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September 1995, Week 1

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Subject:
From:
Laura Stempel Mumford <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 6 Sep 1995 11:58:58 -0400
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Now that  TV examples have finally been raised, it's worth remembering that
soap operas--which are as much about storytelling as they are stories being
told--are completely obsessed with questions about the relative
reliability/unreliability of  various characters' narration, as well as
creating constant tension between what viewers know/can guess/speculate about
and what the narrative apparatus actually tells us. Although viewers usually
know more/better than characters, and so can evaluate the conflicting
versions they offer, that's not universally true, & we're occasionally
surprised at having been (deliberately?) misled. Experienced viewers know we
may be getting only a partial, or even inaccurate, version of events, whether
from deceptive/uninformed characters or more directly from the controlling
narrative itself, e.g. when "history" is rewritten or a character turns out
to have an identity different from the one we thought he/she had.
And by the way, although it's a different thread, soaps are a demonstration
of everything in the world, so it's worth mentioning that "The Young & the
Restless" had a plastic surgery storyline several years ago in which an
actress' facelift was incorporated into her character's life.
Laura Stempel Mumford
 
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