AMP in the post
General Hospital Spoilers – Campus Disco, 1979
A new writer was brought on board — Pat Falken Smith — and she is credited with writing a controversial rape scene between Luke and Laura. The rape storyline brought a lot of headlines and many new viewers when GH needed them most as they have been on the chopping block to be canceled. With just a couple of weeks to turn the beat around on General Hospital, Smith accomplished it by capitalizing on a popular headline: date rape.
That night in 1979 ended with Luke and Laura dancing. The fans already loved the couple, but their real appeal flourished with their controversial beginning. Production filmed the scene just right with a heavy focus on Luke — who was wanted by the mob at the time and already feeling like his days were numbered — taking Laura to the floor at the end of the evening and raping her.
GH Spoilers — Was It All An Act Of Seduction?
The press descended upon General Hospital and it became the show to watch on daytime TV. Luke and Laura became household names. In retrospect, production would reflect on that night at the disco as more of a heavy seduction act than one of violence against a woman. They removed strong language and violence from the scenes and manipulated viewers into thinking less was happening there than really happened. Why? They followed the cultural tide, and however unfortunately, it worked to bring GH back to life.
AMP in the post
During the original scenes, Herb Alpert’s song “Rise” catapulted to the top of Billboard charts, and in true GH style, production played it every time they flashed back to those scenes. But when they were trying to soften the rape into a seducation act for viewers, they intentionally played different songs so the emotional response they provoked would be different. The way GH reflected on this scene continued to waffle back and forth between rape and seduction for many years.
General Hospital Spoilers — The White Wedding
In 1981, Luke and Laura said their vows at the Quartermaine mansion, and that one hour of daytime television became the highest rated hour in soap opera history with more than 30 million people tuning in. Longtime fans might remember the dazzling guest list. Everyone really showed up for this event, unlike many of the episodes we see today where key figures in a character’s life aren’t present for their wedding or even their funeral.
GH Spoilers — Twenty Years Later
In 1998 — nearly 20 years after the disco date rape — Luke and Laura’s son, Lucky Spencer (Jonathan Jackson) met a new girl in town, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst). Liz was raped, and her affiliation with other victims led to Lucky finding out what his father had done to his mother. GH took this time to course-correct in the face of a new culture that support women’s rights and spoke up about date rape.
AMP in the post
It was only then, two decades after the rape, that Luke would discuss what he’d done, Laura would confront him, and she would seek counseling for being raped by the great love of her life. The storyling went on for nearly a year with a heavy focus on rape culture and how it had changed, subtly noting the view of rape from the eyes of GH production had changed, too.
What do you think? Has GH done enough to correct their original portrayal of this event? What major movements might they capitalize on next to reinvigorate the audience and captivate their attention? Let us know, and stay right here for more spoilers, updates, and GH news.