Tolerance on the WB: The Camdens and Entertainment-Education

Several television programs used the subject as the basis for their stories

Singhal and Rogers also outline five other factors that contribute to the effectiveness of entertainment-education programs: (1) organizational factors—funding, investors, technical issues, (2) media environment—“degree of media saturation,” and economic and political factors, (3) audience research—formative and summative research, and audience needs assessment, (4) program-specific factors—language used, use of celebrity appeals, program scheduling, etc., and (5) infrastructural factors—“access to, and availability of, support services”(205). While this list may have been complied for foreign entertainment-educational programming, it can be examined and deemed applicable to the “7th Heaven” episode .

Over time the definitions of entertainment and education have become stigmatized into two distinct realms of existence, so much so that they are often thought of as opposites. Entertainment-education seeks to break down the walls of a traditional wisdom that says the two are not and cannot be related. The purpose of entertainment-education is “to contribute to directed social change, defined as the process by which an alteration occurs in the structure and function of a social system” (Singhal and Rogers 9). Singhal and Rogers cite entertainment-education as being born out of two growing trends: entertainment-degradation programs which degrade a social topic, such as sex and violence, to achieve higher audience ratings, and boredom-education programs, programs with heavily concentrated educational content (Singhal and Rogers 11).

In conclusion, the entertainment-education model was put in place in the episode of “7th Heaven,” and it was done well. Issues and concerns were raised and dealt with through the use of the characters, at times seeming to talk directly to the viewers. In the end, Yasmeen was not accepted to Ruthie’s school, the opposition from the school board and the other parents was too strong. The episode made no claims to being able to work miracles and move its society in a direction of peace and nobility, as is often the case with such programs. The producers recognized the fact that America will continue to make choices whether they be for the bad or the good of its people. However, also recognizing their power to point out their flaws and provide suggestions in the process.

The producers continue to use the voice of the child to stress the simple humanity in the situation. The first to recognize the harm in such behavior and stand to defend her friend is Ruthie. Also a preteen, Ruthie appeals to her mom, as well as the viewing audience at large, by saying, “I still don’t understand it, she didn’t do anything, her family didn’t do anything; they’re Americans just like everyone else.”

Forum-theater can still be found in wide practice in the rural parts of Africa. An interactive form of theater, combining dance, masks, and storytelling, “forum-theater has been used as a popular means of community development in West Africa and Kenya to bring healthcare and other social development messages to rural people” (Morrison 2). In 2002, a student at Old Dominion University was shot and killed by an ex-boyfriend. The incident was the culmination of a pattern of domestic violence in the relationship. Out of the tragic incident came a play entitled “Willow Song.” Written by a faculty member at Old Dominion, “‘Willow Song’ co

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