Realistic?
    c. Exploiting women?
    d. Any other views on it?

    I think it's not always accurate e.g I do know women who are feisty and stick up for themselves but none that resemble Roxy Mitchell or Charity Dingle!

    27. Do you think women are portrayed as the victim in Soap Opera’s? No
    28. How important do you think it is for Soaps to portray women as multi-faceted? Quite important
    29. Do you think it is important for Soaps to present both the housewife stereotype and the strong, independent woman? Yes tho women can be both
    30. Which of these do you think is the most accurate of society? In the society I live in I would say the housewife
    31. How do you consider the portrayal of young and older women to vary? Not sure
    32. Which stereotype of women do you think is most prominent in Soap’s today? Strong, attractive and feisty
    33. The stereotypical representation of women in Hollyoaks is that they are beautiful and sex objects. What are your thoughts on this? I would love to live in Hollyoaks for a week. This portrayal is not very realistic
    34. What are your views on the representation of intelligent, smart women in Soaps? I like it
    35. Do you think a representation of women as beautiful and ditzy is irresponsible? Not really as these women do exist (I'm one haha just kidding!)
    36. How important do you think a Soap’s audience is to the representation of women? E.g. teenage audience in Hollyoaks. Important so that they meet the needs of its audience
  • adenbelle09adenbelle09 Posts: 104
    Forum Member
    Thank you so much! :) I really appreciate it.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,104
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Thanks so much to everyone for their support and effort and fantastic responses! :) xx

    No problem at all ;) good luck with ur project x
  • Doctor BenchDoctor Bench Posts: 4,467
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    I'm a 30-year-old male. I'll answerthe rest when I get on my PC.
  • HiMyNameIsHiMyNameIs Posts: 1,785
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    I am currently doing the Extended Project Qualification and have chosen to do it on the stereotypical representation of women in British Soaps and how it has changed over time.

    I would really appreciate it if some of you guys could fill out the questionnaire as part of my primary research. I know it's long but anything would help.

    Many thanks

    Extended Project Questionnaire

    1. How old are you?
    2. Male or female?
    3. In your opinion, briefly summarise the effect Soap Operas have on their audience
    4. How do you watch Soap Operas?
    5. How often do you watch Soap Operas?
    6. How many (and which) Soap Opera’s do you watch?
    7. How important is watching Soap Opera’s to your daily routine?
    8. What appeals to you about watching Soap’s?
    9. What type of Soap Storyline’s are your favourites?

    Examples: Community based, Issue led (e.g. HIV, anorexia, euthanasia e.t.c.), Family, love/romance/affairs, violence/revenge/crime, topical issues, identity/sexuality, teenage issues (sex, pregnancy, school work), career/power.

    10. What appeals to you about your favourite Soap ahead of the others?
    11. What expectations do you have of Soap Opera’s?

    Examples: - Entertainment, to learn something, comedy, drama, highly dramatised scenarios, realism, identifiable characters, escapism e.t.c

    12. Which Soap Opera do you associate most with the following…

    - Entertainment
    - Strong storylines
    - Humour
    - Gloom and Doom
    - Realism
    - Drama
    - Relatable Characters
    - Current social issues
    - Sensitive issues
    - Escapism
    - Informational/Educational

    13. Are Soap Opera’s discussed in your household?
    14. Do you watch alone?
    15. Do you think Soap Opera’s tackle social issues sensitively?
    16. Do you think their portrayal’s help people?
    17. What do you think is more important in doing this?

    - Accuracy
    - Sensitivity
    - Avoiding graphic scenes
    - Ending positively
    - In character of the programme
    - Accompanied by support helpline

    18. In general, how important do you think realism is to Soap Opera’s?
    19. How do you feel women are represented in Soap Opera’s?
    20. Name one good representation of a woman in a Soap Opera, and one bad.
    21. Do you think the strong woman stereotype is

    a. Positive?
    b. Realistic?

    22. If applicable, in your opinion, how has the representation of women in Soap changed over the last 50 years?
    23. What are you thoughts on this? Do you think it is positive/negative/accurate/unnecessary?
    24. Do you believe women are stereotypically presented in Soap Opera’s?
    25. Do you think Soap Opera’s are intended for a female audience?
    26. Do you think the young feisty female stereotype is….

    a. Positive?
    b. Realistic?
    c. Exploiting women?
    d. Any other views on it?

    27. Do you think women are portrayed as the victim in Soap Opera’s?
    28. How important do you think it is for Soaps to portray women as multi-faceted?
    29. Do you think it is important for Soaps to present both the housewife stereotype and the strong, independent woman?
    30. Which of these do you think is the most accurate of society?
    31. How do you consider the portrayal of young and older women to vary?
    32. Which stereotype of women do you think is most prominent in Soap’s today?
    33. The stereotypical representation of women in Hollyoaks is that they are beautiful and sex objects. What are your thoughts on this?
    34. What are your views on the representation of intelligent, smart women in Soaps?
    35. Do you think a representation of women as beautiful and ditzy is irresponsible?
    36. How important do you think a Soap’s audience is to the representation of women? E.g. teenage audience in Hollyoaks

    WOAH that's a lot of questions!

    But here goes...

    1. I'm 15.

    2. I'm male.

    3. They provide entertainment, make you think, it's somewhere the audience can escape to. I think that soaps make people feel better about themselves e.g. they make people think 'Ha at least *insert character here* has a worse life than me!' and they have characters which people can relate to in order to make people think they're not alone.

    4. Mostly on iPlayer etc.

    5. Don't miss an episode. :o

    6. Coronation Street - I did watch it regularly, but I've stopped for now and will resume in summer.

    Doctors - Don't miss an episode.

    EastEnders - Same as Coronation Street.

    The rest I don't watch.

    7. I slip it in when I find time for it. For me it isn't 'Oh, it's 10pm, time for Doctors!', I just watch it once I've done everything that needs doing or I'm not doing anything important.

    8. They entertain me, they make me smile, they cheer me up.

    9. Storylines which involve stunts/accidents or ones which culminate in a dramatic revelation in front of a bunch of everyone e.g. EastEnders, Christmas Day 2007, or a murder/whodunnit.

    10. With Doctors, you can engage with the characters more because there are only about 15 main characters compared to the other four primetime serials which have about 60. Also, there is a new storyline to engage with everyday about the patients as well as a storyline about a staff member, be it dramatic or light-hearted.

    11. Escapism, it must be entertaining, and realistic (to an extent - a 100% realistic soap would be boring).

    12.

    Entertainment: Doctors.

    Strong storylines: Doctors.

    Humour: Coronation Street.

    Gloom and Doom: Hollyoaks.

    Realism: Doctors/EastEnders.

    13. No.

    14. Yes - I only watch with my family at Christmas and New Years.

    15. Yes - they have to!

    16. Yes - I think they help people, but not a lot of people.

    17. Accuracy and sensitivity.

    18. Quite. But as well as being realistic, they have to find a balance between realism and drama.

    19. Fairly.

    20. Good: Karen Hollins; she's humourous, wants to be in the know all the time but she's had very bad times like lots of women have. Also, I think she's a relatable character (married with two children).

    Bad: Bianca Butcher; she tries her hardest, but for a woman with three children, she's been to jail/in trouble with the law too many times. (I don't think she's that bad; I had to think of this quite quickly).

    21. Positive.

    22. I think some elements have stayed the same over the last 50 years - women always seem to be the leaders of the family and strong matriarchal figures, which has always been the case, especially in Coronation Street (a lot of the best/most memorable stories/one-liners are given to women).

    23. I'd like to see men given a chance - sorry if this sounds sexist but I'd like more strong patriarchal figures who'd do anything for their families, like there are matriarchs. I don't think there are enough. I'd also like to see men stop playing second fiddle to their spouses.

    24. No - I think there's a wide range of females in soaps e.g. black, white, Asian, mothers, skinny, fat, glamourous, ugly, young, old, strong and demanding, timid and shy, ruthless bitches, women you feel sorry for, women who are walked all over, women who are victims - they're all there.

    25. Yes. I think there should be a soap which is targeted at a male audience, like the way Hollyoaks is a 'teen soap' or whatever.

    26. Positive.

    27. Well, yes. For example, in Doctors late last year, Daniel and Cherry slept with each other. Everyone in the surgery was against Daniel, but felt so sorry for Cherry. Also, in storylines such as domestic abuse, I think women beaten by men get more sympathy than men beaten by women; if a man is beaten by a woman, there's a lot of people who are like 'Oh he's a man, he should hit her back/defend himself' etc. I think women are just easier characters to feel sorry for than men.

    28. I think they'll do it anyway, whether they feel it's important or not.

    29. Well, I guess so, but I don't think it's #1 on their list of priorities.

    30. It's a tricky one. But I'd say strong, independant woman because I think it's what most women would like to see themselves as.

    31. Quite well, there's a fair mix of the young and the old.

    32. It's hard, because there are plenty of women out there who aren't represented - many women are just average, but in soap they're always something special.

    33. Not just women! It was worse back in 2007/2008 though. I think the 'If you want to be in Hollyoaks you have to be under 30 and good-looking' belief has died down though.

    34. Depends on 'intellegent' - intellegent as in knows a lot, or intellegent as in clever, ruthless, knows how to get what they want. I don't think there's many bitchy, nasty women like that, though.

    35. No - there are women like that. We shouldn't stop showing them just for the few who might be offended. We all know that not all women are ditzy and stupid.

    36. Not very, I mean I'm 15 and don't know anyone who watches Hollyoaks. There should be a representation of everyone. A soap such as EastEnders has a varied range of viewers, so they need a varied range of characters.
  • adenbelle09adenbelle09 Posts: 104
    Forum Member
    Thank you! :)
  • adenbelle09adenbelle09 Posts: 104
    Forum Member
    I really appreciate it! :) i am aware it is incredibly long!
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