How Entertainment-Education Programmes Promote Dialogue in Support of Social Change

Abstract

Mass media messages often prompt dialogue among listeners or viewers. Such dialogue may reinforce social stability or lead to pro-social change. If the dialogue prompted by a mass media programme is central to understanding media effects, what forms does this dialogue take, and how does it influence people to change their thinking and actions? These questions formed the basis of the present investigation, which examined an entertainment-education (E-E) programme in India, developed with the intention of promoting pro-social change (e.g., gender equality, family planning, etc.). We discovered that internal dialogue (parasocial interaction) between listeners and media characters lead to conversations about the educational content of the media programme that fuelled support for social stability and for pro-social change. Second, interpersonal dialogue within families, and dialogue at the group level among community members, facilitated discussion of sensitive or taboo subjects in ways that were supportive of social stability as well as social change in family and community dynamics. Finally, listeners and viewers of E-E programmes confronted powerful forces of resistance as they attempted to change community power dynamics. Despite these difficulties, our findings suggest that synergistic possibilities for social action emerge when E-E broadcasts disseminate pro-social models of behaviour that spark various forms of dialogue among audience members.

Popular television and public mental health: creating media entertainment from mental distress

“…Popular television plays a crucial role in public understandings of medical information and can, under certain circumstances, raise the profile of certain health issues and modify behaviour (Henderson & Kitzinger, 1999;Karpf, 1988;Papa & Singhal, 2009;Singhal & Rogers, 1999). Audiences for TV news are declining, but soap and medical drama programmes attract larger, younger and more diverse audiences which makes these formats attractive to advertisers and means they raise vital commercial revenue for the television channel.…”

Home Video Depictions of Health and Moral Decadence as Correlates of Entertainment – Education in Nigeria

“…It can influence audience member's awareness, attitudes, perception and behaviour toward a socially desirable end (Papa, 2008). According to Usdin, Singhal and Shabalala (2004), E-E can also serve as a social mobilizer, an advocate or agenda setter, influencing public and policy initiatives in a socially desirable direction.…”

“…Papal et al (2008) said the strategy involves media programmes that intentionally incorporate educational themes and entertainment features in educational programming for improving audiences' knowledge and changing their attitudes/behaviours toward the educational issue. This is often carried out through radio drama series, television soap operas, popular music, comic books, spots, magazines, advertisements, computer games and other entertainment genres (Papa et al, 2008). Singhal and Rogers (2002) also described E-E as the process of purposely designing and implementing a media message to both entertain and educate, in order to increase audience members' knowledge about an educational issue, create favourable attitudes, shift social norms and change overt behaviour.…”

“…Singhal and Rogers (2002) also described E-E as the process of purposely designing and implementing a media message to both entertain and educate, in order to increase audience members' knowledge about an educational issue, create favourable attitudes, shift social norms and change overt behaviour. Thus, the general purpose E-E intervention, according to Papa (2008) is to spark intrapersonal, interpersonal and group conversations, contributing to the process of directed social change, which occurs at the level of individual, community or society.…”

The communication channels in fostering energy conservation behaviour

“…These dialogue oriented approach needs responsiveness from people. According to [16], dialogue is not effective until they commit themselves to the process. This means messages can successfully be delivered when people respond and fully commit to the process.…”