A Modest Proposal (Meant in All Seriousness)

This blog seems to be--no actually is--focusing on soap operas right now. I guess the blog reveals one of my not-so-secret pop culture obsessions. I do wish that soaps were taken more seriously in the media, including in the magazines that are supposed to be devoted to them.

Soap Opera Digest and its newer sister publication Soap Opera Weekly are fine for gossip, puff interviews, casting changes, previews, and "news" about what the stars wear, do, cook, etc. But without the columns by Carolyn Hinsey and Mimi Torchin and fan letters, there would be nothing even approaching serious criticism of the shows in the two major publications that purport to provide in-depth coverage of the medium. Unfortunately, tight deadlines and space limitations prevent both Hinsey and Torchin from writing much more than thumbs up or down commentary on current storylines, actors, and TPTB. Fan letters are too short and (sorry to say) usually too simplistic to treat soaps with seriousness. Sure, both SOD and SOW occasionally have "special reports" on topics such as diversity, violence, rape, etc. And they do very rarely allow fans to write columns on particular shows. But those things are not enough.

There is the internet, of course. I think that the internet is actually helping to keep soaps on the air. Fans are still watching and taping and communicating with each other via websites, Yahoo groups, message boards, and the like. IMVHO, the internet is vital for the future of soaps. Without somewhere to vent and people to vent to, fans may just say forget it. But now they have reason to watch, even if they are displeased with the shows. The only way to keep up on the message boards and fan groups is to watch the soap(s) in question regularly. Soap ratings have been going down for at least a decade. I wonder what they would be without the internet. I believe that Port Charles would not be the only show going off the air if the internet were not around.

Message boards and fan groups are fine. But what I would like to see is a soap 'zine. Something portable that does not require access to a computer. Something I can read on my lunch hour, in bed, or on a rainy day. Something that I can look forward to receiving in the mail every month (or every other month), and spend hours (or 15 minutes) reading if I choose to. And the 'zine would not be focused on stars and casting changes, SOD and SOW can cover that sort of thing. I can get make up, cooking, and fashion tips from any woman's magazine, so those would not be included. I want something that is focused on soaps only--not primetime, not reality shows, just the good, old-fashioned daytime dramas that our mothers and grandmothers have watched for years.

The soap 'zine should focus on soaps as a (pop) cultural phenomenon. What do the shows say about our culture? Are soaps in tune with the times, behind them, ahead, or some sort of mixture? Detailed histories of the shows, great storylines of the past, production and writing regimes that propelled soaps forward or brought something unique to the genre, a section on defunct shows, would all be included. But the 'zine would not have to emphasize the past. Current storylines and trends could be evaluated. Taboo subjects. Critics such as Hinsey and Torchin would be given all the space they wanted to write commentary on the current state of soaps. One interesting topic would be why so many shows had incest-type storylines this year--with a nod to the near incestuous relationships that are a staple of the genre.

The 'zine should be heavy on print, with few, if any photos. SOD and SOW are laden with pictures and huge headlines. In fact, a recent cover of SOW crowed about being bigger with more pictures. (This, in a publication that is mostly pictures!) The 'zine should emphasize print over glamour shots. And of course it would come out sporadically, whenever the people who published it could get enough material together, scrape up funds to print and mail it. But best of all it would be beholden to no one, other than its creators and fans. There would be need to worry if some soap exec doesn't agree with what a reviewer has written, because the 'zine would not be dependent upon favors from soaps to survive. Nor would it feel the need to be faithful to advertisers or have to promote expensive products that most fans can't afford.

If there is already a soap 'zine out there, I'd love to find it. If not, I wish someone would start one.