Quantifying the Soap “Controversy”

For many, Soap will always be THAT show, the one that went so far that children were prohibited from watching it by parents (and usually ridiculously late airing times) — in a word, it was naughty.

Now of course it is recognized by most as a classic of television comedy, and a showcase for some of the most imaginative writing and acting of its day.

When you’re writing a book about Soap, naturally you need to address the controversy that has made it the legend that it is among those who grew up with it. Most agree that the hoopla was sparked by an article that appeared in the issue of Newsweek magazine that preceded it. (I snapped up a copy of the issue on eBay this week and look forward to finally reading the article that launched a thousand boycotts.)

Fortunately, some magazines have posted their articles from that age online, such as this one from Time. Like the other crusades against other media in American history — the bashing of comic books in the ’50s and ’60s comes to mind — this one also appears to have been used mostly as fuel for grander political actions.

I must admit to being far too young to remember any of this controversy first-hand — I was 5 when Soap premiered. Does anybody have any strong memories of this backlash? I would certainly be interested in hearing about them, either as comments to this entry or at asberman813 (at) gmail.com.

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