Hidden in plain sight: An examination of entertainment-education

Abstract

Entertainment-Education is the process of weaving social messages into programming intended to entertain. The term was coined several decades ago, and the strategy has been widely used in mediated programs in the United States and abroad, particularly in developing countries. This thesis critiques the practice from a critical/culture perspective and particularly highlights issues that stem from political economy of media, agency, and critical pedagogy. To accomplish this, the volume is broken down into four sections: a survey of E-E and an explanation of its theoretical framework, an examination of Get Schooled, an initiative that fits the profile of an E-E intervention, an ideological critique of Grey's Anatomy and Law & Order: SVU, two primetime dramas that have been used for E-E interventions, and a discussion of the practice's future. At its best, Entertainment-Education, as it is being used in the contexts I have outlined here, is a bandage over problems that stem from larger cultural concerns. At its worst, it is a manipulative tool that has the potential to worsen the situations producers claim they want to remedy. If it continues to be used to communicate public information, I recommend that producers be much more mindful of their partnerships, their perpetuation of neoliberal ideology, and their intended and unintended impacts on global culture.

Date of Award	2010
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	Olaf Hoerschelmann (Supervisor)