ENTERTAINMENT-EDUCATION MEDIA

ENTERTAINMENT-EDUCATION MEDIA

Entertainment media may sometimes be explicitly and intentionally used for socially positive purposes within a society. Over 75 of such entertainment- education (E-E) campaigns have been implemented in at least 40 nations worldwide and are especially prevalent in developing countries (Sherry, 2002; Singhal & Rogers, 1999). Interestingly, none of these projects has occurred in the United States, and there is some reason to think they may be less successful in more media-saturated societies (Sherry, 2002). Nonetheless, some past projects have shown impressive success and this genre is gaining in popularity worldwide.

Sample E-E Programs

In many developing countries, radio and television have long been seen as tools for development and positive social change, rather than merely vehicles for entertainment. One of the earliest concerted efforts in this direction came in 1975–1982 from the giant Mexican network Televisa, which produced several series of programs, many in the very popular genre of telenovela (soap opera). These were designed to promote gender equality, adult literacy, sexual responsibility, and family planning (W.J.Brown, Singhal, & Rogers, 1989; Lozano, 1992; Rogers & Singhal, 1990; Singhal & Rogers, 1989b). The shows were very popular and viewers often requested the services promoted by the programs (Lozano, 1992),

Televisa’s model of communicating prosocial messages through entertainment was emulated elsewhere. In 1987, Kenya aired the prosocial soap opera Tushariane (“Let’s Discuss”), designed to promote family planning; it became the most popular show in the history of Kenyan TV (W. J. Brown & Singhal, 1990). The Nigerian soap opera Cock Crow at Dawn encouraged the adoption of modern agricultural practices (Ume-Nwagbo, 1986). Televisa’s Sangre Joven (“Young Blood”) telenovela of the early 1990s dealt with family planning, AIDS, and drug abuse. Jamaica produced

a family planning radio soap opera, Naseberry Street, which reached 40% of the Jamaican population from 1985 to 1989 (Rogers & Singhal, 1990). The Peruvian Amazon’s Bienvenida Salud! (“Welcome, health!”) has combined

a radio drama with popular music, local news, contests, and listener letters and testimonials since 1997 (Sypher, McKinley, Ventsam, & Valdeavellano, 2002). The Tanzanian radio soap opera Twende na Wakati (“Let’s Go with the Times”) featured a promiscuous truck driver who contracted HIV. His

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wife, then left him to set up her own business and was “rewarded” by not contracting AIDS, This program reached 55% of the population from 1993– 1998, with 82% of those saying they had changed their behavior to reduce the chance of HIV infection (Rogers, Vaughan, Swalehe, Rao, Svenkerud, & Sood, 1999). See Box 11.8 for more African examples of media’s effects far beyond entertainment.

Soul City. One of the most ambitious recent projects has been the South African TV, radio, and public health campaign Soul City (Singhal & Rogers, 1999), which deals with the themes of HIV prevention, maternal and child health, domestic violence, and alcohol abuse. It uses a multifaceted approach. Its prime-time TV segment became South Africa’s top-rated television show. The radio drama aired daily in eight different languages. Public health materials were widely distributed along with the broadcasts. Soul City was very successful in generating discussion and in furthering information-seeking, and also led to impressive increases in reported condom use and a commitment to tell one’s partner of HIV infection. Before Soul City, only 3% agreed that one’s HIV-positive status should not be kept secret from one’s partner, but afterward 75% agreed the partner should be told.

Hum Log. Another impressive commercial success was the Indian TV drama Hum Log (“We People”), which debuted in 1984. It became the most popular program in the history of Indian TV and also had substantial social impact (W.J.Brown & Cody, 1991; Singhal & Rogers, 1989a, 1989c). Although a commercial entertainment program, Hum Log also had the overt purpose of advancing the status of women, through dealing with such issues as wife battering, the dowry system, and political and social equality of women and men. At the end of every episode, a famous Indian film actor gave a 30- to 50-second summary of the episode and appropriate guides to action. Hum Log encouraged women to work outside of the home and to make more of their own decisions.

BOX 11.8