Media Diary; Hollyoaks

Channel 4: Hollyoaks

Hollyoaks is a soap opera aimed at a younger audience, which has been aired on Channel 4 for just under 20 years. Over the past couple of years, it has taken over the other popular soaps such as Corination Street and Emmerdale, winning Soap of the Year award earlier this year. Some of the story lines are similar to that of the other soaps, however it is generally centred more around teenagers and the struggles they face as they are becoming young adults. The cast is made up of more of younger actors than it is old for this reason. Because of this, it targets a younger audience. 

Hollyoaks often finds itself being criticised for its unrealistic story lines and melodramatic acting, which I think plays a part in the fact that not many adults watch it, as they think it is not a true representation of the world we live in. I think it targets a mainstream audience within the younger generation because it is something that is popular within schools and colleges, giving them something to talk about. Also, the plot is spoon fed to you regularly, and there are no second thoughts or deeper analysis needed in order to follow what is going on. For this reason, I do not believe you would see an explorer watching Hollyoaks.

I also think it would appeal to 'groupies' for similar reasons that it appeals to a mainstream audience; for the safety and acceptance from those around them. Those who want to be accepted by the people they associate with often follow the trends at any given point in time. A recent trend is to be active on sites such as Facebook and Twitter. I think this links in well with watching Hollyoaks because all of the actors are very active when it comes to social media, which is something that 'groupies' would like, as they can connect with these people, which is then another subject to talk about. 

Despite the fact that I watch Hollyoaks regularly myself, I do think that the majority of the audience members would be classed as passive, because half the time a show like this gains success is because of people gossiping about it and people feel like they have to be able to join in with this and will therefore watch it themselves. 

In relation to the last theory mentioned, I think that the Inoculation/Desensitisation Model works well with Hollyoaks, but it does treat the audience as passive. The main story lines usually circulate around drugs and crime and sometimes sex. If you have watched Hollyoaks since a young age, this model could apply to you. However, I myself have watched Hollyoaks consistently for years, but I still have morals and know right from wrong. So yes, this does treat the audience as passive.