Soap operas are not just the domain of the bored housewife, writes Bina Shah

Where in the world does time never begin or seem to end, slows down or replays itself in endless flashbacks? Where do adults never seem to age, while children go from cuddly cuteness to adolescent angst to adulthood seemingly overnight? Where can one family go through terminal illness, amnesia, accidents, sudden fame, and innumerable marriages and divorces in the space of one year? In the world of soap operas, of course.
      In Pakistan we are exposed to quite a number of soaps from different corners of the world: The Bold and the Beautiful and All My Children from America, Coronation Street and Emmerdale Farm from the UK, and the entire repertoire of Balaji Telefilms from India (too many titles to mention). Although these soaps seem silly and frivolous at first glance, there's got to be something that draws million of people of both genders and all ages to watch them day after day, following the intertwined lives of a host of characters that seem to have nothing better to do than sleep with each other and plan world domination (or at least neighborhood domination). Perhaps the appeal of soap operas lies in their escapist atmosphere, which allows the average person to forget about her troubles for a half hour as she immerses herself in a different world, with crises and issues that are definitely not of the ordinary kind! Next>