The Soap Opera Date
When I lived in the Netherlands, I used to watch a Dutch soap opera called Goede tijden, slechte tijden to improve my Dutch. It was easy to follow the dialog because, across the globe, you’d be hard-pressed to find a soap opera character who doesn’t sound like a monosyllabic fool. But, here’s the thing about watching Goede tijden, slechte tijden: not only did my Dutch improve, I got completely and totally addicted to the melodrama of the show’s characters.
Take Sylvester and Terra, for example. (I’m going somewhere with this.)
Rocker guy Sylvester was born in South Africa, but he lives in the Netherlands. When he sees Terra selling jewelry on the streets, it’s love at first site. He asks her to marry him because he loves her … and because he wants a residence permit to remain in the country legally. After the nuptials, tensions mount. During an argument, Sylvester slaps Terra across the face. Terra flees to a café and weeps into the arms of a relative that happens to work there. The Goede tijden, slechte tijden world wonders: Will Terra get back together with Sylvester or won’t she? In the end, Terra decides to return to the apartment that she shares with Sylvester. She looks into his eyes and sees that he’s crying. There’s a pregnant pause that Sylvester fills by profoundly professing: “Ik voel me schuldig.” (I feel guilty.) Terra forgives Sylvester. He writes a rock song for her called “To Be Alone With You”, and it’s a huge success. The couple decides to make it big. They move to the US, and they live together happily ever after in Manhattan.
That’s the last that I’d ever seen the actors who played Sylvester and Terra. That is, until my date on Friday night. Yes, kiddies, you heard that right. I had a date. “And what pray tell does any of this have to do with that Dutch soap opera?” Well, my date and I went to see Zwartboek. One of the main characters in the movie was … drum roll, please … actor Johnny de Mol (Sylvester)!!! So, I’m dedicating today’s Manly Monday post to him. Now, if you wanna hear about my Friday night date with The Right-Winger Gunslinger, click here to check out today’s FBC post at Nerve.
April 16th, 2007 at 3:02 am
That is cool! Of all the crap TV I watch, soaps are my most shameful secret. I love how mindless and melodramatic they can be though, it’s a great distraction from reality!
April 16th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
Ok one of my favorite things to do is watch Spanish Novellas and I don’t even speak Spanish. I just make up my own words to it!!!
I have a few other guilty watching pleasures: Blood Ties on Lifetime, Coupling, Footballers Wives, and Hex on BBC America (undecided on Robin Hood), and Dancing with the Stars LOL :)
April 16th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
I know it’s not cricket to inject my thoughts on another’s blog, but I was really really hoping that your “Manly Monday” choice would be Jackie Robinson – what a man he was, and FINE (how did the song go, “I want a deep-chocolate handsome man”)!
But international soaps can be very, very addictive and loads of fun. I spent a few weeks in Italy and after dubbed episodes of “Martin” and “Three’s Company” the soaps were on – some were even funnier than Martin Lawrence’s dialogue refashioned in hip-hop Italiano. I remember lots of crying and chest hair.
April 16th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Many immigrants have told me that television, especially soaps, is how they improved their English. Television news is good, too, but only if you also have news in your own language, so you already can match up the video with the new words. For example, if you know there was an earthquake in California from your native language news, then you watch English news and see the same video, you learn lots of words that go with earthquake. I guess that’s why soaps are good learning tools. You know the storylines already. There are only so many on a soap!
April 17th, 2007 at 8:31 am
Darwin: It is mindless fun. I don’t watch any soaps here in the US, but I used to watch All My Children when I was younger because my sister watched. Whatever Sophie did, I did.
Felicia: I *LOVE* the Spanish soaps!!! Sometimes, when I’m channel surfing, I’ll stop and watch some of the shows even though I don’t speak Spanish.
Susan: I’m loyal to my readers because they’re loyal to me. Next Monday, just for you, I’m going to have a deep-chocolate handsome man as the Manly Monday pick. I know just the guy for it! He’s S-E-X-Y and more yummy than a Hershey bar. If you need something to tide you over between now and next monday, check this out.
Pegs: It’s true! News and Soaps are *great* for language. Watching the news in the Netherlands was great because they have “kindernieuws.” It starts before the real news, and it tells the story of the day’s major headlines using cartoons and easy language.
March 22nd, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Wauw… dat was lang geleden. Ik was al bijna vergeten dat Johnny de Mol in GTST zat. Ik neem overigens aan dat je Nederlands goed genoeg is ontwikkelt om dit berichtje te begrijpen ;)
March 22nd, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Ik kan het wel lezen en begrijpen. ;) I haven't lived in Holland for many many years. (Ik spreek nog steeds Nederlands hoor … maar nu maak ik zoooo veel grammaticale fouten en “spelling errors.”)