Welcome to the second in a series of 10 posts, written for a university assignment last year (I write this disclaimer in Nov 19), which required blogging about current issues in television. As a result, the material is rather dated/irrelevant now, and the tone a little more formal than I prefer, but I thought I'd publish it on here anyway as I put a lot of work into it. I hope you enjoy/find it insightful!...
*This blog post contains discussion of sexual assault*
07/12/18
Over the last few years, there seems to have been a societal shift in attitudes concerning matters on sexism, which has slowly seeped into the entertainment industry. Whether that be by striving to increase positive representation of women on screen and hiring more female creatives, or by addressing such issues through TV and film plots and character arcs, it is clear that current debates around sexism and sexual harassment are becoming huge influencers in the film and TV industries. Soap operas have arguably always been front-runners when it comes to representing changes in society and attitudes, with their ground-breaking storylines often helping to reinforce these changes. But first, let’s quickly recap why this is often the case:
Television is able to respond to current events and changes easier than film, and soaps are the most current fictional programmes on TV. They are often filmed 6/8 weeks prior to broadcast, and one of their main aims is to reflect real, contemporary life. Sometimes, they even film scenes on the day of broadcast in order to respond to big national events, such as the result of the Brexit referendum.
They aspire to represent society so as to not only retain a sense of realism, but also to draw viewers in by using shock tactics. For example, the first pre-watershed lesbian kiss on Channel 4’s Brookside aired as early as 1994, and creator Phil Redmond admits that this was an attempt to boost ratings.
Soaps often revolve around issue-based storylines, so it is natural that they take inspiration from current issues.
So, now we have a bit of background, let’s explore how British soaps are dealing with the issues of sexism and sexual harassment. First of all, EastEnders are currently earning audience acclaim for a new storyline revolving around the issue of consent, where the character of Ruby Allen thinks she was raped, but those around her struggle with this definition. In fact, in a ground-breaking episode last week which was set entirely in the soap’s pub, the residents of Albert Square learnt of the rape and all debated their opinions, which reflected the real-life debate that this storyline had raised regarding the definition of consent.
This was a great success for the BBC, with news outlets such as Digital Spy labelling the episode an "all-time classic". This particular story is very topical; coming at a time where the #MeToo movement is constantly gathering momentum, with more and more perpetrators of sexual assault and harassment being exposed, most spectacularly within the media industry itself. Harvey Weinstein is the obvious example of this, and this remains important as his case seems to have inspired a wave of people to come forward about their negative experiences with figures in the industry abusing their power.
The residents of the Square learn Ruby was raped (BBC, 2018).
Going back a few years now, the same could be said about the ramifications of the exposition of Jimmy Savile. It seems the BBC are tapping into an issue which is hot off the press at the moment - not only in an attempt to stay relevant and create a talking-point around their show, but perhaps also as a way of communicating their acknowledgement of their wrongdoings as a corporation in the past. One could argue that some are still mistrusting of the BBC after so many of its employees have been exposed for sexual crimes, so maybe this is an attempt at reparations?
In a similar vein, Coronation Street ran a storyline last year which saw the underage Bethany Platt being sexually exploited. This story was revisited earlier this year, only months after the show had to sack one of their cast members, Bruno Langley after he was accused, and later found guilty, of sexual assault. Again, perhaps this was an attempt to repair ITV’s image slightly and show that they take sexual assault seriously.
An except from Bethany Platt's story on Coronation Street (ITV, 2017).
The other major evening soaps, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks have also featured stories this year surrounding these issues. In fact, ITV recently announced that Emmerdale is set to air an episode next year with an all-female cast and almost entirely female crew to celebrate International Women’s Day. It seems that the soaps are putting in their best efforts to confront the lack of female opportunity in the industry at the moment, and also address issues which have been brought to the forefront of public conversation thanks to #MeToo. It’s unsurprising, really, considering how much the movement has affected the film and television industry in particular.
Personally, I think these are all positive steps and are doing great things to help set an example to the rest of the industry and encourage better, more realistic portrayals of women and their experiences. In addition, it is encouraging for me as a young woman preparing to enter an industry which has always seemed to me to be a bit of an old boys' club.
But of course, ever the ones to push the boundaries of expectation even further, soaps aren’t just showing sexual assault when it happens to women. This year, Hollyoaks have shown one of their teenage characters, Ollie Morgan, being groomed by his football coach. Interestingly, Ollie is the son of Luke Morgan, who was a victim of male rape in 2000; a story which broke the mould at the time, and still continues to today, as evidenced by Coronation Street choosing to run a similar storyline this year. When the character of David Platt was raped by his personal trainer, Josh Tucker, Survivors Manchester reported a 1700% increase in calls to their helpline from boys and men asking for support after going through similar experiences to David. This is just one of many examples of soap storylines helping real people by choosing to cover taboo topics which other genres shy away from or are unable to cover properly. Soaps can run a storyline for as long as they wish, and have the time to portray a well-paced story with a fleshed-out beginning, middle and end. This certainly makes them stand out from the 6-part miniseries which have a much more limited time-span in which to develop a narrative arc.
So, although some may turn their nose up at soaps and wonder if they are still relevant, I think that it is in their nature to be relevant and thus they will always have an impact on audiences. They recognise that current issues in society are important to portray in order to stay relevant and keep ratings high. Again, I feel this is yet another reason to look to the soaps in order to understand the direction of the film and TV industry- they’re always going to set the precedent for how media corporations decide to confront an issue, especially when it’s one which is affecting the industry itself.
-ASIS
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