Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id QAA14144 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Mon, 30 Apr 2001 16:53:14 +0100 Message-ID: <2D1C159B783DD211808A006008062D3101745E1D@inchna.stir.ac.uk> From: Vincent Campbell <v.p.campbell@stir.ac.uk> To: "'memetics@mmu.ac.uk'" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> Subject: RE: Is Suicide Contagious? A Case Study in Applied Memetics Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2001 16:49:25 +0100 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21) Content-Type: text/plain Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Well, interestingly this may a factor of demographics- the primary audience
for soaps, at least in the West, have been women of certain and classes, who
probably haven't had access to the net up to the present moment. (Compared
to say the sci-fi community which more or less invented internet lists,
since they were doing them ways back in the days of Arpanet and Genie- but
which was made up of alrgely male, tech-types who's leisrue interests
combined with their professional abilities).
I'm not sure this will ever change that much, though, since soap fans have
never engaged so overtly in fanzines, and slash fiction and the like, that
other fan groups have.
As far as academic work on the goes, there is a significant strand of media
studies work on soaps (including stuff on gender). One of my colleagues,
for example, wrote a book about soaps a few years ago.
Vincent
> ----------
> From: Kenneth Van Oost
> Reply To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2001 9:29 pm
> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> Subject: Re: Is Suicide Contagious? A Case Study in Applied Memetics
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Vincent Campbell <v.p.campbell@stir.ac.uk>
> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
> Of course, the problem of how such things actually influence
> > people remains, let alone what constitutes legitimate forms of
> > representations of certain social problems (e.g. screening rape- how to
> do
> > this without making it voyeuristic and thus counter-productive).
>
> << After I posted my response to you I thought about it.
>
> Actually what the influence of pro- social soap is, remains to be seen,
> you said... that stays to be seen though !!
>
> How many soap-actors don 't get compared to the role they play !?
> JR in dallas, Joan,Alexis the Bitch, Collins in falcon Crest, I believe it
> was.
> I do believe that those have influnce upon people, but indeed we can
> ask the question if the perception goes that far that people indeed would
> show interest for the many efforts which a pro- soap endeavors !!
>
> But, maybe we underestimate that influence !!
> On the other hand, how many soaps are there, and not everybody is
> looking at the same.
> To measure some result, we should endeavour to cover a social issue in
> all soaps at the same time, and measure the outcome.
> But that will be very difficult, because one, not every soap is the same,
> two, not everybody looks at it for the same reason/ person/ actor/
> character/..
> and three, I think that each soap has it own kind of public/ fans.
>
> Just a thought here, I think soaps do influences people but not in the way
> we suppose they should or would be, to know this and to know how
> people think about of what they see, we should endeavour to set up
> lists like this one, where characters, issues, problems,... should be dis-
> cussed like we do.
> Books are being discussed, the MOQ for instance of Dawkins, but
> soaps !?
> I don 't have any recall about this and / or in what way this is/ should
> be done... !! A film comes to mind, but I don 't have any recall of when,
> where and what kind....
>
> Best,
>
> Kenneth
>
> ( I am, because we are) educated
>
>
>
> ===============================================================
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>
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This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
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