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Significance of the Study
Studies have demonstrated how television can perpetuate stereotypes
and foster prejudice towards specific social groups. On the other
hand, television can also help to counteract prejudicial attitudes
depending on how the groups are presented. With the perspective
that there are positive and negative interactions among different
social groups in the world today, it is crucial to understand how
television may contribute to the dissemination of knowledge about
other countries and customs, perhaps breaking stereotypes and helping
to counteract prejudices (Graves, 1999).
Miguel Sabido (1989) studied the effects of a Peruvian telenovela
“Simplemente Maria” (Simply Mary) on its audience and
based on his observations, he elaborated on the concept of entertainment-education.
Entertainment-education is the intentional combination of an entertainment
activity along with an embedded educational message. This strategy
now has expanded beyond the telenovelas to include all forms of
entertainment. Brazilian telenovelas have been incorporating different
educational messages in their narrative since 1971-1972 with “Meu
Pedacinho de Chão" (My Small Piece of Land). This process
named social-merchandising in Brazil, claims to have contributed
to the discussion of different themes approached by the novelas
(Fernandes, 1994). It also corroborates Singhal & Rogers (1988)
argument that the demonstrated effectiveness of the entertainment-education
strategy is in creating knowledge about an issue.
The aftermath of September 11, 2001 stirred many anti-Muslim/Arab
sentiments. Given the wide penetration of telenovelas in the global
market, this study proposes to investigate the Brazilian telenovela
“El Clon” as a medium to disseminate knowledge about
Muslim culture.
This study might be beneficial to governmental or non-profit agencies
that have the intention of promoting multicultural education and
understanding, as they may consider alternatives to disseminate
cultural knowledge. This research might also be beneficial to organizations
that intend to utilize entertainment-education soap operas with
the intent of health promotion, or any other pro-social initiative,
as it proposes a combination of theories that include social learning/cognitive
theory and participatory communication as a way to promote dialogue
and critical thinking.
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