Controversial Film: Lena Dunham

This leads to a shift in how those stories are told – the perspective of being concerned for the character, caring for them or being angry with them. These storylines directly influence raw emotion within the younger generation due to its prominent relation to their lives
Rogers (2015, p.44) researched Lena Dunham, who has been a key figure in modern feminism. Dunham has been a major influence in feminism and the advancement of female equality and change. Dunham began as an unknown film actress who started in low budget films but gained recognition from interest of Judd Apatow, who had made various controversial films that investigated this idea of masculinity. Dunham went on to star in a show called GIRLS, which Rodgers described as a ‘cultural phenomenon. She also writes most of the script within the show, giving her own perspective on the text. The show was well received and portrayed Dunham in a new light, giving her recognition as someone who fought against a male dominated industry and pushed through. Although the show received positive reviews, it still had criticism. Some critics
labelled Dunham as ‘superficial’ and ‘whitewashing’. This was due to the unique style that the show had taken, giving the perspective of various ways of living and investigating further ways of female empowerment and living.
An audience research project conducted by the BBC showed that on genres watched on BBC One, at least 70% of viewers would watch soap operas.
In comparison, this was the second highest for any genre across BBC One, with News only being slightly ahead by 3%. (Reid and Vagg, 2010, p.20-21.). This study shows the dominance of soap opera within Britain as BBC is one of the main providers for British television originals. With this data, it is safe to conclude that soap operas are a major part of British society and in that create core values and ideologies through how we should behave and act. Storylines are tackling real-life issues, and although exaggerated, give incline into how British society associates itself with each other whether through work-related issues, family issues or issues around racism and immigration. These issues have been deeply embedded into British soap
operas.
With EastEnders, based on the setting, the target audience is older than Hollyoaks. For example, EastEnders is set in a square of houses with traditional things such as a corner shop and a pub. The focus of EastEnders has always been the pub, The Queen Vic. This connotates an older setting and assumes that the focus of characters will be those above the age of 18, the legal age to drink. However, this has not meant that EastEnders only focuses purely on older-based topics such as drinking, divorce, things typically associated with an older generation – but has equally included topics to do with teenagers. It can also be assumed that EastEnders targets the working-class demographic due to its storylines focusing on the working class and those of a ‘generic’ England upbringing. Working class jobs are common from working at a garage to working in the pub. As well as the setting and characters, the time-frame at which Hollyoaks is broadcasted also fits into this demographic – the show airs between 7pm-8pm (with rare changes) and this is the time where most Britons will be returning from work and will be settling in after having dinner. This then leads to this notion of escapism by allowing them to disassociate themselves from their lives and focus on the drama within the storyline being portrayed on the show.
Due to the nature of the content shown, EastEnders is one of many soap operas to offer a way of support to their viewers – at the end of the episode, there is a message informing viewers that if anything had affected them, they can call a number or e-mail to receive support. Rather than being this means of dramatic entertainment, EastEnders through the BBC have managed to have a body of support which allows people to find support.
Young women have been portrayed in a variety of different ways throughout soap operas – as society has changed, the representation of young women has led to changes within their personality, social interactions and teenage life. With EastEnders, the Education side of the show has become much more prominent, with the shower showing life in school rather than just children returning from school. By doing this, they open the characters’ lives to be more relatable to teenage life and can tackle issues that happen outside of the social environment and into the teaching environment, such as; teenage bullying.
These representations that EastEnders give have led to some criticism about the show and how that it is “miserable’ or ‘depressing’” (Smith, 2005, p.74). Regardless of this criticism, the show remains popular and has millions of viewers. With hard-hitting topics like unplanned pregnancies and abortions, homosexuality, infidelity and adultery, it is not surprising that the show has a more depressing aspect about it as it focuses on the negative moments that can happen in life and portray them in a stereotypical common England town. Thus, it will always continue to be depressing, but not necessarily in a negative aspect; if it continues to create drama-filled storylines with over-the-top characters.