While you are at home, it might be annoying that not to take care of anything. However, you can spend a pleasant time with various activities. Usually, people prefer to spend this time watching movies or series. Is spending time the only reason why people watch movies and series? In the research that handles the TV series broadcasted between 2008 and 2010, it is observed that 40 percent of people watch series to spend time, 27 percent watch to be aware of the country’s agenda, 20 percent watch for entertainment, and 13 percent watch to get to know the world. Besides, there are genres of series such as action, drama, comedy, thriller, science fiction, soap opera, satire, and animation. Some of the most popular genres among these are science fiction and soap opera. Science fiction is a type of series that consists of contemporary science data and imagination. Soap opera is a type of series that deals with love, hate, intrigue, and tragedy. Although there are similarities between science fiction series and soap operas, they also differ from each other.
Science fiction series and soap operas are similar to each other in some aspects. First of all, they both are easily accessible. For example, we can effortlessly watch both types on TV and some platforms that are broadcasting on the internet such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Moreover, both science fiction series and soap operas occupy a place in women’s daily habits more than men. Because more women spend their days at home, they can spend more time watching series. For instance, in Haferkamp’s study, it is observed that women watch series 5 times more than men. Lastly, both types of series are one of the most popular and have a high rating. To illustrate, The 100 is a science fiction series that has a 7.6 IMDb rating, and The Royals is a soap opera that has a 7.5 IMDb rating. In short, there are some distinct similarities between the two types of series.
In spite of such similarities, there are some evident differences between science fiction series and soap operas. To begin with, one obvious difference is the topic. Science fiction series are stories about the near or distant future with science and technology elements that do not exist today. In contrast, soap operas handle the life of many different characters who are close to reality or even real. Furthermore, they differ greatly in cost. While visual animations are used in science fiction series, simple stage decorations are used in soap operas. That is why science fiction series are more expensive than soap operas. What is more, another difference is the average age of their audiences. Science fiction’s topic that is about the future attracts the attention of the young. On the other hand, soap opera’s calm and realistic topic attracts the adults and the elderly. In conclusion, there are a number of differences between the two.
After taking everything into consideration, science fiction series and soap operas are similar in many ways but different in others. They are similar in terms of accessibility, target gender, and popularity. On the other hand, they are different in terms of topic, cost, and target age. It seems to me that science fiction series are getting more popular than soap operas because the future is getting more excited day by day.