Eastenders - misery appeals

'A huge burden of misery could be lifted from Albert Square if the love of Christ were made known to the people of Walford'

Feature article by Matthew Hudswell

Eastenders is one of the most popular shows on British television, regularly attracting 12-13 million viewers. Yet the story lines are almost always miserable, and many people say that it is depressing to watch. What keeps so many of us faithfully following events in Albert Square?

Relationships

Relationships are at the heart of Eastenders, as they are in our own lives. The family is a priority, especially for the older generation. Take, for example, the way in which the Mitchells stick together - or the Fowlers (if Pauline has any say in the matter). And yet families are often at war - with each other, and among themselves.

If the older generation are family-centred, the younger characters are rootless, and their attitudes to relationships are much more fluid. If you miss a week you could be forgiven for not knowing who is seeing whom. Relationships are there to be used up, worn out and thrown away. When one is finished, you find yourself a new one, and it does not really matter how long it might last. It is a 'do what feels right, I want it now' world view.

Sensational

However, the ever-changing relationships on their own are not enough to keep us watching. It is not just the constant intrigue, but the sensational story lines that keep us glued to the television. Extraordinary events and disasters happen with amazing regularity. (Have you noticed how every soap opera, without exception, gradually becomes more sensational, and less believable, over the years?)

Issues

The makers of soap operas would like us to believe they're tackling serious issues, such as AIDS, and domestic violence. The reality, of course, is that even when they have a story line about an 'issue', they do not deal with it in any meaningful way. For all the producers' claim to be tackling serious issues, Eastenders is really banal and trivial. Whenever you think something serious is about to be discussed in the life of one of the characters, the attention shifts to someone else on the other side of the Square.

The more things change...

In spite of the relational intrigue, the increasingly sensational story lines, and the producers' claim to be tackling serious issues, nothing ever really happens in Eastenders. It is very eventful, but the same themes crop up time and again. People make the same mistakes over and over again. The characters are stuck in their roles, with no way out. People may promise themselves fresh starts, but no profound change ever takes place. If you take a break from watching for months, or even years, it is not difficult to catch up on what is happening. For all their originality, the story-lines could be computer-generated.One of the biggest criticisms that can be levelled against Eastenders is that it is boring.

Stereotypes

One reason for this is that it's full of stereotypes: gender issues, for example, are typically portrayed in a way that reflects boring contemporary stereotypes: the women hold things together while the men come and go. The younger men are in and out of relationships, while the older men are either tragi-comic or irrelevant. (For more on this, Melanie Phillips' book 'The Sex-Change Society' is highly recommended.)

Religion is rarely given any space except when someone is born, gets married, or dies. When it is given any time, it too is stereotyped. Christians like Dot Cotton, are portrayed as old fools who quote scripture verses at random. Once again, the script-writers seem not to be able to think 'out of the box' of the politically correct contemporary stereotype.

True to life?

The heart of a soap opera is its claim to be 'true to life' in some way. So just how realistic is Eastenders? Obviously, we have to discount the sensational story lines that must be there to rack up the ratings - (How many people do you know who have been shot?). We also have to discount the compression demanded by a TV show - our own neighbourhood is much less eventful than Walford.

Having said that, in many ways, Eastenders is an accurate reflection of contemporary life - or at least, of contemporary relationships. Are the people miserable? Well, for many people today, life is miserable. Is Eastenders shallow? Well, much of contemporary life has become shallow - to to the point that Francis Bridger claims that 'shallowness is the new depth.' (See our feature on 'David Beckham and the World Cup')

Original

It would be so nice to see something truly original in Eastenders. Rather than just more relational intrigue, rather than going for the sensational and unbelievable story line, rather than pretend to be tackling issues, why not do something genuinely new?

If there must be a story-line about domestic violence, why not break with the stereotype, and make the woman the violent partner? (This is the case in real life about 50% of the time, whatever the BBC's current political correctness says to the contrary). Why not have a young man who faces temptation but stays faithful to his wife? Or why not bring in the character of a follower of Jesus Christ who is a realistic person instead of a cardboard cut-out? Surely we could expect a bit more realism, a bit more creativity, a bit more depth, even in a popular series?

A huge burden of misery could be lifted from Albert Square if the love of Christ were made known to the people of Walford.

Discussion questions

Why do you think Eastenders has such wide appeal, when so many of the plot lines are so miserable?
How much influence do you think characters or story lines from Eastenders (or other soap operas) can influence our own attitudes and behaviour?
How true to life is Eastenders?
'The characters are stuck in their roles, with no way out.' Can people change?
If you were a script-writer for Eastenders, how could you think 'outside the box' of contemporary stereotypes?
If you were a script-writer, how could you introduce a Biblical view of things that was neither stereotyped nor cheesy?