Results: Soap Opera Style Narrative and Happy Endings
Published on 12/04/2024
I get most of my media entertainment from Netflix and Amazon Prime, so I am basing this survey on what I see. It may not be accurate for other sources but I suspect entertainment media tends to reflect a certain generality in format.
QUESTIONS
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Comments
1.
1.
Do you notice many or most TV and movies you watch seem to have a "soap opera" style narrative? By this, I mean there are multiple plots (some of which are not really important to the main story) and scenes only last two or three minutes at most before switching to a different plot line? Yes
34%
713 votes
No
20%
427 votes
Undecided
24%
498 votes
Not Applicable
22%
462 votes
2.
2.
If you answered "Yes" to the question above, do you think this tendency in the entertainment industry is more apparent now than in the past? Yes
25%
529 votes
No
7%
149 votes
Undecided
22%
472 votes
I answered "No" to the first question.
14%
299 votes
Not Applicable
31%
651 votes
3.
3.
If you answered "Yes" to the first question, why do you think this is the case? People nowadays have low attention spans, perhaps bordering on attention deficit disorder
21%
431 votes
People nowadays are not intelligent enough to focus on a single long story line
9%
189 votes
Media moguls think this format is cool
12%
242 votes
Multiple plots need more actors, hence more employment for actors
8%
168 votes
Multiple plots allow for increasing appearance of diversity in a given product by having a token people of colour subplot, a token LGBT+ subplot, and so on.
12%
260 votes
I answered "No" to the first question.
15%
307 votes
Other (please specify)
1%
23 votes
Not Applicable
45%
936 votes
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 0.31% | 5 | |
| All of the above | 0.12% | 2 |
| To make the show more entertaining. | 0.06% | 1 |
| Room to expand the plot in case the story goes flat. | 0.06% | 1 |
| It makes the show more entertaining. | 0.06% | 1 |
| no idea, but I've noticed | 0.06% | 1 |
| No idea | 0.06% | 1 |
| People nowadays require more than one story line going on at one time. | 0.06% | 1 |
| I think that they feel this makes the show more interesting | 0.06% | 1 |
| because in some shows there are multiple story lines in an episode that contain different people | 0.06% | 1 |
| More branches, spinoffs | 0.06% | 1 |
| Been happening for some time now so probably what the public wants! | 0.06% | 1 |
| Why do I think what is the case? | 0.06% | 1 |
| running out of subjects/plots for tv shows | 0.06% | 1 |
| The actual plot is not long enough to fill the time slot so they need to "pad it out" - more ad revenue. | 0.06% | 1 |
| Multiple plots, are more interesting | 0.06% | 1 |
| poor story telling | 0.06% | 1 |
| I'm more into watching shows that appeal to grown ups. | 0.06% | 1 |
4.
4.
Do you prefer the shifting "soap opera style" narrative in entertainment media? Yes
11%
222 votes
No
30%
626 votes
Undecided
27%
562 votes
Not Applicable
33%
690 votes
5.
5.
There seem to be fairly few plot lines nowadays that have tragic, unhappy, or indeterminate endings. What is your feeling about how stories should end? I prefer happy endings for everything
16%
337 votes
I am open to a mix of happy and sad endings, but don't like inconclusive ones where the viewer must supply their own view of what will happen afterwards.
24%
512 votes
I am open to all sorts of conclusions.
28%
584 votes
Other (please specify)
1%
11 votes
Not Applicable
31%
656 votes
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 0.28% | 4 | |
| I prefer the dark ones where it is bittersweet | 0.07% | 1 |
| There's enough tragedy and disappointment in real life. I want my fiction stories to be happy. | 0.07% | 1 |
| I love cliffhanger endings like I write myself in the fanfictions I create and post online to share. A cliffhanger gets readers or/and viewers to tune in next t | 0.07% | 1 |
| This is the American style of TV and movies and I don't watch it - too predictable. | 0.07% | 1 |
| I really don't care | 0.07% | 1 |
| Doesn't matter | 0.07% | 1 |
| I prefer unhappy endings. | 0.07% | 1 |
COMMENTS