CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.7. Male audiences
While in the past soap opera was presented as appealing almost exclusively to women, contemporary forms clearly do appeal to some men. Soap operas such as Dallas (U.S.) and Bade Acche Lagte Hain (BALH) in Britain have male audiences of over 30 % (El Gody 2007). In Britain, soap operas were largely shunned by men in the 1970s, simply because content from soap opera formulas in the 1970s did not appeal to men. Soap opera today has become relatively popular with men all over the world. Some of the reasons offered for this development lie in the storylines. The way that soap operas used to be formulated in the 1970s is different to how they are formulated today. The discourses that exist in soap opera today have elements that cater to men, which they did not have then (Gauntlett & Hill 1999). Soap opera today involves a greater sense of drama, action and a more realistic portrayal of current issues than it did in the 1970s;
this may be one of the reasons why it attracts more male viewers (Gordon 2012). Soap operas also used to air in the morning and afternoon in time slots that used to fit tea- time schedules for women viewers. Today some soap operas have new time slots, such
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as prime early and late evening slots, which cater to all viewers. Employed men have returned home from work at that time, which may also account for the increased male audience.
In contrast with British soap operas, which appeal to men via drama and a bit of action, South African soap operas secure male appeal by dealing with the key recent socio- political shifts in society. One reason identified for male interest in these soap operas is South African soap operas’ engagement with the fundamental social and political changes that the country has gone through and is still going through (Marx 2007). Some of the social changes that the male respondents in this study suggested were the fact that a man struggles to admit that he is wrong, as well as the fact that some men do not know how to work with women in general society, because women are fragile beings and men often feel afraid to abuse women unconsciously. Studies into the appeal of soap opera for South African men are limited. This is one of the reasons for my inclusion of male viewers in this study.
While the audience for soap operas thus does include men at times, some theorists, as mentioned above, still argue that the gender of the viewer is 'inscribed' in the programmes so that soap operas address women in particular (El Gody 2007). This becomes relevant to my study because a significant number of men do watch soap opera, which then means that while these programmes are inscribed for women, there are significant elements that cater for males and give male viewers an experience that gives them pleasure. For this particular study I interviewed both men and women.
More and more studies have begun to explore men’s viewership of soap opera.
Brunsdon (1997) argues that men watch soap opera but that it is still a feminine-driven genre. Tager’s (2002) study shows that a significant number of South African men watch and enjoy soap opera. Her respondents were not embarrassed to share their viewing experiences with their communities and friends. Some of her male respondents showed an intense emotional connection to both local and international soap operas. In this study too, men showed an intense response to Muvhango. British studies by Gauntlett and Hill (1999) also argue that many men are keen viewers of soap opera and that men engage in the characters’ unfolding storylines and are not afraid to talk about their viewing experiences, even though soap operas are perceived as a feminine genre.
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My review of contemporary research shows that soap opera caters for both women and men. Nevertheless, the work of earlier theorists such as Brown (1994) and Dow (1996) is important in identifying soap opera and how it caters for the needs of certain women of a particular time and place. Brown and Dow provide key frameworks for understanding why women watch soap opera, how soap opera liberates women, and how soap opera defines woman’s emotions, and their work provides a good entry point into understanding soap opera and its audiences. Brown (1994) and Dow (1996) also argue that soap opera has been predominantly labelled as a medium that caters for women, yet recent research has shown that men do watch soap opera in a number of contexts. This means that Brown’s (1994) and Dow’s (1996) work is not useful in accounting for all audiences of soap opera since their studies are framed around assumptions of women being the only or prime audience for soap opera.
It is difficult to state categorically what men and women like to watch. Studies done by Gauntlett and Hill (1999) show that while women are more interested in watching soap operas, 16 % of men consider them ‘very interesting’. The fact that men do not rate soap operas highly does not mean that they do not watch them, and does not mean that they do not engage with soap operas (Gauntlett & Hill 1999).
2.7.1 Why men watch
There are various reasons for male viewership of soap operas, including entertainment and unemployment. Morley (1986) interviewed 18 families in a South London context and found that households in which men watched soap opera presented a pattern of unemployed fathers or men whose wives were the main breadwinners.
However, a large number of South African men who watch soap opera are employed (SAARF 2013) and simply watch soap opera for enjoyment, rather than for reasons associated with unemployment and boredom, which suggests that unemployment is not the only reason for men turning to soap opera. Watching soap opera may, in fact, fulfil some sort of emotional need. This is relevant to this study because the informants who watched Muvhango did not watch because of boredom or unemployment. The students were positively drawn to what Muvhango offers in terms of both entertainment and spectacle as reflections of realities in their lives.
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