SEX, LIES AND SOAPS

PROGRAMME 3: FAMILY CONFLICT

Family conflict is at the heart of every soap, from vicious mother-daughter rows to screaming family brawls. Does this represent reality or is it encouraging dysfunctional family relationships?

PROGRAMME AIMS

• To explore why soaps rely so regularly on family conflict for their storylines
• To investigate their relationship to teenagers' own experiences of family life
• To examine the 'heightened reality' of family storylines, and their function for both soap producers and audiences
• To consider whether teenagers' behaviour is influenced, either positively or negatively, by the aspects of family life represented in soaps.

THE CHARACTERS

• Orly – 19-year-old who lives with her family and believes family life in soaps is far more dramatic than real life
• Monique – 20-year-old Londoner who thinks family conflicts in soaps are great entertainment, however unrealistic
• Lucie and Charlotte – aged 16 and 14 respectively, they regularly watch and discuss soaps with their mum Helen
• Jilli and Jenna – OC fans living a Beverley Hills lifestyle
• Sadie – 15-year-old from Liverpool, who is sceptical about mother and daughter conflicts in soaps.
• Maktuno, Lakwena and Abimaro – aged 22, 18 and 20 respectively, they watch Coronation Street and believe soap conflict can make teens more hostile
• Grace Dent – soap critic, The Guardian
• Aric Sigman, psychologist and author of Remotely Controlled: How TV is damaging our lives and what we can do about it.