Many soaps are actually named after the setting such as Coronation Street and Emmerdale. The setting of a soap helps tell viewers more about certain characters and their personalities and traits. For example Dot Cotton from Eastenders spends the majority of her time in the laundrette; this is because she works there but it tells us that she is a hard worker and doesn’t really have much else to do as she is an old woman with little family left, the only person she really has to look after is herself.
Dot sitting in The Laundrette
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Jack being consulted by Darren The locations and institutions/shops shown also help construct the appropriate atmosphere and show what sort of age group characters will be from and the issues that will arise. For example in Hollyoaks, the main places are a pub, club, university and school, restaurants and little shops. This tells viewers that the majority of the characters will be quite teenagers ranging from 13-19 and possibly older; since there are pubs and clubs issues such as drinking and possible drugs will arise. the viewers will most likely be of a similar age to the characters and therefore feel a connection and more interested in the issues as they can relate to them; for example when it is a characters birthday they will want to go out with all their friends, go clubbing or have a party and drink a lot. Teenage viewers will find this more appealing to watch than older people; however there are also some issues that an older audience would relate more to than a younger teen audience. For example there was a storyline in which Jack had to go to prison because he was in so much debt that he did an insurance scam; older people aged 30+ would understand and find this more interesting to watch as they would understand the pressures of bringing up a family and money issues.
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In every British Soap the communities are always very close and have various meeting points where you can always expect to find certain characters. For example Patrick from Eastenders is always either found in "The Vic" or working in the Mini Mart. Hollyoaks has the "SU Bar" and "Ill Gnosh" These places are nearly always featured in every episode.
The Queen Vic - Central meeting point in Eastenders
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Settings and locations used in soaps are extremely important in defining the soaps characteristics and showing many aspects such as class and status. Most settings have more of an emphasis on leisurely activities rather than working environments. Most soap operas follow the lives of a group of characters who live or work in a village, town or city. They follow their day-to-day activities and personal relationships with other characters. The location used in Soaps are usually fundamental in UK soaps as they are defining features; for example Eastenders is set in East London and therefore concentrates on the tough, grim life. You wouldn't expect to see any seductive, glamorous characters parading around in designer clothes and flashy cars in East London. Soaps tend to have a strong identity in their choice of location; Eastenders is set in London whilst Emmerdale is set in the Yorkshire Dales. Not only does this attract audiences from chosen areas but it also helps add to the realism effect. Characters are always down-to earth, common and from a middle-class background; this is done so that the majority of the public can relate to the characters and understand what they’re going through. In every British Soap the communities are always very close and have various meeting points where you can always expect to find certain characters. For example Patrick from Eastenders is always either found in "The Vic" or working in the Mini Mart. Hollyoaks has the "SU Bar" and "Ill Gnosh" These places are nearly always featured in every episode.
Emmerdale When this soap first started out, it was called Emmerdale Farm therefore the setting was a lot more focused around the farming business which was run by the Sugden family. Over time the focus has changed onto the villagers in Beckindale. Emmerdale is set in a small village, therefore to keep it realistic it doesn’t include places such as clubs as it simply wouldn’t fit in. unlike other soaps, Emmerdale included working and business locations. B&B’s, farms, a café and stables are included; typical village places. The majority of residents live on either side of Main Street which some living on Church lane which is just off Main Street. There is also a parish church on church lane. The main places included in the setting are Mill brook cottage, post office, Victoria cottage, the Grange, oak well and others; most of these are typical cottage places.
The Cafe The Farm
In terms of setting and location, I think that Emmerdale is the soap which stands out from other because it isn’t typically set inn a town or urban city. Its more a calm area which is shown through the characters and storylines. To keep in line with the idea of realism, issues such as drugs and murders which are heavily featured in other soaps don’t really come up much in Emmerdale as these sort of incidents just wouldn’t happen. Some critics have said that the plots and storylines in Emmerdale move and develop to slowly, if you miss a few episodes it doesn’t tend to matter too much as not a lot would have really happened. This could be a result of the producers trying to keep the theme of realism or because they may be finding it hard to be coming up with new and exciting storylines all the time.
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