It is the fake that draws most people in. Take Dallas and Dynasty for example. They were powerhouse soaps of their day, and concentrated on the very rich and powerful. It was 'seeing the other side' that drew most viewers in, plus the costumes ect. That glimpse into the world of the rich and powerful provided ordinary people, who would never get the chance to live that sort of life, the chance to look in through the Carrington's and Ewing's bedroom windows. The fact most of it was fake, and viewers knew that, didn't matter much. The Molodivian wedding massacre in Dynasty....puuleasse
With soaps like Neighbours, Coronation Street and the American daytimers, it is again, escapism, and the chance to look through someone elses bedroom windows. They give viewers, who are all ages and both sexes I hate to inform you all, the chance to see that ordinary people have the same problems they do, and go through the same trials and tribulations of life. It is the ultimate chance to spy on the neighbours, and not end up in court for it
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It is also a window out into the world for those who spend a great deal of time stuck inside their house. Mothers raising young kids, the disabled, the unemployed ect can escape the boredom of their daily routine by tuning into these shows and forgetting their own problems for the time it takes to watch someone elses.
