The End of “As the World Turns” the End of an Era

As_The_World_turns_soap_opera_6The cancellation of daytime dramas is arguably one of the most significant media signs of a shift in American society.  This show was on for 54 years.  The Guiding Light, canceled 3 months ago, began on radio and was on 72 YEARS!  It’s kind of sad to see them go.  My mother used to watch them, sort of, anyway.  She had them on in the house while she did other things.  And once reached an age that the educational programming our local PBS station ran most of the day (Sesame Street, Electric Company, Zoom…) was no no longer of interest to me , it just didn’t get changed.  You’d think serial drama would be hard to follow if you only watched it at most a few days a year when you were home sick from school.  But in fact the plot progresses really slowly on those shows.  The musical queues, angles and camera work enhance the drama to the point that you feel like you can’t miss a day, but in fact you can miss the show for months and catch up in a day.

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