Senstive Story Lines: Are there some stories which are too sensitive for Soap Operas to cover?

Soap Operas include various functions in their narratives including the audience. These consist of;

• Escapism; the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy.In relation to Soap Operas, this includes audience members forgetting their own lives to focus on the opportunities and/or situations, both negative and positive, happening to characters involved in the soap.
• Diversion/ Entertainment; Keeps audiences interested in the story plots, providing enjoyment for those watching. This may include audience members finding entertainment in both positive and negative stories, such as the typical convention of providing a tense narrative, which could entertain the audience, therefore increasing show ratings. 
• Awareness; Including everyday events as well as current affairs recently highlighted that can educate audiences in the story plot. These narratives which raise awareness can be that that causes storylines to be too sensitive to some audiences which can then lead to complaints, for example the teen suicide story on Hollyoaks involving Newt which followed recent events in the news that stated a girl had committed suicide the same way in which Newt did on the Soap. This caused many complaints from audience members and loss of ratings.
• Identification/ Personal Identity; Identification involves audience members finding relation between themselves and other characters. If someone is in a situation, for example being cheated on, members of the audience which is going through the same can find relation with the character, and may even watch for advice. Others can also see what lives are like for some in soaps, which presents conventions of realism, and realise that their own lives are not as bad as those on the Soap.
• Personal Relationships; Personal Relationships involve audience members watching episodes in order to build social activity. This builds relationships outside the soap, which influences audience members to watch the soap more, increasing episode ratings. 

Issues can occur in relation to storylines and narrative if they touch on sensitive subjects, including those such as murder and kidnapping. Current affairs can have an effect on Soaps and their narrative, producing offense from viewers, leading to complaints, as well as decrease in ratings. Another factor which can occur is if people believe in the less realistic storylines, causing confusion on subjects such as a strange child birth that may occur. Controversial storylines often raise issues with their audiences if there is sensitive content or is handled incorrectly. Stories such as the baby swap occurrence in 2011 between Ronnie and Kat Moon's children issued many complaints, naming it "sick" and "twisted" due to their portrayal of how mothers may act after the death of their child. The severity of Ronnie's despair led to the incident of her stealing Kat's child, causing controversy with viewers who believed the incident to be handled incorrectly and did not portray the issue of cot death realistically. This led to many viewers being angry towards the soap and directors, losing the ratings and issuing over 8000 complaints. To make sure that viewers are satisfied with the narrative. especially if it is controversial, they need to make sure it is handled correctly and informatively in order to reduce complaints.

[Kira]