Friday evening 8 o'clock. The 1st thing one will associate with this timing is very much likely to be something like sitting in a room where there is a well functioning TV set. This piece of electric device is necessary for an average Hungarian citizen's Friday evening entertainment. If they cannot watch TV on this day of the week, at this hour of the day, they miss a piece of experience that can hardly be replaced. All there is left for them is to call a number and listen to a pleasant voice summing up the latest episode of the soap opera.
Why, what is on on Friday evenings? That would be the question of any ignorant foreigner. But the moment they hear the magic word, the title of the film, they all understand the above described phenomenon. They also share similar feelings towards the film. The only difference is that those living in better developed countries than Hungary may already have seen a lot more episodes than we did, so they know a lot more than we do. And there is not any person who would not ask these foreigners to tell them briefly the actions of the oncoming episodes.
It is not an exaggeration that a whole world knows the introductory music with the pictures of Southfork. Yes, we are talking about Dallas. Its fame and popularity cannot be described merely by using the innumerable adjectives of the English language. Millions of people from all corners of the Globe are familiar with Jockey's tricks, Ellie's will power and Bobby's emotional problems. They sit in front of the TV set week by week, or, if they are luckier, day by day, looking forward for the new stories of Texas. Earlier unknown actors and actresses gained their fame and fortune thanks to the film. In certain cases they are more famous than some Oscar Prize winners. Their wealth is considerable. Samantha, for example, had been a third rate actress struggling with unemployment in Hollywood. Today, she is richer than she would ever have thought.
Their extreme wealth and popularity are due to the simple fact that Dallas is actually watched . This is a fact. The audience waits for the new episodes eagerly. They postpone programs when their favourite film is on. I personally know people who even switch off their mobile phone for those 45 minutes. Dallas is among the most widely watched films in history.
Still, there are certain members of the society who argue fiercely against broadcasting Dallas. They wish it stopped running on TV. They do not want the national TV network to buy any additional episodes. They say it is not worth it. They want Dallas to disappear from the TV screens for ever. They dream of convincing millions of people of the simple fact that they are wasting their time during Dallas. they are so tired of the soap opera that they would even start a program that would wash out the merest piece of memory of Dallas from its audience's brains.
Who are these anti–Dallas people, anyway? It would be worth writing a study on them at least as much as on those who admire this film. Indeed, it is most difficult to say of any person whether they are pro or contra Dallas. In my experience, those of whom you might think are Dallas haters turn out to be amongst the greatest fans, and vica versa. It is impossible to describe the prototype of the Dallas hater person. They may belong to any social class, may have various levels of education, and their age and sex do not matter either. My little niece is familiar with all the characters just as my very old grandfather. One likes the film and the other cannot stand it. A well educated manager friend of mine would not miss any episode, while my similarly educated father walks out of the room every time he hears the signal of the film.
There still must be something in common regarding those who do not like Dallas. This common thing is the opinion they share. While talking to them I mostly heard the same reasons for not watching Dallas. These reasons made me draw the conclusion that they are all to some degree snobbish. Here are some of their reasons: Dallas is not literary valuable enough, all the story is a lie, the behaviour of the characters is not psychologically valid, it fools people who think this is the typical American way of life. And so on and on. But how can they give such a detailed criticism of the film ? They probably watched several episodes of it and are still keeping up with the latest actions. Otherwise, how could they judge the way they do?
This contradiction in my eyes is big enough not to give credit to their criticism.
Dallas is still on and this is due to its growing popularity. Its audience is growing more and more numerous all around the world. There does not seem to be any reason for finishing it abruptly. The big question is why the audience likes it so much. This simple seeming question would require long pages of studies.
My basic assumption is that people who like it find values in Dallas that fulfil their wishes and dreams. These dreams vary from person to person.
Why does a young intelligent man watch it regularly, for example? I know several men of whom one would never tell that their role model is Jockey. They watch Dallas for his sake. As far as I understand them, they would like to become similar to him. One likes him for his personality, his manners, his behaviour and his decisiveness. He actually would like to become a cool, tricky old fox . Another man likes him because, as he says, he can always learn something from him from the way he manages the oil business. This man would like to become at least as successful in business life as Jockey is. As far as this second man is concerned, I reckon his example to be essentially valuable. Our developing economic life is very much in need of a young generation of businessmen and managers that could be able to remove the country from the sad situation it is in. There are hopefully more young men who already recognised it and they must find Jockey's figure worth being a role model.
Women, of course watch the film for quite different reasons. They also have some favourite characters. Many of them are in love with Bobby because they find his personality charming, and he proves to be an ideal husband and father as well. It is probably due to these women that he came back to the screens. Pamela is envied by women but in a rare, positive sense of the word. They wish they had a life she had, but this will remain in their dreams. Samantha was once felt sorry for, but in the latest episodes women who have unloving, cruel husbands study her figure in order to be able to handle their husbands as cool as she does. Also, she is the role model for those women who are bored of staying at home all day long, so they start working. Samantha, in this sense is a great educator of all women.
People living in poverty love watching the film, because at least here they can watch how the rich live. They may dream of living in huge houses situated on large territories, driving a new car every year, wearing kilos of golden jewellery on themselves night and day. These may after a period of time become aims, and watching the film was already worth it. Even if they will never live in luxurious life, their living standard may rise significantly.
We may continue the enumeration of other motives for liking Dallas, but then it would be necessary to start writing a book. What I have tried to prove here is that the replacement of Dallas would be one of the worst decisions ever made in human history. We live in a period when people can have enough of harsh reality. When they are at home at the end of the week, they do not want any more of it. Rather, they escape to the land of dreams and unreality. The film's psychological importance is far more greater than those who criticise it from an intellectual's point of view would think. If they are not satisfied with he film, let them read a book in the meantime. But let's not take it away from those who need it!
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