Primary Research Analysis

Hannah Hughes

Candidate name: Hannah Hughes

Candidate number: 4067

Centre name: St. Andrews Catholic School

Centre number: 64135

When asked what gender soap operas are aimed at 63.64% said that they were aimed at females. This could be because there are often ‘strong, independent female characters’ (Feasey - 2007) that are extremely counter-stereotypical. This could make women feel empowered and give them a chance to escape from their real lives. In my trailer I would use the strong female character, however I wouldn’t want to over sell it as I don’t think this extreme personality would appeal to our audience.

There are often multiple problems within soap operas, which is know as a multi-stranded narrative, however when asked what the most common was over 80% said domestic issues were the most common. In my opinion with is because it is the more ‘personally identifiable’ (Katz) trait for everyday audiences. This could be because it is easier to sympathize with the characters.This is something I would like to bring forward into my trailer. I will be using a domestic issue theme so that the audience will be able to sympathize with the characters easily.

When asked what age range do you think soap operas are aimed at 54.55% said that they felt it was aimed at adults. This could be as hard working people they need to watch soap operas as it gives them ‘escapism’ (Katz) and a chance to relax. This could also be because the majority of characters in soap operas are adults, and so the audience feel they can relate to the issues. I would use this in my trailer by ensuring that the audience would be able to relate to the emotions of my characters.

When asked who soap operas were aimed at there was no surprise that 55.55% of resonance said the working class. In the following question I asked why they felt soap operas were aimed at the working class. Many said it was because ‘they could relate’ to the situations within soaps. Some said that it was a form of ‘light entertainment’ that creates ‘strong personal identity’ that you don’t get with the other classes. Overall I think I will bring the working class relation into my soap opera trailer.

Conclusion

• In conclusion I think that the information that I have gained through the survey I created will be very useful. This is because it corresponds to the initial ideas I had about soap operas. In summary of my survey I would like my trailer to appeal to working class, female adults who will relate to the domestic issues.

Extra Evidence This is a questionnaire that I created to give extra evidence for my Primary Research. From this research I discovered that 90% felt that soap operas were aimed at women. This was a similar result to my survey. Again 80% though that domestic issues are the main story lines in soap operas. When asked what age range soap operas are aimed at 90% said adults, and the other 10% said young adults or the elderly. In the final question 100% of resonance said that they thought soap operas were aimed at the working class.