Documentary soap

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As a reality show ( documentary - soap opera ) refers to a form of reality TV , in which the people shown are presented in dramatically staged, entertaining way.

In the strict sense, it is a kind of documentary film that z. B. accompanies families in unusual situations such as moving abroad, or each episode shows different people with a constant basic topic such as upbringing, financial difficulties or renovation. The television stations also refer to so-called “ scripted reality ” as “docu-soap”, which is very similar to classic docu-soaps, but follows a fictitious script and is staged by amateur actors or professional actresses who distance themselves from the content of the plot .

Documentary soaps supposedly mix entertainment with information and are therefore intended to represent infotainment or edutainment . As with the eponymous soap operas or daily talk shows , emotions are usually in the foreground, problems and conflicts that are often artificially emphasized. With most representatives of the format, there is often no informative, teaching effect.

Documentary soaps always appear in sequels.

properties

The following properties are typical for documentary soaps:

  • Concentration on a few people who serve as identification figures for the audience
  • Observation of supposedly everyday people in extraordinary situations
  • high emotionality, less or no documentary claim, no consideration for falsification of facts in the cut or in the comments
  • no journalistic evaluation of what happened
  • Increase in the recognition factor through a memorable appearance
  • Tension arcs beyond the end of an episode or an advertising break

In documentary soaps, techniques for emotionalization and personalization in the sense of affect television are often used. The reliance on the alleged reality gives the stories presented more credibility and plausibility. In principle, every event can be fictionalized. Events that are tied to a specific location, a specific emergency situation or a specific group of people are particularly popular.

Apart from the fact that the presence of a camera in the private sector or when exercising professions with public traffic always has an influence on the actors, the situation in many documentary soaps is sometimes also deliberately influenced or exaggerated. Sometimes individual situations are simulated or falsified, for example through incorrect comments by the speaker on a scene.

The documentary soap parody Güsel in Switzerland turned the dramaturgical tricks into the opposite without changing the format.

Basic typology

A distinction is made between docu-soaps according to four basic types, of which there are further mixes and thematic and stylistic penetrations:

As an example of a mixture of these aspects, one can mention Rach, the restaurant tester . Here, especially in the first few seasons, people were offered insights behind the scenes of gastronomy. Sometimes renovation campaigns are also in the foreground or a conditioning problem is dealt with.

Roles / figures

In documentary soaps, stereotypical representatives of professional groups and average citizens are often discussed in problematic situations. The high degree of emotionalization in documentary soaps often results in extreme, sometimes completely unrealistic stereotypes or ways of acting. Depending on the program, a targeted attempt is made to bring people together who correspond to an ideal, and on the contrary, people with whom the viewers can identify or are sympathetic, and people who, through their portrayal, attract hate, disgust or glee on the part of the audience pull.

Differentiation from other genera

Scripted Reality (pseudo-documentation)

Although they are similar at first glance, documentary soaps must be differentiated from scripted reality or pseudo-documentaries . Nevertheless, the television stations misleadingly refer to many of these series as "docu-soaps". This separation is not always made in the literature either, rather both terms are often used synonymously.

Reality shows

Documentary soaps differ from reality shows in that an unnatural situation is deliberately created in reality shows, e.g. B. many different people under difficult conditions in a confined space. Reality shows often create a format-related competitive situation among the participants.

Representative

Germany

The ZDF cookery programs Die Küchenschlacht and Lafer, Lichter, Lecker also have docu-soap elements .

  • NDR
    • The XXL Ostfriese (63 episodes) with Tamme Hanken
    • The XXL East Frisian: Only the best (13 episodes)
    • The XXL East Frisian: Hearth instead of horse (8 episodes)

Austria

Switzerland

  • SRF
    • The Pfyn pile dwellers
    • Life like in Gotthelf's time
    • Airline (6 episodes)
    • Everest 7 episodes, 2003
    • Match 7 episodes, 2006
    • Recruit School (6 episodes)
    • Animal Hospital (7 episodes)
    • Circus (6 episodes)
    • Zoo (6 episodes, 2004)
    • The boarding school - school like 50 years ago ( 2004 )
    • Mini teaching and me (4 episodes, 2014)
    • Mini Beiz, dini Beiz (2014 until today)

Documentation

literature

  • Werner Faulstich: Basic course in television analysis. Wilhelm Fink, Paderborn 2008.
  • Jill Godmilow, Ann-Loiuse Shapiro: How Real is the Reality in the Documentary Film? In: History and Theory. Vol. 36, No. 4, 1997, pp. 80-101.
  • Christian Hißnauer: Living history - The present is alive. On the relation to reality of the history format. In: Harro Segeberg (Ed.): References. On the theory and history of the real in the media . Schüren-Verlag, Marburg 2009, pp. 120–140.
  • Gary D. Rhodes (Ed.): Docufictions. Essays on the intersection of documentary and fictional filmmaking. McFarland, Jefferson, NC 2006.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ docu-soap. In: The Free Dictionary. Retrieved May 28, 2011 .
  2. ^ Werner Faulstich: Basic course in television analysis. Wilhelm Fink, Paderborn 2008, p. 138.
  3. ↑ Güsel - the rubbish detectives. ( Memento from May 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) a docu-soap parody of Swiss television
  4. ^ Nils Borstnar, Eckhard Pabst, Hans Jürgen Wulff: Introduction to film and television studies. UTB, Stuttgart 2008, p. 45. (online)
  5. ^ Werner Faulstich: Basic course in television analysis. Wilhelm Fink, Paderborn 2008, p. 139.
  6. ↑ a b c d Scripted Reality - the Lies TV. ( Memento from December 3, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) about scripted reality broadcasts on RTL, Vox and Pro7. on: frogged.de , September 15, 2011.
  7. ↑ The salon saver - wash, cut, blow-dry. ( Memento from October 8, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) on: prosieben.de
  8. ↑ Cut or Go. ( Memento from October 8, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) on: prosieben.de
  9. ↑ bergrettung-tirol.at