Panelists: Entertainment content shapes viewers and vice versa

Titled ‘Viewers versus entertainment: Who is watching who?’ the panel was moderated by television anchor Zeina Yazigi.

The personalities touched on how government communication departments can use entertainment content in all its forms to achieve their desired aims, as well as reshape public opinion and convictions, or change collective thinking and principles.

Omran’s take on the topic focused on the impact of entertainment content on attitudes and behaviours in the long run. “The kind of content we may have earlier rejected as Arabs because it conflicted with our culture or values, has over time become accepted and normalised through repetition on screen. Presenting a bold idea or new perspective is not the challenge, but the manner in which it is delivered on screen,” she said.

Abed spoke about responsible presentation of content on screen, citing the example of onscreen violence being replicated off screen. “If a criminal is depicted on screen, every action and thought of theirs must be explained through the back story, so that impressionable viewers are not tempted to imitate the crime in real life.”

The panelists stressed on the simultaneous importance of showing positive values and ideas in entertainment while also highlighting that depicting entertainment content with social objectives or messaging might be counterproductive or undesired by the audience.

The screen personalities concluded that effective messaging to the general public, as conveyed by entertainment content, is a joint responsibility of the producers, writers and platforms. The nature of the content must ideally strike a balance between entertainment, ethics, realism, cultural and community values and reflect current sensibilities or make an effort to shape future ones, they added.