Should Soaps Reflect Real Life Or Be A Hyperbolic Salad Of Escape?

For decades, soap fans have used daytime dramas as a brief escape from their busy, stressful days. However, that doesn’t mean the stories didn’t often reflect real-life issues.

Soaps often require fans to suspend disbelief with things like SORAS’d children who jump from 8 to 16 in the course of a few weeks, taking back everything that happened for months and years, or when they bring people back from the dead — like completely dead dead.

But, often they also tackle real-world, cutting edge issues. For instance, Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) on The Young and the Restless (YR) and her struggle with Multiple Sclerosis.

Same sex relationships like Paul (Christopher Sean) and Sonny (Freddie Smith) on Days of Our Lives (DOOL) occur on daytime just like they do in real life.

Plus pregnancy issues like Hayden (Rebecca Budig) recently experienced on General Hospital (GH).

Other real world scenarios play out with storylines like the infidelity and betrayal fallout that Eric (John McCook), Quinn (Rena Sofer), and Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) experienced on The Bold and the Beautiful (BB) and the sexual harassment drama and infidelity Y&R couple Lily (Christel Khalil) and Cane (Daniel Goddard) experienced with Juliet (Laur Allen) and her baby.

Soap Hub wants to know if you think soaps should reflect real life, or if you want them to be hyperbolic salads of escape. Please cast your vote in the poll above, and let your voice be heard.

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