The characters in eastenders Essay Example for Free

The characters in eastenders Essay The characters in Eastenders are very stereotypical Londoners, the accent, the clothes and the way of life. Where as in Emmerdale theyre country farm type people. Their way of life is completely different that goes without saying the setting is completely different Eastenders is based in Albert Square and the Queen Vic-everything happens within these limitations and Emmerdale is based on a village and the Woolpack this is a much wider limitation. The story lines in theory are very similar but are conveyed completely differently. The camera angles used in Emmerdale arent as good as Eastenders because in Emmerdale it seems theyre limited to two cameras in each scene and theyre usually close ups of faces but in Eastenders they use 3+ cameras per scene and use a mix of tracking and close ups! In both soaps the characters all seem to have problems and big mishaps in their lives. In Eastenders ALL the characters are linked in one way or another which is done very cleverly. Its pretty much the same in Emmerdale the characters are mostly linked due to past history or such like. Using the limitations in both soaps causes intensity as everything is happening in the same place! In both shows you generally see the same faces. The shows are both based on roughly 25+ characters. The story lines are very dramatic and the acting in Eastenders is that bit better than Emmerdale but theyre both done so well. It seems inn both soaps life always goes on and story lines are forgotten with the click of a finger by characters and the audience. This happens in nearly all soaps! The audience Eastenders is aimed at is roughly 10+ due to the timing of 7:30-8pm where as Emmerdale is aimed at 8-9+ as its on at 7 O clock! In real life we have our ups and our downs but I feel it seems in Eastenders, Emmerdale and Coronation Street for that fact that everybody just has downs!!! In real life people do have complicated social relationships but in Eastenders AND Emmerdale it seems no one ever doesnt have them.-This is very fake. The television presents soaps very well and its clear lots of thought goes into all soaps but I feel that more thought and money go into Eastenders rather than Emmerdale. The meanings of most big story lines are to help others who are either in the same situation or having a bad time to boost their confidence or to draw in viewers. Eastenders story lines are more OTT and they are easily leaked to TV mags and newspapers I think this is to draw viewers but it just spoils the story lines because 99% of the time you know exactly whats happening! The audience find it appealing to watch others lives being messed up and problems happen because it makes them feel better and see their problem from another perspective and think maybe my lifes not so bad! This is good and is conveyed in all soaps. Both Eastenders and Emmerdale have a couple of really bitchy characters, which are really amusing to watch. The props in the scenes in both well thought out and in Eastenders the endings(cliff-hangers) are extremely well thought out to make you want to watch the next episode. There are several Genres within soaps these include comedy, horror mainly reality and many more. Some scenes in Eastenders and Emmerdale are funny and cheer you up and you can look back on them and still chuckle but, then again some of the scenes and story lines thought up are horrific and disgusting and you feel you dont want to watch any more but youre dying to find out what happens! There are themes within Soaps, these are the story lines within Genres! Themes are used to support views. The style in Eastenders of story lines is to take a story line and over dramatises it x10. Where as in Emmerdale the story lines are less dramatised and more realistic but this isnt what people want to see they want to see big problems and arguments. This is what makes Eastenders more popular soap of the two. The scene setting sets a basis of the soap i.e.: in Eastenders the common accents and in Emmerdale the farms etc! The presentational device is much better conveyed in Eastenders. The cast size in both soaps is roughly the same and there are about 15 main characters in each! These play the superior roles and the others play large roles but are labelled extras. In both soaps there are swines and people that are just gits and theres also the sort of people who are lovely and friendly to everyone weather they like them or not! Not everyone has someone to fall back on in soaps and this is realistic and usually leads to them doing something stupid or bizarre. Eastenders and Emmerdale are two very different, popular and competitive soaps! They both have a good narrative structure and convey stories and problems brilliantly. But thats what most of the story lines are stories and not facts or real life situations. The denotation(what is seen) is always done to a high standard in Eastenders and a good quality in Emmerdale and usually gives a clear connotation (what the denotation means!) They have a variety of Genres, which define the conventions of each story line. This forms on going story lines which isnt always a good thing because sometimes they drag on and put people off the soap! The general over exaggeration, dramatisation, tone and imagery form the presentational device within soaps. This is deep in both soaps. This causes the effect of addiction. You watch one episode and find yourself asking questions like what happened between so and so and is she always that bitchy etc then you find you cant wait until the next episode! We get so caught up in the lives of the characters their lives take priority over ours and we make time to see what is happening. The characters in both soaps use different facial expressions and tones of voice to form the structural device. This is built in to convey a point this is regularly used in both Emmerdale and Eastenders! The audience identification(what makes the audience like the soap) is the characters, you become loving or hatred towards them with characters like Little Mo(EASTENDERS) and Kathy(EMMERDALE) you want to give them a hug and some friendly advice but with characters like Trevor(EASTENDERS) and Kaine(EMMERDALE) you want them to be locked up and the key thrown away. The content of the soaps on a basis of realism is surprisingly very low because the realism of story lines is probably 90% but the way theyre conveyed takes them down to about 40% this isnt a bad thing as the audiences do love it! To round up my essay Id say Eastenders isnt realistic, it is addictive, the actors and actresses are brilliant, it has the most dramatic story lines, its camera work is more effective and its the most popular soap at the moment. To round up Emmerdale Id say its a nice location, the actors and actresses are good and very realistic, the camera work could be improved by an extra camera and the story lines could be dramatised a little more this would make the soap a lot more popular!