Soap opera story, the only mass-public form of continuing narrative today, is oral culture for our electronic era. Carol Williams' It's Time for My Story is an examination of soap opera sources, structure, and response, particularly from the critical viewpoints of psychology, both archetypal and empirical, and popular culture, specifically narratology and feminism, that uncover the true nature of the genre. First, Williams traces the development of soap opera from its immediate source in radio and television as well as from its fundamental source in age-old myth and storytelling. Then she analyzes the content and form that together make up the structure of soap opera. Finally, she looks at what soaps mean to watchers and in the process debunks many myths about soap opera (for instance, the myth that soap opera, like all television drama, is merely commercial, produced formulaically by advertisers; Williams argues that soap opera is not only a commercial product but also a popular art form derived from the wellspring of culture and folk story). She also argues that it is a form which has been depreciated because it is historically a woman's medium. Discussions with writers, creators, and fans are included throughout. Recommended to scholars and students of media, drama, popular culture, and women's studies.
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An examination of soap opera sources, structure and response, particularly from the critical viewpoints of psychology, both archetypal and empirical, and popular culture, specifically narratology and feminism, that uncover the true nature of the genre.
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Introduction: Story for a Global Village Sources The Institutional History of Electronic Story "There was this dentist in Santa Barbara . . . ": Folk and Fantasy Sources for Soap Opera The Maid's Tragedy, The Comedy of Errors, An American Melodrama: The Genre of Soap Opera Structure Social and Archetypal Realism: The Content of Soap Opera Story Issue Stories Soap Characters as Story "Functions" Blocking and Weaving: The Structure of Soap Opera Response Toward a Methodology for Soap Opera Audience Study Resonance, Complexity, and the Spacious Vision: Folklore, Story, Oral Culture, and Art Notes Bibliography Index
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This is an examination of soap opera sources, structure, and response, particularly from the critical viewpoints of psychology, both archetypal and empirical, and popular culture, specifically narratology and feminism, that uncover the fundamentals of genre.
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780275942977
Publisert
1992-10-30
Utgiver
Vendor
Praeger Publishers Inc
Vekt
595 gr
Høyde
235 mm
Bredde
156 mm
Aldersnivå
UU, UP, 05
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
272

Forfatter

Biographical note

CAROL TRAYNOR WILLIAMS is Professor of Humanities at Roosevelt University. Her research and writing focus on the social, political, and psychological effects of popular film, particularly on women and the image of women. Professor Williams, who is the author or co-author of several books, watched a dozen soap operas over a six-year period in doing her research for this book.