Since its premiere back in 1987, Bold and Beautiful has become a worldwide hit, earning fans all around the globe as it is translated into multiple languages. Now, a new documentary titled Soap Fever explores the CBS soap’s success in Finland during the early ‘90s as the country was experiencing a serious economic crisis. The film will have its premiere at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival in Greece on Saturday, March 14.
Great Escape
“Initially, I thought it would be a playful, light and nostalgic exploration of a strange cultural phenomenon,” director Inka Achté told Variety. “How a small, recession-struck Nordic country fell in love with a pink, glossy American soap opera. But as I began digging deeper, I realized this wasn’t about kitsch fandom. It was about survival. The show arrived during Finland’s worst economic crisis, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when people had lost jobs, homes, and hope. That contrast between national despair and glamorous escapism felt cinematically powerful.”
Due to budgetary restraints, Achté was unable to film in the United States and was unable to interview B&B cast members, so the documentary ultimately focused on the loyal Finnish fans of the soap and how watching the drama surrounding the Forresters affected their lives. “This is a collective story of us Finns and our recovery from collective trauma,” the director said.
There is currently a surge of ‘90s nostalgia online, and Soap Fever uses that to tell the story of how B&B brought comfort to many people in Finland during an uncertain time. Having gone into this project looking down on daytime dramas like B&B, Achté also hopes that the documentary will open people’s eyes to the medium’s power in the same way that working on the film did for her.
“I began this project with a degree of arrogance, smirking at the B&B fans,” she shared. “As a teenager, I thought the B&B fans were unsophisticated, only because their favorite pop culture wasn’t as ‘cool’ as I thought the pop culture I consumed was. We often dismiss certain forms of culture as ‘lowbrow,’ but in moments of crisis, people don’t need prestige, they need connection.”
Achté also said that while some of the stars of B&B are aware of the documentary, none have watched it yet. There is also no information at this time as to when or if American fans of B&B would be able to view Soap Fever themselves.
Good Old Days: The Forrester family when B&B premiered included Clayton Norcross (Thorne), Ronn Moss (Ridge), Teri Ann Linn (Kristen), John McCook (Eric), and Susan Flannery (Stephanie).CBS Photo Archive
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