A dispute of the simplistic illusion of soap fans as bored housewives or losers.

The soap opera, one of U.S. television's longest-running and most influential formats, is on the brink. Declining ratings have been attributed to an increasing number of women working outside the home and to an intensifying competition for viewers' attention from cable and the Internet. Yet, soaps' influence has expanded, with serial narratives becoming commonplace on most prime time TV programs. The Survival of Soap Opera investigates the causes of their dwindling popularity, describes their impact on TV and new media culture, and gleans lessons from their complex history for twenty-first-century media industries. The book contains contributions from established soap scholars such as Robert C. Allen, Louise Spence, Nancy Baym, and Horace Newcomb, along with essays and interviews by emerging scholars, fans and Web site moderators, and soap opera producers, writers, and actors from ABC's General Hospital, CBS's The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, and other shows. This diverse group of voices seeks to intervene in the discussion about the fate of soap operas at a critical juncture, and speaks to longtime soap viewers, television studies scholars, and media professionals alike.

This book is a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the key debates concerning the representation of masculinities in a wide range of popular television genres. The volume looks at the depiction of public masculinity in the soap opera, homosexuality in the situation comedy, the portrayal of fatherhood in prime-time animation, emerging manhood in the supernatural teen text, alternative gender roles in science fiction, male authority in the police series, masculine anxieties in the hospital drama, violence and aggression in sports coverage, ordinariness and emotional connectedness in the reality game show, and domesticity in lifestyle television. Masculinity and Popular Television examines the ways in which masculinities are being constructed, circulated and interrogated in contemporary British and American programming, and considers the ways in which such images can be understood in relation to the 'common sense' model of the hegemonic male that is said to dominate the cultural landscape.

“A GLASS-SHATTERING, DIESEL-FUELED, HARD-CHARGING THRILL RIDE OF A READ . . . [John Case is] a confident master working at peak performance.” –LORENZO CARCATERRA Author of Street Boys and Sleepers Dr. Jeff Duran suffers from severe panic attacks whenever he ventures outside his home office. And he is inexplicably haunted by mysterious memories. Then, after a troubled patient commits suicide–and her half sister, Adrienne Cope, blames Duran–his life spirals out of control. Suddenly targeted by unknown assassins, he and Adrienne must run for their very lives. Forced to trust each other, they must now work together to unlock the reason why one or both of them is marked for death. For beneath the intrigue lies a dark conspiracy that stretches halfway around the world–and a sinister plot that could change the course of history.

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 va

This book explores the rites of a sexual story-telling culture and examines the nature of these newly emerging narratives and the socio-historical conditions that have given rise to them.

First published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Do you long to understand your mate, date, or your friends better? Once you have the keys to understanding the reasons men and women act the way they do, you will discover new potential in all you relationships. You will appreciate yourself more and criticize others less.

Soap operas have captured loyal, often lifelong viewers since the first American daytime serial debuted in 1949. In this collection of 29 new and five classic essays and recollections, authors and soap opera insiders delve into the passion for television melodrama that compels viewers to "tune in tomorrow." The contributors include iconic soap star Thorsten Kaye, journalist Leigh Montville, authors Elinor Lipman and Ann Hood, and editors of Soaps in Depth magazine. They explore the soap phenomenon from a range of perspectives and consider the appeal of a venerable genre in which, as novelist Jacquelyn Mitchard observes, "everyone's life was more depressing than mine."