Ejercicio Exercise A.2 · Inglés PAU Aragón Extraordinaria 2023

SOAP OPERA

Even if you were born after the year 2000, you will have heard of the existence of a reference book published annually that lists world records both of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. If Guinness World Records is the name that comes to mind, that's perfect! One of the examples of human achievements listed there is Guiding Light, an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in Guinness World Records as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. Guiding Light began as an NBC Radio serial on January 25, 1937. On June 2, 1947, the series was transferred to CBS Radio, before starting on June 30, 1952, on CBS Television. After a run of 72 years, on April 1, 2009, CBS announced that it would be cancelling Guiding Light due to low ratings.

The term ‘soap opera’ refers to a broadcast dramatic serial programme like Guiding Light. Soap opera depicts the lives and problems of a particular group of characters with programmes that continue over a long period and are broadcast several times every week. For example, Guiding Light centred on Reverend John Ruthledge and those people’s lives that revolved around him, with a story line that managed to draw a large audience to it for about seven decades. This type of programme was called soap opera in the United States because most of its major sponsors for many years were manufacturers of soap and detergents. Since most men were at work when soap operas began to be broadcast, the audience was mainly female, and most of the drama revolved around female characters, too.

EXERCISE A.2: Answer the following questions according to the information given in the text. Use your own words. (2 points)

a)

What are the defining characteristics of soap opera?

b)

Why is Guiding Light said to be one of the longest-running broadcast dramas in American history?