Guiding Light:

The Longest Running Soap Opera - From Radio to TV

By: Laura Onofrio

In its early radio days the Guiding Light was primarily set within the home and the work of the public sphere was kept separate from the private sphere. Relationships, love, family and friends also were not integrated with the public sphere and remained in the home (Cantor: 1983:104). It was not until 1968 that business matters were brought into the home yet the idea that home and work were separate continued to dominate (Cantor: 1983:105). By 1982 Guiding Light, along with other soaps, began to demonstrate how home and work was increasingly overlapping and it was less necessary to keep the two worlds separate. 1982 was also a significant year for changes in male and female relationships. Before 1982 women could only speak to one another within the home and most male-female interactions occurred within the home. In 1948 conversations were about personalities were the most common topic in 1958 but by 1968 conversations shifted away from personalities to family, friendships and especially romances and 1982 brought several shifts with conversations increasingly dealing with business topics (Cantor: 1983:108).

Guiding Light has traditionally been a family saga as the messages found in the narrative have through the history of the soap emphasized family and marriage. Men and women have been cast in traditional roles, as the idea of a career woman was not evident until the 1980s. "The Guiding Light moved from an introspective and inwardly oriented world in 1948, one focusing on feelings and personalities to a sex-segregated world of business and home in 1958, to a world where both sexes were concerned with romantic relationships in their separate settings in 1968, to one where women and men both focus on business in a much more open social environment (Cantor: 1983:112)." Guiding Light has been the most long-lasting drama in the history of broadcasting. The serial has undergone significant changes over the years as its early form, a story about a minister, his teachings and his followers, is almost unimaginable. The series cast and content has changes. "The amazing thing is that the complexity of storytelling and production has evolved considerably over time yet the simply, life-affirming issues and values, Irna began to explore 66 years ago still lie at the heart of the show, resonating with viewers (CBS.com/daytime.gl/behind/specials)."

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