Drama, an Epitome of Prince Charming

How It Began
Back in the 1950’s, Mellencamp finds the origin of the ‘the gender base’ of television; sport and news shows for men, cooking and fashion show for women, and ‘kidvid’ for children. Soap opera, the genre that dominates Indonesia television schedule today (populary introduced as sinetron), is describe as feminine narrative, the parameter of gender definition that engendering work of other television genre.
Feminine narrative; which is derived from folk tale, with its emphasis on common structures and conventions that relate directly to its social context, would seem more pertinent to a popular medium like television, with its simple, repeated structure.
Indonesian’s folk tale storylin, Bawang Merah Bawang Putih, is similar with globally known fairytales Cinderella. It has handsome prince that saves Bawang Putih from her mean stepsister and mother. Little girls from all over the world are familiar with Cinderella story, or Snow White, or Beauty and the Beast. Even Disney’s animal tales like Lion King and Tarzan have offered their own version of prince charming. The future king of their kingdom that rules its people, good looking, and brave.
These folk tales and universal fairytales were told as bedtime story. Little girls growing up listen to the stories. They see their mother, their auntie, and other female relatives doing the-Eve-duty of Adam’s ribs. Soon as they grow older, they will face questions on when they are getting married and having children. Religions like Christian and Islam also using explanation that God created human in pairs. In religious country like Indonesia, religious verses are taken seriously. So serious in fact, that in 2008 the House of Representatives had using religious affairs in stipulating Anti Pornography Law.
Doctrine has surrounded men and women life since they were little. Little boy raised to believes that a man must provides what their wives expecting from them. And little girl raised to believes that one day they must get married and have children to form a family. From these, and from society traditions, the myth of prince charming has begun.
Feminist Julia Kristeva (Jurnal Perempuan 48: 73) points that it was from religion, tradition, and literature culture, the patriarchal culture lived and ruled in the society. Television, its drama series in particular, is no exception.
Television is, above all else, a popular cultural medium. The economics that determine its production and distribution demand that it reaches a mass audience, and a mass audience in western industrialized societies is composed of numerous subcultures, or subaudiences, with a wide variety of social relations, a variety of discources that they will bring to bear upon the program in order to enjoy it ( Fiske, 1987: 37).

THE PRINCE CHARMING CONSTRUCTION
To be popular with a diversity of audiences television must both provoke its readers to the production of meanings and pleasures, and must provide the textual space for these meanings and pleasure to be articulated with the social interests of the readers. Readers will only produce meanings from, and find pleasures in, a television program if it allows for this articulation of their interests (Fiske, 1987: 83).
In order to attract audiences, many television dramas had adopting prince charming character for their storyline. Indonesian sinetrons, with its rich-good looking-heroic male characters, and South American soap operas from Wild Rose to Betty La Fea, are few from countless example. In fact, telenovela with its countless rich handsome character that in the end saving ‘Rose-Betty-Clara’ from poverty is where early Indonesian sinetrons had their ideas from.
American television, central of television industry, definitely no exception. To name a few; McDreamy and McSteamy in Grey’s Anatomy, former McClooney in ER, Ross Geller in Friends, Nate Archibald and Chuck Bass the villain in Gossip Girl, Mr. Big in Sex and The City. They are rich, they are arguably good looking, and in certain character developments, clearly they are the man that women growing up dreaming about.
TV deals not with stars but with personalities –stars have a glamour that sets them apart from and above their fans: personalities have a familiarity that offers their fans a much more intimate, equal relationship (Langer, 1981: 150-151).
Indonesian audience could note that when in 1997, sinetron Si Doel Anak Sekolahan season Five reduced relationship intensity between Sarah and Doel, this series lost many of its viewers. Only when Sarah-Doel were back dominating Si Doel storylines, Si Doel became first (and might be the only) drama series in Indonesian television history that got more than fifty percent share in prime time hours.
Si Doel case points how television representing aspects of our social experience in such a way as to make that experience meaningful and pleasurable to us. That meanings and pleasures are instrumental in constructing social relations and thus our sense of social identity (Fiske, 1987: 78). The realness given to the character by its merging with the player, combined with its familiarity and its newness, give television characters a unique relationship with their fans. These characteristics also blur the difference between fact and fiction (Fiske, 1987).
In Si Doel Anak Sekolahan, audiences found Sarah and Doel’s friendship with its obstacles; love between different social status and cultural background issues, interesting to watch. That was what attracting them foremost, the complication of love between caste system. Successful television series, whether it is soap opera or sinetrons or American television series, usually combining romances along with their characters everyday life. Even if it was about war or heroine act, masculinity textual construction shows, to name a few; Tour of Duty, The A-Team, Mission Impossible (yesh, Thursday night on RCTI), McGyver, still providing audiences hunger on romance.

So what if the perfect prince charming characters are not on the story line? Shows like Twilight Zone, Quantum Leap, Voyagers, Heroes, uses different angle than what we described as feminine narrative series, these shows emphasizes action (Fiske, 1987: 215), and the thrill feelings the series constructed. Or in Baywatch’s case, girls’ in bikinis (sigh!).
Interesting phenomenon lately come to the current (year 2008) most watched television series made in America. Where Brothers and Sisters, Friday Night Lights, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, Gossip Girl, and Grey’s Anatomy have managed to add splashes of family issues or ordinary people problems (in America) into their shows. Of course love is still taking the biggest portion of their story, but the writers have developed good storyline based on certain real life issue.
Various issues currently go on screen; young athletes issues (Friday Night Lights), adultery issues (Brothers&Sisters), women issue (Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives), fashion world (Ugly Betty), politics and religion (Friday Night Lights, Brothers &Sisters, Friday Night Lights), repressive expectation on kids whose seemed having it all (Gossip Girl), and broken home kids dealing with unhappy childhood (Grey’s Anatomy). These shows have proved that a good drama is not always get to be constructed around love problems. Even though, certain love interests between its characters are part of their attraction.
To answer what makes people watch drama is to understand what character that will attracted people sympathy. Or in women’s view, what kind of man they wanted but difficult to get in real life.
Each television programs have its own level of intensity and structure. In fact, narration technique is predominantly used for constructing realism. Realism in television based on conventions which create illusion that this story work exactly like our life experiences (Burton, 2000). The prince charming characters which television drama provided is where realist narrations take place.
Fiske points out how soap opera contextualized fantasized male identification through its character relationships and interpersonal style, they are all about this prince charming women dreams about. They are good looking, smart, and if they are not professionally successful, then they must be rich trust fund kids. Name Ross Geller in Friends, Derek Sheperd in Grey’s Anatomy, Nate Archibald and Chuck Bass in Gossip Girl, Daniel Meade in Ugly Betty, Dylan in Beverly Hills 90210, Ethan Hawk in 90210, Carter and Doug Ross in ER, Vinnie Chase in Entourage, Mr. Big in Sex and the City.
Successful series will be continued for newer seasons. Returning season means tightened drama and more clip hangings. That is where adultery, re-marriage, circulating romances between each other ex-spouses, significantly used as the must have spices. The spices could become overly used, that the series can end up in much deserved frown on their fans head. Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place were the starting point of these circular romances series.
Since in stories, affairs do not move randomly (Korloff), one logic mind will find difficult to understand how someone can be constantly in love in short period of time. Based on current television series;

Grey’s Anatomy characters Izzie Stevens and George O’Malley. During their short internship and residential period, they have slept with each other, their fellow interns, nurses, and patients.
Despite various stories exploration that American television represents today, numbers of series will continuing their circular prince charming romance until they no longer work for saving ratings. In fact, despite certain feminisms betrayal in the storyline, it was only Sex and the City that have ended their show on its top form.
Television drama works like squishing orange fruit, the longer you squish it become fewer the essence left. If the writers cannot come with another good storyline, they just mix anything that will have them go for another season. The only character development left is only to the writers itself, how more skillful they are in writing excuses and become overused in dialogues.
Television series is a good example for capitalism complex. How producer greediness could go so far they are blinded to see how degrading their shows become.

THE ERA OF NOT SO DESPERATE WITHOUT MCDREAMY HOUSEWIVES
In early 2000s, American television series which offers unique stories and sharp dialogue have also been successfully accepted. Lead by HBO, prestigious cable television network, shows like; Sex and the City (1999), Six Feet Under (2002), Rome (2004), Big Love (2006), have offered more than only complicated romance.
Off HBO, there are also feminine series central around female characters that no need to be saved by any man; Desperate Housewives, Lipstick Jungle, and Ugly Betty. They offered romance drama oh yes, messy and complicated like stringy floss playing by kitten, but torn between love, career, and household demands, the characters are mischievously tougher than their men.
Ideology that works from narration and realism is convincing viewer that the world supposed to be like this (Burton, 2000), and by ‘this’ in reused cliché’, the world where women can love their man inferiority just the way they are.
Now, women might spend their entire childhood dreaming on prince charming, but when the love constantly gone wrong for overly-made-up-reasons…that is when a creator shall realize how far magic charm can go in real life.