Soap opera rapid aging syndrome: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
Smeagol 17 (talk | contribs) |
|||
| (26 intermediate revisions by 21 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|Plot device in television dramas}} |
|||
{{redirect|SORAS|the Rwandan insurance service group|SORAS Group Limited}} |
{{redirect|SORAS|the Rwandan insurance service group|SORAS Group Limited|the Indian ethnic group|Sora people}} |
||
| ⚫ | '''Soap opera rapid aging syndrome''' ('''SORAS''') is the practice of accelerating the age of a television or film character (usually a child or teenager) in conflict with the timeline of a series |
||
{{distinguish|Progeria}} |
|||
| ⚫ | '''Soap opera rapid aging syndrome''' ('''SORAS''') is the practice of accelerating the age of a television or film character (usually a child or teenager) in conflict with the timeline of a series or the real-world progression of time.<ref name="Rising Stars">{{cite web |url=http://tonight.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3215940&fSectionId=434&fSetId=204 |title=Soaps' rising stars |first=Kim |last=Clayton-Millar |date=April 24, 2006 |work=Tonight |publisher=Independent News & Media |access-date=December 12, 2009}}</ref><ref name="ATWT thesis">{{Cite thesis |degree=M.S. |title=''As the World Turns'' in a Convergence Culture |url=https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/comparative-media-studies-writing/cms-603-american-soap-operas-spring-2008/readings-and-viewings/samford2007.pdf |last=Ford |first=Samuel Earl |year=2007 |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |access-date=August 30, 2017}}</ref> This allows, for instance, storylines around a pregnancy and birth to be relatively quickly followed by storylines around the travails of that child as a teenager or young adult.<ref name="Rising Stars"/> This is usually accomplished by recasting the actor playing the part,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bird |first1=S. Elizabeth |title=The Audience in Everyday Life: Living in a Media World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JtkAqUHwtrIC&q=%22soap+opera+sudden+aging+syndrome%22&pg=PA135 |access-date=December 12, 2009 |year=2003 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=0-415-94259-4 |page=135}}</ref> although in some cases the character is not shown onscreen, only mentioned, until after they have been "rapidly aged". |
||
The process originated (and is most commonly used) in daytime [[soap opera]]s,<ref>{{cite news |title=Now or when? Tricks of time keep TV shows hopping |first=Gail |last=Pennington |url=http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/ae/s_593281.html |agency=St. Louis Post Dispatch |newspaper=Pittsburgh Tribune-Review |date=October 15, 2008 | |
The process originated (and is most commonly used) in daytime [[soap opera]]s,<ref>{{cite news |title=Now or when? Tricks of time keep TV shows hopping |first=Gail |last=Pennington |url=http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/ae/s_593281.html |agency=St. Louis Post Dispatch |newspaper=Pittsburgh Tribune-Review |date=October 15, 2008 |access-date=December 12, 2009 |quote=On daytime soaps, children often jump ahead in age, suffering from SORAS -- 'soap opera rapid-aging syndrome.'}}</ref> though it is also sometimes used in [[prime time]] shows. On [[sitcom]]s, a newborn infant character is sometimes aged quickly into a [[kindergarten]]er, for greater comic potential, as was done with the character Chrissy Seaver on ''[[Growing Pains]]'' in 1990.<ref name="Seaver">{{cite book |last1=Bloom |first1=Ken |last2=Vlastnik |first2=Frank |title=Sitcoms: The 101 Greatest TV Comedies of All Time |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3R9a8Kw2TQUC&q=%22chrissy+seaver%22+aging&pg=PT152 |access-date=December 12, 2009 |year=2007 |publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal |location=New York |isbn=978-1-57912-752-7 |page=149}}</ref> |
||
The term was coined by ''[[Soap Opera Weekly]]'' founding editor-in-chief Mimi Torchin in the early days of the magazine, which began publishing in 1989.<ref name="DC 244">{{cite video|url=http://daytimeconfidential.com/2008/05/23/daytime-confidential-244-mimi-torchin-interview|title=Daytime Confidential #244: Mimi Torchin Interview|date=May 23, 2008|work= |
The term was coined by ''[[Soap Opera Weekly]]'' founding editor-in-chief Mimi Torchin in the early days of the magazine, which began publishing in 1989.<ref name="DC 244">{{cite video|url=http://daytimeconfidential.com/2008/05/23/daytime-confidential-244-mimi-torchin-interview|title=Daytime Confidential #244: Mimi Torchin Interview|date=May 23, 2008|work=Daytime Confidential|access-date=December 15, 2009|time=26:54}}</ref> It is now widely used in soap operas<ref>{{cite journal |last=Baym |first=Nancy K. |date=September 1995 |title=The Performance of Humor in Computer-Mediated Communication |journal=Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication |volume=1 |issue=2 |issn=1083-6101 |url=http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol1/issue2/baym.html |access-date=2009-12-12 }}</ref> and is sometimes used as a verb as well ("the character was SORASed"). Torchin has jokingly called it "my one greatest contribution to the world of soap operas."<ref name="DC 244"/> |
||
== Examples == |
== Examples == |
||
The practice of rapidly aging characters dates back to the early years of television soap opera.<ref name="ATWT Lenhart">{{cite web |url=http://soapoperadigest.com/features/as-the-world-turns/features/theygrowupsofast/ |title=''As the World Turns'' Features: They Grow Up So Fast! |last=Lenhart |first=Jennifer |work=[[Soap Opera Digest]] | |
The practice of rapidly aging characters dates back to the early years of television soap opera.<ref name="ATWT Lenhart">{{cite web |url=http://soapoperadigest.com/features/as-the-world-turns/features/theygrowupsofast/ |title=''As the World Turns'' Features: They Grow Up So Fast! |last=Lenhart |first=Jennifer |work=[[Soap Opera Digest]] |access-date=December 15, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221033808/http://soapoperadigest.com/features/as-the-world-turns/features/theygrowupsofast/ |archive-date=February 21, 2009 }}</ref> In ''[[As the World Turns]]'', [[Tom Hughes (As the World Turns)|Tom Hughes]] was born onscreen in 1961. By 1970, he had been to college and fought in the [[Vietnam War]].<ref name="ATWT thesis"/><ref name="ATWT Lenhart"/> Subsequent recasting exhibited a reverse phenomenon, keeping him in his 30s for 20 years, with Tom hitting his 40s in the 1990s.<ref name="ATWT Lenhart"/> Dan Stewart, born onscreen on ''As the World Turns'' in 1958, reappeared as a 26-year-old doctor in 1966.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soapcentral.com/atwt/whoswho/dan.php|title=About ''ATWT'' - Who's Who: Dan Stewart|work=[[SoapCentral]]|access-date=December 15, 2009}}</ref> A 1993 secret history storyline on ''[[All My Children]]'' established that lead character [[Erica Kane]] had been raped immediately before the series' 1970 debut.<ref name="1997 Encyc AMC">{{cite book|last=Waggett|first=Gerard J.|title=[[The Soap Opera Encyclopedia (Waggett book)|The Soap Opera Encyclopedia]]|publisher=[[Harper Paperbacks]]|date=November 1997|pages=[https://archive.org/details/soapoperaencyclo00wagg/page/3 3–24]|chapter=''All My Children''|isbn=0-06-101157-6}}</ref><ref name="Consuming">{{cite book|last=Hayward|first=Jennifer|title=Consuming Pleasures: Active Audiences and Serial Fictions from Dickens to Soap Opera|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|date=November 6, 1997|pages=173 |isbn=0-8131-2025-X |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ykYR8nzIR0YC&q=consuming+pleasures+r.a.t.s.&pg=PA173|access-date=July 24, 2009}}</ref> In this [[retcon]], Erica represses all memory of the assault until 16-year-old [[Kendall Hart]], the child conceived during the rape and put up for adoption by Erica, appears in 1993.<ref name="1997 Encyc AMC"/><ref name="Consuming"/> Viewer reaction to the discrepancy created by Erica having a 16-year-old daughter as the result of a 24-year-old rape prompted the series to immediately adjust Kendall's age to 23.<ref name="Consuming"/> |
||
| ⚫ | On the sitcom ''Growing Pains'', the character Chrissy Seaver was born in October 1988. She was an infant for the remainder of season four (1988–1989) and a toddler (played by twin sisters Kelsey and Kirsten Dohring) in season five (1989–1990). However, for the final two seasons (6–7), Chrissy was rapidly aged to five. She was played by seven-year-old [[Ashley Johnson (actress)|Ashley Johnson]].<ref name="Seaver"/> |
||
On the [[situation comedy]] ''[[Family Ties]]'', Elyse Keaton learns that she is pregnant in an episode aired in September 1984. Later, she gives birth to her and Steven's fourth child, Andy, in an episode aired in late January 1985. The Keatons consider preschool for the child in an episode aired 13 months later (season four, 1985–1986). In September, four-year-old actor [[Brian Bonsall]] began playing the character, Andy, for the last three seasons (5–7). |
|||
The repeated use of SORAS on ''[[Days of Our Lives]]'' led to characters [[Tom Horton]] and his great-great-grandson Scotty Banning both working as doctors in the same hospital at the same time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adams |first=Alina |date=2022-11-04 |title=Here's Who'll Be Running Days of our Lives in the Coming Years |url=https://soaphub.com/days-of-our-lives/commentary/heres-wholl-be-running-days-of-our-lives-in-the-coming-years/ |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=Soap Hub |language=en-US}}</ref> |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
''[[Jersey Boys]]'' uses SORAS for [[Frankie Valli]]'s daughter, Francine. Through the first three quarters of the musical and film, she ages in real time with the narrative, then jumps several years ahead while the story remains in the late 1960s, to the point that her 1980 death occurs at roughly the same time of the narrative as Valli's 1967 hit solo record "[[Can't Take My Eyes Off You]]."<ref name=howaccurate>{{Cite journal|url=https://slate.com/culture/2014/06/jersey-boys-accuracy-fact-checking-clint-eastwood-s-four-seasons-biopic.html|title = How Accurate is Jersey Boys? Here's What's Fact and What's Fiction in the Four Seasons Biopic| journal=Slate |date = June 20, 2014| last1=Lockett | first1=Dee }}</ref> |
|||
A 1993 [[secret history]] storyline on ''[[All My Children]]'' established that lead character [[Erica Kane]] had been raped immediately before the series' 1970 debut.<ref name="1997 Encyc AMC">{{cite book|last=Waggett|first=Gerard J.|title=[[The Soap Opera Encyclopedia (Waggett book)|The Soap Opera Encyclopedia]]|publisher=[[Harper Paperbacks]]|date=November 1997|pages=[https://archive.org/details/soapoperaencyclo00wagg/page/3 3–24]|chapter=''All My Children''|isbn=0-06-101157-6}}</ref><ref name="Consuming">{{cite book|last=Hayward|first=Jennifer|title=Consuming Pleasures: Active Audiences and Serial Fictions from Dickens to Soap Opera|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|date=November 6, 1997|pages=173 |isbn=0-8131-2025-X |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ykYR8nzIR0YC&pg=PA173&dq=consuming+pleasures+r.a.t.s.|accessdate=July 24, 2009}}</ref> In this [[retcon]], Erica represses all memory of the assault until 16-year-old [[Kendall Hart]], the child conceived during the rape and put up for adoption by Erica, appears in 1993.<ref name="1997 Encyc AMC"/><ref name="Consuming"/> Viewer reaction to the discrepancy created by Erica having a 16-year-old daughter as the result of a 24-year-old rape prompted the series to immediately adjust Kendall's age to 23.<ref name="Consuming"/> |
|||
On ''[[The Young and the Restless]]'', Billy Abbott was born in 1993 but was age 16 by 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Soap_Opera_Rapid_Aging_Syndrome|title=Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome - Definition|publisher=wordiq.com}}</ref> |
|||
Further examples can be found in the Australian soap opera ''[[Neighbours]]''. In 2001, [[Libby Kennedy]] gave birth to son [[Ben Kirk|Ben]]. Ben returned in 2007 as an eight-year-old. The primary reason for this was that a child actor playing the part of [[List of Neighbours characters (2007)#Mickey Gannon|Mickey]], age 11 at the time, had a younger brother whom the producers wanted to cast in the show. It was much easier for the writers to write storylines for an eight-year-old than a six-year-old. Now, when referenced, the show states than Ben's year of birth is 1999.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}} |
|||
Examples in British soaps include [[Ian Beale]] ([[Adam Woodyatt]]) in ''[[EastEnders]]'', who was seen celebrating his 18th birthday in 1988 and his 21st two years later in 1990, as producers wanted the character to be older due to his [[love triangle]] storyline with wife [[Cindy Beale|Cindy]] ([[Michelle Collins]]) and [[Simon Wicks]] ([[Nick Berry]]). [[Liv Flaherty]] ([[Isobel Steele]]) in ''[[Emmerdale]]'' was aged by four years - her mother [[Sandra Flaherty]] (Janet Bamford) was pregnant in 2006, but when Liv first appeared in 2016 she was 14 years old and her year of birth had been changed to 2002.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}} |
|||
==See also== |
==See also== |
||
| Line 27: | Line 23: | ||
==References== |
==References== |
||
{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
||
==External links== |
|||
*[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SoapOperaRapidAgingSyndrome Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome] at [[TV Tropes]] |
|||
[[Category:Ageing]] |
[[Category:Ageing]] |
||
Latest revision as of 14:55, 14 May 2024
Soap opera rapid aging syndrome (SORAS) is the practice of accelerating the age of a television or film character (usually a child or teenager) in conflict with the timeline of a series or the real-world progression of time.[1][2] This allows, for instance, storylines around a pregnancy and birth to be relatively quickly followed by storylines around the travails of that child as a teenager or young adult.[1] This is usually accomplished by recasting the actor playing the part,[3] although in some cases the character is not shown onscreen, only mentioned, until after they have been "rapidly aged".
The process originated (and is most commonly used) in daytime soap operas,[4] though it is also sometimes used in prime time shows. On sitcoms, a newborn infant character is sometimes aged quickly into a kindergartener, for greater comic potential, as was done with the character Chrissy Seaver on Growing Pains in 1990.[5]
The term was coined by Soap Opera Weekly founding editor-in-chief Mimi Torchin in the early days of the magazine, which began publishing in 1989.[6] It is now widely used in soap operas[7] and is sometimes used as a verb as well ("the character was SORASed"). Torchin has jokingly called it "my one greatest contribution to the world of soap operas."[6]
Examples
[edit]The practice of rapidly aging characters dates back to the early years of television soap opera.[8] In As the World Turns, Tom Hughes was born onscreen in 1961. By 1970, he had been to college and fought in the Vietnam War.[2][8] Subsequent recasting exhibited a reverse phenomenon, keeping him in his 30s for 20 years, with Tom hitting his 40s in the 1990s.[8] Dan Stewart, born onscreen on As the World Turns in 1958, reappeared as a 26-year-old doctor in 1966.[9] A 1993 secret history storyline on All My Children established that lead character Erica Kane had been raped immediately before the series' 1970 debut.[10][11] In this retcon, Erica represses all memory of the assault until 16-year-old Kendall Hart, the child conceived during the rape and put up for adoption by Erica, appears in 1993.[10][11] Viewer reaction to the discrepancy created by Erica having a 16-year-old daughter as the result of a 24-year-old rape prompted the series to immediately adjust Kendall's age to 23.[11]
On the sitcom Growing Pains, the character Chrissy Seaver was born in October 1988. She was an infant for the remainder of season four (1988–1989) and a toddler (played by twin sisters Kelsey and Kirsten Dohring) in season five (1989–1990). However, for the final two seasons (6–7), Chrissy was rapidly aged to five. She was played by seven-year-old Ashley Johnson.[5]
The repeated use of SORAS on Days of Our Lives led to characters Tom Horton and his great-great-grandson Scotty Banning both working as doctors in the same hospital at the same time.[12]
Jersey Boys uses SORAS for Frankie Valli's daughter, Francine. Through the first three quarters of the musical and film, she ages in real time with the narrative, then jumps several years ahead while the story remains in the late 1960s, to the point that her 1980 death occurs at roughly the same time of the narrative as Valli's 1967 hit solo record "Can't Take My Eyes Off You."[13]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Clayton-Millar, Kim (April 24, 2006). "Soaps' rising stars". Tonight. Independent News & Media. Retrieved December 12, 2009.
- ^ a b Ford, Samuel Earl (2007). As the World Turns in a Convergence Culture (PDF) (M.S. thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
- ^ Bird, S. Elizabeth (2003). The Audience in Everyday Life: Living in a Media World. New York: Routledge. p. 135. ISBN 0-415-94259-4. Retrieved December 12, 2009.
- ^ Pennington, Gail (October 15, 2008). "Now or when? Tricks of time keep TV shows hopping". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. St. Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved December 12, 2009.
On daytime soaps, children often jump ahead in age, suffering from SORAS -- 'soap opera rapid-aging syndrome.'
- ^ a b Bloom, Ken; Vlastnik, Frank (2007). Sitcoms: The 101 Greatest TV Comedies of All Time. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal. p. 149. ISBN 978-1-57912-752-7. Retrieved December 12, 2009.
- ^ a b Daytime Confidential #244: Mimi Torchin Interview. Daytime Confidential. May 23, 2008. Event occurs at 26:54. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
- ^ Baym, Nancy K. (September 1995). "The Performance of Humor in Computer-Mediated Communication". Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. 1 (2). ISSN 1083-6101. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
- ^ a b c Lenhart, Jennifer. "As the World Turns Features: They Grow Up So Fast!". Soap Opera Digest. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
- ^ "About ATWT - Who's Who: Dan Stewart". SoapCentral. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
- ^ a b Waggett, Gerard J. (November 1997). "All My Children". The Soap Opera Encyclopedia. Harper Paperbacks. pp. 3–24. ISBN 0-06-101157-6.
- ^ a b c Hayward, Jennifer (November 6, 1997). Consuming Pleasures: Active Audiences and Serial Fictions from Dickens to Soap Opera. University Press of Kentucky. p. 173. ISBN 0-8131-2025-X. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
- ^ Adams, Alina (2022-11-04). "Here's Who'll Be Running Days of our Lives in the Coming Years". Soap Hub. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ^ Lockett, Dee (June 20, 2014). "How Accurate is Jersey Boys? Here's What's Fact and What's Fiction in the Four Seasons Biopic". Slate.