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Good Soap Operas for aspies

OffensiveBeluga

OffensiveBeluga

New Member
Hey,

I've often read blogs where it was recommended to watch soap operas to learn to read emotions when you're an aspie. But I've never seen good recommendations on which will help most.

I thought it would be nice to have a topic where we can share the ones we found helpful.
I'll try to upade this post with the recommandations as often as I can.

Let's embrace bad taste.

EDIT/recommendations:
Prisoner Cell Block H *2
The bold and the beautiful *1
Dark Shadows *1


Other recommendations:
* Shows with autistic characters (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_autistic_fictional_characters, Star Trek Discovery, Sherlock, Big Bang Theory)
* Pro wrestling
 
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Beluga ..... I might feel confident that the viewing of soap operas will not help one read emotions any better. On the contrary I might feel confident that the viewing of soap operas might lead one to have a false sense of how to read emotions. I have heard that these operas are fake and sensational. On the other hand, I don’t have a better alternative. Safe viewing my friend.
 
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This is a list of movies, books, and plays with characters who are autistic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_autistic_fictional_characters

I am not convinced that watching soap operas would enhance a person's
ability to recognize emotions, unless there was a need to know how to
react to repeated adultery, surprise visits by evil siblings,
fake amnesia....etc.

Emotions featured in soap opera settings generally result from negative
situations, I think.
 
I find it useful to watch aspie type characters in different situations. To see what might work and what definitely doesn't work. It's obviously a bit far fetched as it's fiction, but still gets you thinking. My favorites are Michael from Star Trek Discovery, Sherlock from the bbc version of Sherlock and anyone from the Big Bang Theory. I think it does help empathy on a number of counts, especially the cringe worthy "what not to do". Of course there is a hurdle then applying this in the real world but I like it as a starter.
 
Fridgemagnetman said:
Prisoner cell block H

The bold and the beautiful.
Click to expand...
HA! My brother used to watch Prisoner Cell Block H. He was about 14 and I was maybe 11. He LOVED it. Now we lived in PA at the time, so no one knew about this show. It was before cable , on an oddball station. So it makes me smile that you mention it! My dear brother. He is something else.
 
OkRad said:
HA! My brother used to watch Prisoner Cell Block H. He was about 14 and I was maybe 11. He LOVED it. Now we lived in PA at the time, so no one knew about this show. It was before cable , on an oddball station. So it makes me smile that you mention it! My dear brother. He is something else.
Click to expand...

Did you ever see it? It was so bad!!!!

The walls in the prison used to wobble as the set was so bad and then the acting...
 
I threw away my TV, but if I did watch and when I did, I tried to watch things so I would know how I WANT to be, not how others are.

For Soap Opera, they are all extreme emotions. High drama. If someone breaks up with you, well, you slice a few veins and end up in a highly locked unit, getting ECT and losing all your memory so you can't recall that the person who broke up with you really tried to kill you-----and said person just happens to be a nurse on the unit who is watching to make sure you get full dose ECT----BUT you have an old lover who is a detective and is coming to find you........

So I find these way off because I would never want to be that high drama or think that is normal and as a nonNT, I really don't get it so I have to be careful what I let in.

On the other hand, I like shows like Flashpoint because it showed so much compassion and I want to be compassionate.

If I ever watch Netflix, it' just for fun, like maybe The Flash or comedy because I am often bereft of getting jokes, unless they are told by smart Aspie people! Then I get them :)
 
Most soap operas put me to sleep. But over so many years two of them always stood out to me:

* Prisoner of Cellblock H

* Dark Shadows

Of course to me neither of them would have been models to understand proper behavior. :eek::p:rolleyes:

Though "Dallas" might have been quite a good model to lie, cheat and steal. :cool:

Funny to think of 21st century television technology. With my widescreen tv all I need to do is go into the "Auto Motion Plus" menu and turn it on to "standard" and damn near everything on the screen will look like a soap opera. :oops:
 
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George Newman said:
Beluga ..... I might feel confident that the viewing of soap operas will not help one read emotions any better. On the contrary I might feel confident that the viewing of soap operas might lead one to have a false sense of how to read emotions. I have heard that these operas are fake and sensational. On the other hand, I don’t have a better alternative. Save viewing my friend.
Click to expand...
The point was it could help to learn through it because it was sensational, so it would be more obvious. I agree it is unrealistic, badly exaggerated and I don't think it's THE best solution. But it can be a good entry point for some of us.
 
Good for people who like watching fake and imagined lifestyles of the rich and famous play out. Not so good for anything to do with emotions. Vice versa applies when people are preparing to deal with those on the spectrum: don't think you've got it figured out after watching an entire season of your favorite show with Everyone's Favorite Aspie™. You don't.

Good news! There are lots of opportunities to practice wherever you go so long as you're not doing it with a TV screen. Even better, if you're doing it with someone experienced you can get some valuable feedback.
 
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tducey said:
Never been much into soap operas, only pro wrestling.
Click to expand...

According to some people, WWE and other modern day pro wrestling is a lot like a Soap Opera with the storylines.

Seriously though, the only Soaps I watch at the moment are Neighbours and Coronation Street, been watching Neighbours for over 30 years mainly because I fancy most of the women.

I recently read on the Neighbours Facebook page that Colette "Sheila Canning" Mann is 68, she only looks about 58 if that IMO.
 
TV dramas may contain a story line, but the actors and dialogue are chosen to set up a gag, add intrigue, throw emotion into a scene, or bring a conversation to a close in the remaining 25 seconds of a scene. Real conversation has too many variables that can be spontaneous. Conversations aren't scripted with a specific outcome in mind. People's reactions to news and stories can easily differ under certain circumstances. Facial expressions and comments are never the same and the nature of the person to whom you are speaking also dictates reactions. TV drama and comedy series contain a lot of conversation - good for people who have difficulty making conversation with peers or strangers. Comedy makes good use of poorly chosen words to demonstrate the awkwardness of a situation in the story. Most of us don't live lives a comical as the characters we know on TV. Nevertheless, the over-acted expressions and related comic timing have their place in learning to socialize. A smile for no apparent reason sends a signal of friendliness. Eye contact for a brief moment is simply polite. The closer to natural the better.
 
OffensiveBeluga said:
Hey,

I've often read blogs where it was recommended to watch soap operas to learn to read emotions when you're an aspie. But I've never seen good recommendations on which will help most.

I thought it would be nice to have a topic where we can share the ones we found helpful.
I'll try to upade this post with the recommandations as often as I can.

Let's embrace bad taste.

EDIT/recommendations:
Prisoner Cell Block H *2
The bold and the beautiful *1
Dark Shadows *1


Other recommendations:
* Shows with autistic characters (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_autistic_fictional_characters, Star Trek Discovery, Sherlock, Big Bang Theory)
* Pro wrestling
Click to expand...
Soap Opera wise it has to be Coronation Street. I find Eastenders thoroughly depressing and I can't stand Neighbours or Home and Away!!!
Personally I can sit through hours and hours of Ice Road Truckers
 
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