From The Blog Archives – Why Are Soap Operas So Popular?

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Why are soap operas so popular?

In light of the final episode of All My Children being aired yesterday, I thought I’d re-post one of my old blog posts today. If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you’ll know that I’ve talked about soap operas a few times over the years. I even dreamed about starting my own Christian-based soap opera on my old blog post.

I’ve been analyzing soap-opera popularity for awhile now, and, as a writer, I’ve wondered why soap operas are so popular? The storylines are convoluted and very senseless, yet, people (including myself) have watched them for years and years? Why?

I know if I’d written some of the storylines that I’d seen on soap operas, the editor and the readers would have a fit since the soap opera plots are so ridiculous. Are these ridiculous plots the reason why people are so drawn to the soaps?

Granted, the fascination is ending since soaps are now being cancelled. A few are still running, but I sense, in time, that soap operas will be extinct. So before reading my archived blog post, feel free to share your thoughts about this question:
Why are soap operas so popular?

Just wanted to mention that I haven’t watched soap operas regularly since 2008. I might catch an episode a few times a year on the cable soap opera channel, though.
~Cecelia Dowdy~

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NOTE, THIS IS AN ARCHIVED BLOG POST FROM 2007!

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’ve been watching soap operas off and on since I was in high school. I used to be a big fan of All My Children and General Hospital. Over the last twelve years, I’ve been an avid watcher of The Young And The Restless. However, you’ll notice that I said I watched them off and on. The reason I can’t keep watching soap operas for extended periods of time is because, although I enjoy some of the story lines, the concept of reality slowly sinks into my brain and I think the stories are stupid! Really! Most soap operas have the following types of story lines in common, which can get tired and old after awhile:

1. Infidelity
2. The Evil Twin(or a variation of this).
3. Coming back from the dead.
4. Changing the history of past events, or inventing “new” history to support a storyline.
5. Multiple marriages.

Another pet-peeve of mine regarding soap operas is the children. Haven’t you ever noticed how fast they grow up? These kids are born one year – and they’re infants – about five years later they’re out of high school. They’re shipped off to boarding school or college for a few years and come back all grown up. I sense the writers/producers think that soap opera watchers have limited memories and will forget the actual age of these children!

The infidelity is a kicker! My goodness! Somebody is always sleeping with somebody else’s husband or wife! The marriage will then end, and that’ll lead to the one I listed as number five (multiple marriages)! When you look at these soaps, after awhile you discover that certain characters have been married to half the town, and sometimes the ex-wives and ex-husbands of the same spouse can become good friends, the fact that they’ve been married to the same person is not a deterrent from the friendship.

The Evil Twin…that one is definately unbelievable! I’ve seen this used a number of times with a soap opera. Sometimes the two are actually twins, and other times, they are related but look so much alike that they can pass for twins. Other times, it just so happens, that there’s another person out there, lurking, who looks just like one of the characters on the soap opera! Also, this new look-a-like is evil….hmmm….

Coming back from the dead! Whew! I thought that cats were the only ones that had nine lives! Whoever made up that saying certainly never saw a soap opera! I mean, come on, coming back from the dead? In soap opera land, when people die, it’s common for them to NOT have a body for the funeral! And this scenario can sometimes lead number 2(or maybe I should call it, the unevil twin?) where it’s believed that someone has come back from the dead, and it’s discovered that there is a relative, or someone lurking out there, that looks just like said dead person, but this new lookalike could be good or evil…hmmm.

Sometimes, when I watch a soap opera, all I want to do is clean it up! How about, a Christian soap opera? You can have infidelity, murder(forgot to mention number six up at the top. You’ll eventually have somebody murdered, then you’ll have to slug through the trial very slowly, while the wrong person is being tried, and then finally, the truth comes out!), evil twins, but my soap opera would have a faith element. How do these cast of charcters get past these obstacles…through their faith in God, that’s how. I would show how a woman has to forgive the “other” woman for sleeping with her husband. I’ll have to show how a woman has to forgive her husband for sleeping with his mistress. I’ll have to show husband begging wife for mercy, renewing his covenant with God and starting afresh with his wife while they put the past behind them and learn to lean on God, and seek Him for answers to their problems!

I’ve noticed that in the soaps I’ve watched, they don’t really mention God or going to church much. It’s mentioned some, but sparingly. The only time I recall a soap opera having a man of the faith on regularly was Father Jim Vocheck(?sp) on the now defunct soap called Loving. Since I haven’t watched every single soap opera out there, I’m wondering if there are others that I’m not aware of?

These are the soap opera musings that were twirling through my head as I give The Young And The Restless a break for awhile. They even have the “twin” scenario with a twist, somebody had plastic surgery to look like one of the characters…hmm. Also, somebody who was murdered (number six on my list) has a cousin who comes to town, who looks just like the murder victim. Hmmm. Ever see identical twin ‘cousins’ as opposed to identical twin sisters….???

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

Mom In The Making – A Sweet Inspirational Romance

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Mom In The Making by Kit Wilkinson

Pregnant, Becky is in Glendale (her deceased husband, Tommy’s, hometown). Her mission is to bond with her cold, unfeeling mother-in-law and teach her about Jesus. However, Becky finds this very difficult to do since her MIL has never approved of Becky’s union with Tommy.

Becky’s life takes an interesting turn when she meets Justin. Justin was Tommy’s childhood best friend and Becky finds this hard to believe – why had Tommy never mentioned Justin before – she knew all of Tommy’s friends.

As Becky battles gestational diabetes during her pregnancy, Justin deals with his own battle of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. He’s a doctor/pilot who’s been sent home from the military and now he’s back in Glendale and finds himself smitten with Becky.

As Justin grows closer to Becky as they work together on a school play, Becky learns that there are secrets lurking between Justin’s and Tommy’s families – secrets she’s not fully aware of. Can Justin and Becky overcome all of their obstacles and love one another?

This book flowed really well and it was enjoyable. I also enjoyed reading about the medical issues that Becky faced and the mental issues that Justin had to deal with. The characters and situations were very realistic and the story was extremely engaging.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Sheriff’s Runaway Bride – A Sweet Romance – Steeple Hill Love Inspired

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The Sheriff’s Runaway Bride

Kylie abandons her fiance minutes before her wedding – after all, she’s just found him kissing another woman. She literally runs into Zach, the new sheriff in Clayton. Zach is back in town as the sheriff, however, he’s  not here to stay. He’s only here temporarily until he fulfills a familial obligation – an obligation that could bring him a nice inheritance. Kylie has big dreams. She’s determined to become a wedding planner in a big town, therefore leaving Clayton. She’s only staying in Clayton to work to help out her financially destitute family. She almost married the wrong guy for the wrong reasons – she’d hoped her marriage would save her family from their financial plight, however, she’s glad that she discovered the true nature about her ex right before the nuptials.

There’s a slightly mysterious thread throughout this story. Zach befriends a fatherless girl, a girl who looks exactly like him. Could Zach be related to the youngster? Also, Kylie is receiving gifts and letters from her secret admirer, and things are also vandalized, leading her to believe her ex is behind these cruel pranks.

This is a light, fun book that’s pretty enjoyable. You can probably read it in a few days. The slightly suspenseful thread is not overpowering, though. It’s still a good, heartwarming sweet romance.

~Cecelia Dowdy~ 

The Queen By Steven James

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The Queen by Steven James

From the back cover: While investigating a double homicide in an isolated northern Wisconsin town, FBI Special Agent Patrick Bowers uncovers a high-tech conspiracy that twists through long-buried Cold War secrets and targets present-day tensions in the Middle East. In his most explosive thriller yet, bestselling author Steven James delivers a multi-layered storytelling tour de force that not only delivers pulse-pounding suspense but also deftly explores the rippling effects of the choices we make. The Queen is a techno-thriller that will leave you breathless, offered by the author Publishers Weekly calls a “master storyteller at the peak of his game.”

I have to be honest and admit that I had a hard time getting through this book. The graphic images were very disturbing and it wasn’t like my normal reading fare. This book is not for the faint of heart but…I THOUGHT THE WRITING WAS STELLAR! This book scared and haunted me and I think the author did a great job with plot and descriptions. However, before you read this novel, you need to be warned that there are things that happen in this book that you don’t normally see in Christian fiction – they even had images of cannibalism and reading that made me stop, close the book, and have to wait before picking it up again.

The novel starts off with a botched abduction, complete with exploding body parts. Fast forward to a trailer park where Patrick Bowers is on a stake-out to catch a serial killer. Pat is then told to switch gears and investigate the murder of a mother and her four-year-old daughter. The father is missing, and when Pat investigates, he finds information about the Cold War.

The extremely complex plot moves forward quickly and if you like this kind of novel, it could be a real page-turner. You get to know about Patrick’s background in this novel, too – you find out what makes him tick. I haven’t read the rest of the stories in this series, but, if you like graphic fiction, filled with evil, before being overcome by goodness, then you should give this book a try. This novel shows how we need to overcome evil, true evil, and lean on God.

If you’re interested in knowing why Steven James writes about evil, then you should visit this link.

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it?

“Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

Many thanks to Baker/Revell for providing me with a free review copy.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Sunday Brunch – The Danger Of Visiting A Psychic!

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Mock Menu:
Light, tasty beignets coated with powdered sugar
Cafe Au Lait
Fluffy scrambled eggs lightly seasoned with salt and pepper
Crispy, salty bacon

Let’s pretend like we’ve just finished the meal outlined above before we begin our discussion!

Leviticus 19:31
“Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.

Have you ever visited a psychic/medium and regretted it later?

Disclaimer:
***Please note that this is based upon my personal experience, and nothing more. I’ve had a couple of emails from a blog reader, stating that I should go into more detail as to why we shouldn’t visit a psychic. You can open yourself up to a whole forbidden world that could do tons of damage – affecting your salvation. I didn’t go into this reasoning in this blog post since I’m talking about one isolated incident that happened to me. I don’t know or understand the spirit world and we really need to rely on Jesus, trust in HIM with our future. I invite you to respond accordingly with your own experiences – it’s hard to give more depth to this blog post since it’s a personal blog post that happened to me a long time ago…and I only did this one time (that was enough for me to learn to not do this again!). My reasoning about not visiting a psychic is minor compared to what’s happened to others. Also, this is a subject matter that is so broad – there are probably thousands upon thousands of books out there about this subject. It’s hard to cover every aspect in just one blog post – I can only speak about what happened to me – for further insight, I invite you to read the comments or post your own comment about your own experience (or experiences of others if you feel led to do that).

***I also wanted to point out that one of the commenters mentioned that a lot of psychics are scam artists. Many people become addicted to calling psychic hotlines and such. Again, I didn’t mention this in my blog post, but it is a VERY IMPORTANT FACT and is mentioned in the comments. Feel free to share your thoughts!

Several years ago, I took a trip alone to New Orleans. At the time, I was dating somebody and I was head-over-heels in love with this person. I wanted us to get married. I wanted this marriage to happen so badly that I visited a psychic in the French Quarter. I did this knowing it was wrong, but, I figured if she predicted this wedding, well, it would just make me feel better, make me feel more sure about my future. She asked me if I wanted to do tarot or palm reading. I told her I didn’t know. So she chose palm reading.

She told me to close my eyes and make a wish. I wished for marriage to my boyfriend. When I opened my eyes, she said in a soft voice, “Your wish is going to come true.” My heart jumped when I heard this. She then said, “The wish that you made about the man will come true.” She said we’d have four children. Surprisingly, she told me things about myself that were true. She even accurately predicted some things that would happen to me later that summer.

So, I hung onto the hope of things working out in my romantic relationship. I figured the psychic had to be right about my budding romance, after all, she’d accurately predicted other things that had happened in my life. When my euphoric romance abruptly ended several months later, I was stunned! The first thing I thought during the breakup was, “But that psychic said we’d get married!” It was horrible, and that false hope made things so much worse and I also regretted visiting that psychic! I begged the Lord for forgiveness and since then, when the subject comes up, I’ve always advised others not to dabble with psychics.

I was raised with the knowledge that we should avoid psychics. That was the first and only time that I’d ever done this.

So, have you ever visited a psychic and regretted it later? Leave a comment!

If you like religious, wholesome fiction, then join my email list and receive 2 FREE Christian fiction e-books! 

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Home To Crossroads Ranch – A Sweet Romance

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Home To Crossroads Ranch

Nate Del Rio doesn’t want kids, at all. He’s still taking care of his adult siblings – and his siblings take advantage of him by calling upon Nate to bail them out after each of their financial crisis. However, he soon finds himself enmeshed within the lives of Rainy Jernagen’s foster kids. When he shows up to fix Rainy’s broken washing machine as part of a church outreach ministry, Rainy convinces him that his ranch would make a great place for her foster kids to play and to learn about animals.

Nate agrees to the children’s daily visits and soon finds himself getting smitten with Rainy. However, she’s a beautiful, brownie-baking foster mom, determined to help children by taking care of them. Although drawn to the children, Nate knows that he’d make a terrible father. He’s failed his siblings in the past, that’s why he allows them to come to him during every crisis. However, Nate harbors a dark secret, a secret that explains his aversion to children and fatherhood.

This was a sweet, heartwarming and enjoyable story. There was also a yummy brownie recipe in the back of the book! I might try to make them!

 ~Cecelia Dowdy~

Sunday Brunch – Is It Wrong For Christians To Wear Tattoos?

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Photo courtesy of Free Digital Photos

Mock brunch menu:
Moist banana bread with walnuts
Cold, creamy milk
Soft scrambled eggs seasoned with salt and pepper
Scrapple
Hot coffee with cream and sugar

Do you think it’s wrong for Christians to wear tattoos?

I came up with the subject for today’s Sunday Brunch while I was out on Friday evening. I passed a tattoo shop and this scripture came to my mind:

Leviticus 19:28 28“ ‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.

This scripture is taken from the Old Testament, and far as I know, the New Testament does not mention this rule. I’ve seen some cool tattoos on folks, but, I’ve never been of the mind-set to get one. The thought of being pricked by that painful needle…and making that permanent mark on my skin has never appealed to me. Plus, as you get older, the tattoos don’t look as fresh and vibrant, they fade. I definitely wouldn’t want my skin crowded with faded tattoos!

However, I honestly don’t think that getting a tattoo is necessarily “wrong”. I tend to think more of daily-life Christian laws as being taken from the New Testament, moreso than the Old Testament. However, people may disagree with me about tattoos and I’d like to get a discussion going about this subject. I know I was raised to believe that tattoos were wrong and this scripture was used to back up that “rule.” However, as I got older and more exposed to the world, my thinking has changed.

Although I don’t think getting a tattoo is wrong, it’s not something that I would encourage someone to do. Why? Well, like I’ve already said, the idea has just never appealed to me, and if my son were older (like a teenager) and wanted my permission to get a tattoo, I’d tell him NO!

So, do you think it’s wrong for Christians to get tattoos? Leave your response in the comments!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Heart’s Song – A Sweet Romance

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Here’s a brief summary of a nice, sweet, inspirational romance that I read recently.

Widow Reeny Landry has suddenly received money to use as a memorial to her deceased husband. Amidst some strong objections from town members and from her mother-in-law, Reeny decides to start a handbell choir in honor of her late spouse. Reeny is attracted to people who need love and attention, and her handbell choir is used to help others who need this activity as an outlet.

Widower and math teacher Graham Lockwood is new in town and he’s Reeny’s next door neighbor. Graham is suffering from a recent loss and he’s pushed God out of his life. He is somewhat irritated by Reeny’s breezy, God-inspired attitude. When Reeny needs someone to help her lead the handbell choir, Graham is a natural choice since he’s a musician, and she can’t find anybody else to fill the position.

I enjoy reading stories with disabled characters. I thought this book was kind of interesting and I learned something new by reading it! Reeny has a daughter who is mute. Her mute child becomes a member of the handbell choir and it gives the child a vocal-like outlet since she can’t speak. I rarely hear of this type of handicap – I usually hear of it associated with deafness, trauma, throat cancer, or mental issues. Rarely have I heard of someone being born without the ability to speak (unless associated with the issues I mentioned in the previous sentence).

Reeny also has another child, a son, who gently objects to his mother’s growing feelings towards his math teacher.

This story was light and entertaining and it showed how we need to embrace God, even when we suffer from tragedy and hardship.

~Cecelia Dowdy~