SWAN SONG: CATHARSIS

Since the cancellation of Another World in 1999, I’ve been vocal about my passion for the industry known as soap opera.  Now, I know many in America, if not the majority of Americans, see soap opera as some superfluous little nonsense on television.   I beg to differ.  When soap opera first aired on radio in the 1930s, corporations looked at them as a vehicle to sell their products.  It worked on a grand scale!  What the corporations didn’t bargain for however is the kind of impact the stories that were told on soap operas would have on the American psyche.  That’s precisely why I am so passionate today about achieving legitimacy for an industry that has been delegated to the ash heap of entertainment.

As I shared with many of you during the Christmas holiday, I watched the President’s speech honoring the five 2011 Kennedy Center Honorees.  I don’t want to diminish their contributions to American culture but I do think it’s time for Soapers to understand exactly WHAT soap opera has contributed to the American experience.  Tonight we discuss the SWAN Campaign, Standing With Agnes Nixon in a mission of noble merit.  We discuss the cable coupon campaign and we’ll settle the various points of view being expressed about this new wave of “Pay as you view” nonsense being promoted on the Internet.

So, start the New Year by experiencing a “new attitude”.  I’ve made a New Year’s Resolution and at the top of the list -- I’m taking no prisoners!   Join the chat, call in or just take a listen. Share your points of view!  After all, contrary to the popular belief of the completely uninformed, I really DO believe in what you have to bring to the conversation.