What Is One Life To Live Really Up To?
I don't think any of this is entirely coincidental. Head writer Ron Carlivati and his team have become experts at juxtaposition. Dialogue cues segue one scene to the another. The direction and editing provide us with visual yin and yang, compare and contrast. Where The Young and the Restless continues it's long tradition of dramatic ambiguity, OLTL has perfected something I call dramatic clarity. In other words (and if the viewer does not have benefit of spoilers) with Y&R the fans are never 100% sure where anything is going until it happens, while with Carlivati's OLTL the viewer almost always knows what's going on as it happens without benefit of knowing exactly where things will end up. The ironic upshot is that OLTL's more plot-centric approach gives it more leeway to play with subtext, or rather the thing beneath the thing being discussed.
Therefore, the text of the drug story is exactly as it appears: the teens at Llanview High are becoming embroiled in a drug story involving new teacher Schulyer (Scott Clifton). The subtext of the story however is the hypocrisy of the adults in Llanview and, perhaps, a subtle critique of recent soap opera conventions in general and, possibly, society at large. The teens on OLTL have not calling been out the adults in their lives and their behavior for nothing.
Think about soaps over the last 3-5 years. Very few characters smoke, except the occasional villain like Guiding Light's cigar chomping Alan Spaulding (Ron Raines). There are no casual recreational drug users. There isn't one regular prescription abuser in all of daytime and All My Children's Krystal (Bobbie Eakes) doesn't count. Compare that to some of the people who are drinking to and past excess on OLTL: the police commissioner (Bo), the district attorney (Nora), and the soon-to-be ex-head of a major corporation (Clint). Yes, they may have understandable reasons as individuals for the kinds of drinking they are doing, but the fact remains that these people are in one way or another supposedly respected authority figures in their community. What we are left with is a very high percentage of characters who, if they drank as much in real life as they do on soaps, would be classified as functional alcoholics. They drink in the middle of the day. They drink after confrontations with their enemies or wayward family members. They drink when it's partly cloudy. They drink just because they walk in a room.
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Comments
22 August 2008
2 years 10 weeks
Yesterday episode was hilarious
all the drunken hysterics was great I loved the buchannans playing strip poker , nigel in sock garters was priceless.
Blair passing out on the bed while looking for the bathroom was funny
26 January 2008
6 weeks 1 day
Here's an idea, and you all tell me what you think. I have a feeling that Bo is going to wind up being David Vicker's father. I know, I know "David is to old", but stay with me on this. Remember when Rex aka "Bo" slept with Gigi aka "Emma", well that would make "Bo" his father and not Asa. Unless she was an even bigger slut than originaly thought, and then the Buch brothers and family wouldn't loose their fortune because Asa's codicile would no longer be in effect. Okay kids, let the comments fly!
10 May 2008
13 hours 42 min
J,,,great comments! I agree with your assessment, ever since Nora made the comment to Marty about having Lupus and all of the drinking, add to that, Dorian getting Beaver drunk, Matthew's comments about Bo/Nora's drinking and all of the drunks from the Go Red Ball, then yes, I think the story is not all about teenage drug usage, it's about the adults who need to grab alcohol to mask their feelings and dull the pain that they are in.
27 November 2007
12 min 23 sec
*******************SPOILER ALERT***********************
DONT READ IF YOU DONT WANT TO KNOW
I read a spoiler that Bo does get some shocking results from the DNA test. And I also read but I am unsure of how this ties in but Roxy is going to let Rex believe David is his father.
15 July 2008
2 days 19 hours
I assume that Bo will be the father - just when I safely thought I could put all of the 1968 crap out of my head. Yeah OLTL has been really good this year EXCEPT for the mendora silliness and the time travel silliness. Those were two of the most idiotic s/l I have seen in nearly 30 years of soap fandom. They were ETERNA bad and thats saying alot.
Besides, I want to see Nora out on her ass and Clint without papa's money even if its just for a few months.
9 September 2008
24 min 15 sec
Out of curiosity, what does this discussion about David Vickers' possible paternity have to do with the idea that OLTL is sending subtle messages about alcohol usage on the show?
10 March 2008
2 years 24 weeks
People are always noting how much Ron loves history. And he clearly has a thing for the 80's style of soap. Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest and the like were completely soaked in alcohol. When I've seen old eps of Dallas, I'm astounded at the amount of booze those people sucked down. Perhaps Ron is just copying that.
Here's my question though: assuming you are right J. Bernard, where is all this supposed to be going? What the payoff of the drinking angle?
10 January 2009
1 year 18 weeks
It could merely be that the writers are drinking while writing, thus Llanview is on a bender.
By the way, the picture of Dorian and David shows that hot twosome in all their hedonistic glory --LOVE IT!
On second thought, perhaps, the writers are trying to say that the pursuit of pleasure is bad and has consequences --example D&D again --this couple will, unfortunately, be smashed and I mean literally, not drunk, with Dorian picking up the pieces with nothing as a way to punish this hedonistic woman (while Todd, Clint, Asa (RIP) and any other male character -whether on OLTL or Y&R, skates for their "bad" behavior and desires) for all her crimes.
Or the writers are trying to find excuses for the kids when they inevitably go on their own benders with bad consequences --"but you drink mom and your the DA"
Nah, they're drinking while writing.
Cheers.
3 December 2008
2 years 47 weeks
J Bernard,
These are some fascinating observation, probably too deep for the average viewer. Just look at half the comments - most of them have nothing to do with your blog. For me, I did not pick up any of what you observed while watching.
Perhaps RC is just paying homage to the soaps of the 80's like marceline posted and if not, then, what is the payoff?
I think the subtle cues you noted are just part of the phenomenal writing, production, directing, and nothing more. I don't mind all the drinking, besides in this economy, everyone needs to throw back a few every now and again, even the people of Llanview.
9 September 2008
24 min 15 sec
I honestly don't know. One possible direction in which it could be headed is that there might be a crisis of some sort that could bring the adults' drinking ways out in the open and cause them to confront it. After all, ALL of the people who are drinking the most have children or are connected to teens who are directly affected by the primary drug story line. There might be a way that Something Could Happen to one or several of the kids that would make the adults examine their own ways of using and abusing alcohol.
Or this could be no more than an exercise in dramatic license where the subtext of the drinking is underplayed and with no other purpose than to rouse the curiosity of people like me. In short, it could be like watching Lost: there are those who watch it for the romance, others who watch it for the primary mysteries, and others who dig deeper for additional meanings within the text. You don't have to watch it for all three to enjoy the show.
I can only say that the last several weeks worth of very direct and very explicit references to drinking/getting drunk by the adults have been highly unusual and only really started around the time the drug story line began. I'm just curious about where all this might lead, if anywhere.
10 March 2008
2 years 24 weeks
J, let me be clear, I don't like Ron's writing but I love your theory. Mainly because it would be a real change in the way TV addresses drug use. Unfortunately, I think the show is much more likely to stick to the Reefer Madness model.
I think you're right that when the big meltdown happens someone will mention all the boozing but I suspect it'll be a throwaway. Drinking is too easy a plot device to mess with.
22 May 2008
47 min 31 sec
Thanks for bringing this up, J Bernard. I was really appalled at the amount everyone was drinking! I've done my share but these people lately have ALL been boozing it up way more than usual and it seems like its all the time...for no real reason.
I did love it when Matthew called Bo out during their father/son drug confrontation.Go Matthew!
The Go Red ball was basically a big boozefest. Least it coulda been wine to be "heart healthy"!
If this is all a convenient way to "haze up" everyone's memory to make us wonder who is this serial stabber, then it seems a poor choice to me. I do hope they eventually address the sudden and large increase in alcohol consumption...otherwise, as someone mentioned upthread, makes me wonder what the writers are drinking.
And the drug story....hate the way Bo & Nora are handling Mathew...and Cole...he seems no different on or off drugs to me.So which is the red herring..the drug story or the booze story.....or maybe both.
Great piece, J Bernard . I really appreciate that you share your deeper insights here.
14 December 2008
1 week 1 hour
Great writing, J Bernard. I never thought that the storyline could be heading in this direction, but I think it will now.
14 January 2009
23 hours 26 min
Actually for once, I would like to see Carlivati shows us something that is not too obvious, and let us figure it out peace by peace.