The Soap Opera (Sage Commtext Series)

A comprehensive survey of the history, the means of production, the content and the impact on audiences of soap operas. A sociologist and a specialist in women′s studies combine to review the content of soap operas, and the way in which they are produced. How have the themes of soap operas changed with social convention? How do these massively popular serials aimed at a female audience portray women at work and at home? The impact of soap opera on its audience, the different varieties of soap operas, and the differences in structure, content, and commercial purpose between soap operas and prime time television are also discussed.

`Cantor and Pingree have performed an important service by bringing together and analyzing a vast array of material, and showing us what is known and what needs to be learned about this important mass media phenomenon.′ -- Social Science Research, Vol 69, No 2

`Cantor and Pingree have packed a lot of information into eight chapters, including fresh content analyses and a case study of The Guiding Light. They have made available research that both scholars and feminists need to talk intelligently about the contemporary media designed for women. Indeed, their work is so important that we can only suppose that sexism had prevented earlier researchers from examining television′s domestic novel.′ -- Sex Roles, Vol 11, No 12, December 1984

`(This book) provides an informative introduction to a field of study most students and scholars have previously neglected.′ -- Women & Performance

`It is unique in its emphasis on social and historical context and would be an ideal text for courses in communications, popular culture, mass media, sociology and American studies.′ --COMBROAD (Commonwealth Broadcasting Association), December 1983.