Edutainment

Entertainment education is the intentional placement of educational content in entertainment messages. EE allow mass communication be include entertainment along with persuasion. The idea is to present educational ideals through movie characters, etc. EE was drawn from Bandura’s social cognitive theory. EE seeks to influence the audience’s behavior by providing positive and negative roles. I read many others’ comments this week before I posted my blog comment. I am a pro EE individual. I have experienced the positives of EE within high school classrooms, and I believe that EE is an excellent way to educate subaltern groups. A classmate of mine at Howard told me how she incorporates EE into her curriculum and her students are very receptive to it; their grades improve. Bandura utilized EE when he was exemplifying the inhibitory and disinhibitory effects of the social cognitive theory. However, some of my peers felt that EE is not the best way to educate subaltern groups because the entertainment factor allows room for deception. I never looked at EE in that light. For instance, in the Singhal and Rogers article, how a television shows are used to present health issues and concerns (i.e. Maude and Walter’s vasectomy). Another example was All In The Family. This show’s main character used racial slurs; however, the intent was to elevate viewers’ consciousness about ethnic prejudices. All of the above examples are excellent if the end result of education is received by the audience. However, if one is laughing at the racial jokes of a character, do they understand the true intent?? With this being said, I am forced to re evaluate the advantages of EE.

I agree with many of Singhal’s and Rogers’ implications for future research in their conclusion. The fact that EE will begin to use crafts, art, textiles, etc. as sources was interesting because today that practice seems as if it is a step backwards, considering the technological possibilities of mass media. Overall, EE is an alternative educational tool that is more helpful than harmful for subaltern groups.

Dutta's article discussed how EE is used to promote HIV/AIDS prevention, family planning, and gender equity. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Dutta was against EE practices; he offered solutions at the end of his article?? I also saw some blog posts were people felt that the population control section was a little overboard. The one paragraph that I highlighted was the importance of individual responsibility, which is ultimately what must be remembered when incorporating any forms of EE.