SOAP DREAMS -DAYS OF OUR LIVES - GONE FOREVER
• Raikes Hodson
Imagine a society where 20 million (wo)man hours a week are invested back into the community instead of spent watching the soaps...

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The number of people who spend large amounts of their free time sitting watching the trials and tribulations of fictitious communities never ceases to amaze me. I don’t know which I find more depressing; the story lines or the fact that millions of people have nothing more constructive to do than sit brain dead in front of the idiot’s lantern watching with morbid curiosity. The desire to be creative and positive seems to have been battered out of us. A lack of amenities and the fear of crime mean that many people come home, bolt the front door and never venture out into the evening air. Even during daylight the fear of crime is common and there seems to be little discrepancy in terms of where you live, with many rural areas suffering at the hands of criminals just as much as urban dwellers. 

Add to this the workhouse ethic of this country that you should put as many hours into your working day for as little as possible until the point of exhaustion probably doesn’t help. Most people having spent more hours than nearly anyone else in the western world at work (then having to sufferer the trails and tribulation of getting home) are frazzled and brain dead. Then throw at them the daily family issues, which need to be resolved and who can blame people for wanting easy entertainment? 

But think of the alternatives. Imagine a society where 20 million (wo)man hours a week are invested back into the community instead of spent watching the soaps. Imagine a world were instead of sitting in front of the television of an evening, people spent time reading to their children, painting or learning to play an instrument or learning any new skill. It requires very little extra effort yet the rewards would be stupendous. We cite and blame politician for being utterly useless, which is fair comment but we are the makers of our own world and 20 million hours a week would go an awfully long way to making it a better one. 

The whispering majority rage about the number of hours our children spend in front of theT.V. or with video game in hand, but how come they don’t rage so much about the wasted time sat watching EastEnders and Coronation Street?

Is it then OK for post pubescent’s to melt their intellect under the pressing glare of the soap opera? Life should be an amazing experience but it does not just turn up on your doorstep and invite you out for a drink. It requires input from the user. For some this may be easy to do, for others it may require monumental effort, but either way if you want to change your world then it is your responsibility to do so, the window of opportunity is available every evening of the week and large parts of Sunday.  TV Soap rots the brain, it should come with a Government health warning. Unless you believe in reincarnation this is as good as it gets. So do you want to waste it watching facile, depressing and stunningly unbelievable plot lines? Or would you rather live in a world, which was better for all concerned because you made a difference?  

And don’t be blaming the television companies; this is just a case of supply and demand. If the demand changes then the supply will. Life is harsh enough without being force fed the dreary tedium of fictional ones. A world where minds sparkle and bellies laugh has to be a better place. Turn off, tune in and get out. 


email: Raikes@tinmachines.com 

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