Guiding Light:

The Longest Running Soap Opera - From Radio to TV

By: Laura Onofrio

Throughout the history of the soap all men have been employed, with exception of the retired Mr. Bauer in 1958 and his two children later in 1968, in high status, well paying jobs (Cantor: 1983:98). In 1948 positions were business oriented while in 1959 and 1968 the doctor-lawyer oriented and by 1982 occupations were split between the business and professional oriented. Unlike their male counterparts women have not always been employed. In 1948 two of the four female cast members worked outside the home, one as a nurse and the other as a radio star (Cantor: 1983:99). In 1958 only one woman worked outside the home but by 1968 only two of the five female characters were full housewives with no outside career while those with careers worked in the typically female occupations, one as a store clerk and the other two as nurses. By 1982 all characters, with the exception of Bert Bauer, worked outside the home and were not portrayed as housewives (Cantor: 1983:99).

The messages that the storylines try to relay to the audiences through their narratives are also subject to the influence of society's values and have changed throughout the soap's history. In 1948 the narratives were full with messages about people's values and the importance of a strong and morally good value system (Cantor: 1983:102). In 1958 the narrative placed less emphasis on delivering messages about values and more emphasis on the importance of family and having good/positive relationships with others. This reinforcement of the family continued to persist in the narratives of 1968 but what was also introduced were messages about medicine, health and doctors. By 1982 messages about the family the maintenance of relationships continued to dominate regardless of the fact that society was changing and so to was the family structure as the issue of divorce became more pronounced (Cantor: 1983:102). Evidently Guiding Light, like most soaps today, has always placed a significant amount of stress on the importance of family. The messages in their narratives and the values that are emphasized change in accordance with changes in society's value system. "Its narratives emphasize the importance of honesty and communication to the maintenance of family unity and good interpersonal relationships as their narrative messages emphasize that only honest people who communicate fully with others are happy and successful in life (Cantor: 1983:104)."

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